Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance - Dreadful

Written by Pam Glazier Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:17 PM

I was extremely excited going to the theaters this weekend because this week’s assignment was Ghost Rider 2! Now, this was not fake enthusiasm. I am actually a huge Nicholas Cage fan—even when he gets all crazy in his films... in fact, especially when he gets all crazy in his films. So I was still looking forward to watching this one despite the fact that I saw several one-star reviews of it before I left for the theater. I imagined that these reviews were simply from people who didn’t understand the Cage, didn’t feel the love for the Cage, didn’t know how to really put themselves in the right mindset so that they too could enjoy the esoteric cornucopia of bliss that is…THE CAGE.

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This Means War: Cross-Genre Disaster

Written by Brock Wilbur Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:16 PM

Released on Valentine's Day, This Means Waraimed to be the perfect date film: enough Rom-Com for her, enough action movie violence for him. With strong lead actors and the proven cross-genre direction of McG, I felt genuinely intrigued by its potential.

Then, ten minutes in, I felt dumb. Real dumb.

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Thin Ice: Collapses Under Structure Woes

Written by Ryan Mason Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:14 PM

Playing like a poor man’s The Usual Suspects, Thin Ice attempts to plot an intricate caper around an extremely valuable old violin, but its poor management of escalating tension and rushed (or delayed) plot twists make this not nearly as effective as its award-winning cinematic step-cousin.

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The Secret World of Arrietty: Beautiful

Written by Sunny Choi Sunday, February 19, 2012, 8:12 PM

Studio Ghibli’s latest creation, The Secret World of Arrietty, understatedly examines our diminishing sense of empathy and connection to the environment. Like in many of its films, the protagonist finds himself in fantastical albeit more natural surroundings. The protagonist encounters another world that intrigues him yet may be incompatible with his own world. One could critique the creators for reusing this archetype, but the film unfolds so beautifully that I simply adored it.

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Rampart: Anti-Hero Character Study

Written by Ryan Mason Monday, February 13, 2012, 2:22 PM

Rampart’s tagline is a warning to us that we’re about to see the most corrupt cop ever displayed on screen. A bold statement that I’m not sure I agree with considering I’ve seen Bad Lieutenant. But Woody Harrelson’s Detective David Brown could easily be one of the most corrupt human beings to grace cinema in recent memory. And this makes for a superb character study, but not for the most enjoyable film experience.

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Perfect Sense: Perfectly Pretentious

Written by Pam Glazier Monday, February 13, 2012, 2:05 PM

Perfect Sense is a perfect piece of trite, snobby, pseudo-intellectual crap. Augh, god! It was possibly worse than Albatross (and that film, when I think about it for too long, stimulates my gag reflex—not because it was gross, but because it was just that snootily full of itself while simultaneously being bland and unoriginal). I mean, seriously, look at all the adverbs the memories of these films are inspiring. It’s like their crappiness is contagious, and now I’ve unintentionally got the bug.

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