The Buzz: movie reviews

Tim Allen has a new sitcom coming out this Fall called "Last Man Standing". The major networks must conduct focus groups to determine the most broadly appealing, yet semi-humorous / vaguely generic titles they can conjure up. But, I kinda like the new title. I don't know if the new show will be any good or not, but the ads look funny. It's about a man living in a world surrounded by women. Most sitcoms fail miserably, so I don't expect much. I was sort of a fan of "Home Improvement", though. Love it or hate it, that show provided the next step of evolution for mediocre sitcoms. It's hard to believe, though, that the final episode of "Home Improvement" was twelve years ago! With that being said, Tim Allen has spent the last twelve years churning out hit-or-miss comedy movies. If you like him or not, he is a comedy force to be reckoned with. I decided to give you my favorite Tim Allen comedies. There are plenty of horrendously bad movies to...

Ah, the 80's! A most beloved time from my childhood. I am a child of the 80's, and no other decade of cinema has impacted my life more than the Reagan era 1980's. In my life experience, I have found that the 80's were a renaissance in American pop culture. Everything from movies, tv, and music were kicked into a new era of optimism and awesomeness. This list of 80's favorites is, by far, the most comprehensive and most loved list of favorites I have made. I have so many childhood memories that were shaped either directly or indirectly by some of these movies. Like, watching the Star Wars trilogy in my basement, on VHS, with childhood friends. Or, experiencing 88 mph in the Delorean with my family on our "movie night." Or, as a child, being obsessed and fascinated with werewolves because of Michael J. Fox and that cheeseball comedy Teen Wolf . I have elminated all horror movies from this list because they fall into a different category. The 1980's w...

my rating: 4 out of 5 Bradley Cooper plays Eddie Morra, a struggling New York writer who's down on his luck. He runs into his ex-brother-in-law on the street, and things take a turn for the best. His brother-in-law gives him a "free sample" of a pill developed by the pharmaceutical company where he currently works. Eddie takes the pill, unsure of its effects, and his life takes off. The pill unlocks the untapped potential of the human brain, allowing the taker to become mentally sharper, access volumes more information than normal, and basically exceed the boundaries of normal human intellect. It isn't long, however, until Eddie gets caught up in the twists and turns of the pharmaceutical company's problems as he struggles to get more of the drug. He also makes lots of money working for a hedge fund manager played awesomely by Robert Deniro. It's nice to see him in anything. Limitless is visually energetic, using color and movement to suggest what is...

When I first set out to compile the list of my fav 70s flicks, I thought it would be a short list. I assumed that I would have four, maybe five favorite movies from that decade. I wasn't around in the 70s, so I assumed many of the movies wouldn't mean much to me. I thought this would make the 70s a dry cinematic landscape to choose from. Boy, was I wrong. I was in for a rude awakening when I began combing through the list of potential favorites. American Graffiti, Jaws, Star Wars , and lest we forget the first Aliens movie, Alien (came out in '79) were all potential candidates. Then, we've got Rocky and Rocky 2 , The Exorcist, Annie Hall, and Close Encounters of the Third Kind that were all 70s classics. I had my work cut out for me. Where to begin? Well, since I wasn't around in that decade, I decided to simply pick movies from that decade that I liked the best. Many of the movies up for consideration had a huge cultural impact. Some are stil...

my rating: 3.5 out of 5 Emma Stone is absolutely irresistible as "Skeeter", a recent college grad returning to her home town of Jackson, Mississippi in the early 60s. The plot of The Help involves Skeeter, an aspiring writer, setting out to write a tell-all book about the racist and unfair way that "the help" are treated in rich white society. Along the way, we meet Aibileen (Viola Davis) and Minny (Octavia Spencer), two maids who have extrordinary character and rich personality. Skeeter attempts to recruit them to help her with her book. Through the process, they get past the societal expectations and boundaries to form real friendship. The Help tackles some heavy racial issues, with mixed results. Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer are definitely Oscar worthy. Emma Stone is great. And, even though some people are criticizing this movie for not delving harder into the racial "nitty gritty" of the issues, it almost seems welcomed that they don'...

my rating: 3 out of 5 I have read a lot of negative reviews about Battle: Los Angeles . It is a big, loud, alien invasion movie with marines fighting to save Earth. So, there are better war movies with soldiers of a similar style ( Saving Private Ryan ). And, there are better alien movies with alien invasions. ( War of the Worlds, District 9, Independence Day ). However, Battle: Los Angeles is a great piece of throw-away entertainment. I thought the action scenes were very suspenseful and compelling. Yes, the characters are two dimensional. Yes, many of the "plot points" are somewhat silly. But, name one alien invasion movie that isn't completely silly. There's a reason why it's called "science FICTION." And yes, there is bad science fiction ( Battlefield Earth ...yuck, or Cloverfield ) But, Battle: Los Angeles kept my interest the whole time, and by the end, I wanted the characters to win. That's all you can ask for. And that's more than ...

my rating: 4 out of 5 No movie deserves a prequel more than Planet of the Apes . I have never been a fan of the original POTA movies because I thought they were weird, and somehow incoherent. Then, we movie / sci-fi / lovers had to endure the horrendous Tim Burton disaster labeled Planet of the Apes in 2001. I saw it opening night in the crowds at the cineplex. I still can't shake the mental image of that awful Paul Giamatti ape face, where the actors were trying to speak the dialogue through those awful looking ape masks and fake teeth. Anyway, Rise of the Planet of the Apes is such a well-made and interesting story, it makes me re-think the entire series. Based on the strength of this prequel, it pretty much gives credibility to an otherwise confusing and bizarre mythology of the Apes legacy. I heard that Rise was good before I saw it. But, I was not prepared for how good it is. James Franco is Will Rodman, a high-tech scientist working for a company called GYNY...