Platoon vs. Top Gun and the Perennial Fight for Our Movie Souls

Paramount Pictures' "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis
Paramount Pictures' "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis - Paramount Pictures

On May 16, 1986, a film called Top Gun was released. Perfectly timed for the summer, Top Gun featured burgeoning star Tom Cruise and a whole mess of fighter jets. The movie went on to gross over $350 million worldwide, becoming a generation's cultural touchstone in the process. Later that same year,… Continued

The Best of the 2010 Super Bowl Commercials

Megan Fox in an ad for Motorola featured in Super Bowl XLIV
Megan Fox in an ad for Motorola featured in Super Bowl XLIV - Motorola

Let's face it, it wasn't the best year for Super Bowl commercials. Still, we're all about the bright side; here are the advertisements we found particular enjoyment in.

Robin Hood Teaser Trailer
Gladiator in tights? I'll take it. Heck, I'll take anything Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe want to give me.… Continued

Review: From Paris with Love a Satisfying Escape

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Travolta - "From Paris with Love" (2010)
Jonathan Rhys Meyers and John Travolta - "From Paris with Love" (2010) - Lionsgate

"Eminently watchable."

If you like a violent, silly, frenetic style of film you'll find plenty to enjoy here. There are a few glaring flaws, which we'll get to, but overall this is satisfying escapism. You could do much worse -- heck, I'm betting you have. Travolta is always at his… Continued

2010 Oscar Nominations, Favorites, and Snubs

The fifty Oscar statuettes to be presented at the 80th Academy Awards ceremony are on display at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' "Meet the Oscars" exhibition located on the fourth level of the Hollywood & Highland Center through Saturday,
(c)A.M.P.A.S.

Best Picture
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Avatar
Precious
Up in the Air
An Education
Up
A Serious Man
District 9
The Blind Side

Snub: District 9 and The Blind Side were late inclusions, probably taking the spots of Invictus and A Single Man.
Favorite: I'm taking Avatar even though the DGA… Continued

Review: When in Rome Worth Skipping

"When in Rome" (2010)
"When in Rome" (2010) - Touchstone Pictures

"An appalling collection of unfunny."

I counted how many times I laughed during When in Rome, as a service to you, the reader. The answer was seven. Seven times in 90 minutes I said, "Ha!" -- which averages out to around once every 13 minutes. To be fair, that's not in the "worst… Continued

Review: Howl - Sundance Film Festival

James Franco stars as the poet Allen Ginsberg in the film "Howl" (2010)
James Franco stars as the poet Allen Ginsberg in the film "Howl" (2010) -

"Howl has captured a moment in time and effectively translated a literary masterpiece to the big screen."

Howl, at its core, is about the pursuit of honesty through poetic excellence. Of course, it's about much more than that, gay rights, obscenity, the creative process as a whole.… Continued

Review: Welcome to the Rileys - Sundance Film Festival

Kristen Stewart as Mallory - "Welcome to the Rileys" (2010)
Kristen Stewart as Mallory - "Welcome to the Rileys" (2010) - Photo by Christopher Soos

"An engaging, if tense, viewing experience."

Welcome to the Rileys, to its credit, doesn't conform to narrative expectations. It's a drama, but a drama on the edge of utter destruction. Kristen Stewart is Allison ... or Mallory, depending on the scene (trust me, this makes sense).… Continued

Review: Happythankyoumoreplease - Sundance Film Festival

Josh Radnor - "Happythankyoumoreplease" (2010)
Josh Radnor - "Happythankyoumoreplease" (2010) - Paper Street Films

"A strangely constructed film."

Happythankyoumoreplease is one of the rare instances where everyone involved clearly had too much intelligence, where too many ideas were broached, where too much emotion was thrust at the audience. Yep, Htymp could have been twice the movie merely… Continued

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