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Incisive film reviews. Titles range from silents to modern, avant-garde and blockbuster, non-English and so on.
Recent Posts Tagged With 'Adventure'
Commando (1985, Mark L. Lester), the director’s cut
There are a couple good things about Commando–the opening titles and James Horner’s score. Otherwise, I suppose Schwarzenegger isn’t bad in the film, which takes his being Austrian into account, something the majority of his blockbuster roles d...
Land of the Lost (2009, Brad Silberling)
I kind of remember the “Land of the Lost” theme song, but don’t remember ever watching the show. I watched the movie because of an interview Elvis Mitchell did with Silberling, but have no idea what he said in that interview to make me interest...
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009, Michael Bay)
I thought I could watch Transformers 2, or whatever it’s called, but I can’t. I made it through the first one, maybe because it followed some kind of traditional narrative structure, but the second one is unbearable. It’s just incompetently tol...
Transporter 3 (2008, Olivier Megaton)
When an action movie franchise hits the third one (X-Men, Lethal Weapon), they generally know what they’re doing and who they’re making the movie for and instead of producing some wonted exercise, members of this illustrious group of sequels are ...
Wing Commander (1999, Chris Roberts)
Watching Freddie Prinze Jr. court Saffron Burrows feels like some kind of archaic punishment. It’s the filmic equivalent of the rack. Thankfully, not all of Wing Commander concentrates on the courtship, which might very well be the anti-Christ of s...
G-Force (2009, Hoyt Yeatman)
I’m not a fan of the popcorn movie argument–it’s the one where people tell you you’re just supposed to enjoy the movie and not think about it–Stephen Sommers uses it in his defense and so does, somewhat more interestingly, Cameron Crowe (I ...
Green Lantern: First Flight (2009, Lauren Montgomery)
There’s a certain amount of competence to the plotting in Green Lantern: First Flight. It’s too bad the filmmakers didn’t pay the same attention to the characters. The film basically lifts the plot structure from any number of established sourc...
Wonder Woman (2009, Lauren Montgomery)
They really should have cast Rosario Dawson as Wonder Woman. Never thought I’d be typing those words–even if it is just voice casting–but Dawson is so much better than Keri Russell, whose Wonder Woman comes off as dependent on Nathan Fillion’...
Screamers (1995, Christian Duguay)
Sometimes competency is a bad thing. Screamers is a fairly well-made–Duguay’s composition isn’t spectacular, mostly because the sets were all CG embellished so there was only so much he was actually shooting–but there are some excellent effec...
Starship Troopers (1997, Paul Verhoeven)
The only “real” pro-war movie I can think of is The Green Berets. But Starship Troopers is also pro-war, even if it’s, well, startlingly so. I mean, the scene where Casper Van Dien grins after getting his battlefield promotion, following a coll...
The Deep (1977, Peter Yates)
I’m a little surprised Donna Summer did the theme song for The Deep, seeing as how she’s black and, according to The Deep, every black person is a villain of some kind or another. Even with his blond locks, I’ve never thought of Nick Nolte as p...
The Matrix Revolutions (2003, Larry and Andy Wachowski)
I think The Matrix! Part Trois has to be better than the second one, if only because it’s not as terribly boring in its action sequences. The second one had that highway battle and it was bad and the Keanu Reeves versus a million Hugo Weavings and ...
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009, Stephen Sommers)
It doesn't surprise me there are people out there who like G.I. Joe. Not to be negative, but people are, by and large, not very intelligent. What surprises me is anyone who thought they were making a competent action picture. You'd think the success ...
Dead Snow (2009, Tommy Wirkola)
I'm getting sick of running zombies. Did 28 Days Later... start the running zombies or was it the Dawn of the Dead remake? Whichever, it's gotten to the point where it's just too boring. Kind of like how bullet-time, by the second Matrix film, was al...
The Podcast, Episode Seven
I discuss three films in this episode. Moon (2009, Duncan Jones) Directed by Duncan Jones; screenplay by Nathan Parker, based on a story by Jones; director of photography, Gary Shaw; edited by Nicolas Gaster; music by Clint Mansell; production design...
