The Final Take with Parker Mott

2 Stars out of 4
(93 minutes)

Tim and Eric pitching their "Billion Dollar Movie".

I feel at odds with myself writing a review for Tim and Eric’s Billion Dollar Movie. For example, when the film first opens there is a commercial for a “Schlaang” chair that performs unusual functions. I won’t get into it, since it really isn’t all that funny. But that’s not to say it doesn’t try to be. This film is gutsy, to the point that all the would-be comedic episodes, in figurative terms, arrive with their pants down. Those unfamiliar with Tim and Eric might desperately cry for them to pull their pants up. (continue reading…)

2.5 Stars out of 4
(142 minutes)

Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence) defends herself in "The Hunger Games".

The Hunger Games features another post-apocalyptic world meant to be as thrilling to watch as it is tragic. It is situated in the nation of Panem, which is run by the tyrannical Capitol and divided by gated-in districts built from the ashes of North America. District 12, the lower-class community, hosts heroine Katniss Everdeen (the mighty Jennifer Lawrence) who replaces her sister, Primrose (Willow Shields) as the female tribute in the gladiatorial Hunger Games. (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(118 minutes)

Don't be deceived. They're not too happy in "Snowtown".

Snowtown is one of the most disturbing movies I have ever seen. It’s about dismal people soiled in dire, desolate living conditions in South Australia. They spend their time in listlessness, their anger and apathy an extension of their boredom. The world to them is a bleak and senseless place. Not a land of opportunity. The movie itself, I’m sure you could predict, is not an exercise in joy. (continue reading…)

3.5 Stars out of 4
(99 minutes)

Losing control in "The Corridor".

The Corridor is an atypical horror movie…in fact, I’m not even sure if it is a horror film. It’s more of a drama that happens to have some horror elements.

It tells an ostensibly harmless tale about a group of buddies who amicably lodge in a isolated cabin in the Nova Scotia woods. But the film doesn’t succumb to the rote slasher flick plot device when the characters are inevitably eliminated by some diabolical villain. (continue reading…)

2.5 Stars out of 4
(109 minutes)

Highschool shenanigans in "21 Jump Street".

Let me tell you how much I know about 21 Jump Street. There’s a moment near the climax of the film when a big cameo leaps on screen. Applauses roared around me, but my hands remained cold. I thought it was just an excuse to show a familiar face. I was informed after the movie of the context of that cameo, and it all made sense. Silly me. (continue reading…)

2.5 Stars out of 4
(105 minutes)

Nicolas Cage playing it straight in "Seeking Justice".

Seeking Justice is yet another Nicolas Cage movie where the critical blame will fall on this beloved actor not the direction or writing. After viewing Seeking Justice, I noticed that nothing really connected or moved from A to B. Plot points were truncated, logic was obscured, leaving nothing remaining but the title. What these flaws are I cannot say. The movie is lucky that picking out plot holes is not my strong point. (continue reading…)

2.5 stars out of 4
(88 minutes)

Elizabeth Olsen eludes weird noises in "Silent House".

One house. One shot. A lot of screams. That is your ideal tagline for Silent House, another horror film that feigns to be based on a true story. Aren’t they always? For my money, I’m sure Silent House is just as nonfictional as The Amityville Horror or The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Wow, those were real works of authenticity…ho-hum. Yes, I’ve heard it all and each time I grow less terrified. My advice: acknowledge its fiction, and just scare us. Trust me: the audience is willing to suspend their disbelief. (continue reading…)

3 Stars out of 4
(117 minutes)

McCain (Harris) and Palin (Moore) wave to a crowd of ecstatic supporters in "Game Change".

You can write it down on paper that HBO knows how to produce smart, engaging political dramas. From Barry Levinson’s You Don’t Know Jack to Richard Loncraine’s The Special Relationship, HBO has sort of transcended our understanding of the “TV movie”. (continue reading…)

"This is Orson Welles". Or is it?

Author: Peter Bogdanovich
(549 pages, 1998)

The legends of Orson Welles, the renowned director of Citizen Kane and Touch of Evil, mostly plague rather than applaud him. Many people and critics assume him to be egotistical, smug, micromanaging, and self-indulgent. Peter Bogdanovich’s This is Orson Welles, however, strives to “correct the false impressions about nearly everything that had happened in [Welles’s] life and career” (xiv). But this collection of interviews becomes not just a portrait of Orson’s personality, but also one of a deep, everlasting friendship between him and Bogdanovich. (continue reading…)

2 Stars out of 4
(88 minutes)

"Project X": No, this movie isn't directed by Michael Bay.

Boy, some people are real upset over Project X. I’ve read some reviews with prose so scathing you can hear the writer growling. Well, I won’t growl but I’ll certainly grunt. Project X is a mediocre movie, and an even inferior found footage film. Man, I’ve had enough of these. It takes the format of a cinema vérite film, and assaults the screen to the point of artlessness. The moral of the story is more perfunctory than the title. (continue reading…)