Review: Oz the Great and Powerful

Last week we got a new take on the old tale of Jack and the Beanstalk.  This week sees the release of a prequel to the beloved Wizard of Oz.  Director Sam Raimi tells the story of how carnival magician Oscar Diggs (James Franco) finds himself whisked away to a magical land where he meets

Review: Jack the Giant Slayer

After a number of delays and a name change (It was originally called Jack the Giant Killer), Bryan Singer‘s reimagining of the classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk is finally coming to theaters. The story begins with an account of events that have, at this point, faded into legend.  Many years ago, in an

Review: Snitch

Inspired by true events, Snitch is the story of a suburban dad, turned undercover Narc in order to reduce the sentence for his son who made a bad call.  John Matthews (Dwayne, “The Rock”, Johnson) is a hardworking owner of a construction shipping company.  When his estranged son is busted accepting a package of Ecstasy

Review: Escape from Planet Earth

Scorch Supernova (Brenden Fraser) is the blue alien equivalent of Metro Man or Captain Hammer, pulling off daring deeds of heroics to the adoration of his entire planet.  Caught up in the showmanship and results of his life-threatening missions, though, he seems to forget about the people behind the scenes who help make everything he

Review: Beautiful Creatures

Hot on the heels of Twilight, Beautiful Creatures is chomping at the bit to become the next hot young adult supernatural romance. Like Twilight, it is an adaptation of a novel – the first in a series. It tells the story of a forward-thinking high school student stuck in a middle of nowhere southern town,

Review: Identity Thief

When Sandy Patterson (Jason Bateman) finds his life crashing around him due to his identity being stolen, he decides to take matters into his own hands. Apparently if your identity is stolen there are only two options – let some incompetent police officers try to maybe solve your case in a year or so, or

Review: Django Unchained

The next in my series of Oscar nominees I’m playing catch-up with is Quentin Tarantino‘s most recent effort, Django Unchained. Part Spaghetti Western, part Blaxploitation, and a hundred percent Quentin Tarantino, Django Unchained is an over the top tale of racism, violence, slavery, and love.

Review: Beasts of the Southern Wild

Although this movie is from earlier this year, now is probably the first time many people have the opportunity – or desire – to see this indie critics’ darling.  And with its multiple Oscar nominations, I felt it deserved my time now that I’ve added it to my list of nominated films seen.