The Podcast, Episode Six
I discuss three films in this episode. Van Helsing (2004, Stephen Sommers) Written and directed by Stephen Sommers; director of photography, Allen Daviau; edited by Bob Ducsay, Kelly Matsumoto and Jim May; music by Alan Silvestri; production designe...
The Podcast, Episode Four
I discuss three films in this episode. Thief (1981, Michael Mann) Directed by Michael Mann; screenplay and story by Mann, based on a book by John Seybold; director of photography, Donald E. Thorin; edited by Dov Hoenig; music by Tangerine Dream; pro...
The Podcast, Episode Three
I discuss four films in this episode. The Vampire Bat (1933, Frank R. Strayer) Directed by Frank R. Strayer; screenplay by Edward T. Lowe Jr.; director of photography, Ira H. Morgan; edited by Otis Garrett; produced by Phil Goldstone; released by Maj...
The Podcast, Episode Two
I discuss six films in this episode. The Saint Strikes Back (1939, John Farrow) Directed by John Farrow; screenplay by John Twist, based on a novel by Leslie Charteris; director of photography, Frank Redman; edited by Jack Hively; music by Roy Webb; ...
The Podcast, Episode One
Starting today, The Stop Button is evolving into a semi-regular podcast featuring audio responses to films (as opposed to written ones).0 I’m guessing these podcasts are going to be weekly and of indeterminate (but less than a half hour) length...
Star Trek (2009, J.J. Abrams)
There really isn’t anything to dislike about Star Trek. Well, maybe the music, which isn’t bad, just isn’t as good the rest of the music in the series. There’s a lot to like–Chris Pine (though the wife disagrees), J.J. A...
Dogma (1999, Kevin Smith)
I have a hard time identifying my biggest problem with Dogma. Is it the lack of good narrative? Smith’s script, which does have some very funny scenes in it, is one of the worst attempts at an epical plot I’ve ever seen. It’s inept....
Waterworld (1995, Kevin Reynolds), the extended edition
I haven’t seen Waterworld since the theater–probably opening day. I remember it being an unimpressive sci-fi adventure without a lot of distinct characteristics, but certainly not a disaster. Watching it again after fourteen years, that d...
Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005, George Lucas)
This movie got good reviews, right? I mean, I know Episode I got good reviews, but this one did too, right? I suppose the CG is better than before–except for Yoda, who’s desperate for a good puppeteer–and the action sequences are a ...
The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004, Wes Anderson)
The problem with The Life Aquatic reveals itself quite clearly in the final act, as the cast all gives Bill Murray shoulder squeezes of support. The scene is supposed to mean something profound. It’s Murray confronting not just his Moby Dick (a...
Mission: Impossible III (2006, J.J. Abrams)
After two asinine outings, Tom Cruise finally figured out how to get a Mission: Impossible to work. There’s an actual story–the viewer’s engagement with the plot doesn’t revolve around one’s appreciation of Tom Cruise an...
Badlands (1973, Terrence Malick)
I was in high school the first time I saw Badlands. I’d seen a lot of movies–I think by that time, I’d even made a top one hundred list. I know I’d seen True Romance, so I must have been at least fifteen. There’s nothing...
Midnight Run (1988, Martin Brest)
Some time in the 1990s, Charles Grodin said in an interview no one wanted him to do a sequel with Robert De Niro, only ones with him and dogs. Midnight Run is one of the last great comedies (though the genre seems to be on the rise again). It’s...
King Kong (1976, John Guillermin)
In 2001, the Academy awarded Dino De Laurentiis the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial award. The clips ran from the beginning of his career to the present–I can’t remember if Body of Evidence got a clip–and I kept waiting to see how they&...
Tropic Thunder (2008, Ben Stiller)
Tropic Thunder is one of those nice movies where most of the cast is phenomenal–here, while Nick Nolte and Steve Coogan are less than amazing, they’re both good. Only Ben Stiller lacks. The script’s full of good one-liners and some ...
