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Someone once described “Cruel Intentions” to me as “little kids playing dress-up,” and it’s this quality that sets it apart from “Dangerous Liaisons.” The characters in “Cruel Intentions” might grow up to be Glenn Close and John Malkovich of “Dangerous Liaisons” someday, but somehow I doubt it. More likely, they’ll end up frustrated suburbanites reliving their glory days at the bottom of a wine bottle.

Let’s take a look at where these movies are alike. Both are adaptations of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’s novel “Les Liasons Dangereuses” written in the 18 Read the rest of this entry »

Considered two of the greatest movies about modern warfare and America’s foreign war policy, The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty represent a new look at the way cinema portrays war. Before Kathryn Bigelow’s films, most movies about war were epic films that showed the overarching scope of war. These films were huge budget affairs with large ensemble casts and told of love and war through many eyes. But with Zero Dark Thirty, and more importantly The Hurt Locker, Bigelow takes a more intimate look at war Read the rest of this entry »

“Oblivion” is the second film from cinematic auteur Joseph Kosinski. It shows all the visual flair and dynamic motion of his first film, “Tron: Legacy,” but as an independent project it allows itself more space for invention and homage. “Oblivion” is a film that is delightfully aware of its cinematic ancestors and enjoys throwing out reference after reference. It is a rare and confident film that can show where it came from without letting its past slow it down on its way to where Read the rest of this entry »

There is simply no comparison between the two film versions of Judge Dredd. One broke the hearts of fans, and one made them happy beyond their wildest dreams.

It is not that both versions do not try equally hard. The movie of Judge Dredd with Stallone was made by a true fan of the series who worked tirelessly for years to bring it to the screen. Although the special effects technology used in the first film Read the rest of this entry »

Although Zero Dark Thirty is fact-based, it does play loose with some of the facts, according to the Seal Team 6 member Marcus Luttrell, who shot Bin Laden and who wrote a book about the raid.

The director of ZD30 doesn’t flinch from showing graphic torture scenes, but Luttrell says the length and extent of torture methods was overstated. The depiction of torture has also drawn the ire of some United States politicians, who insist that Read the rest of this entry »