“Dredd 3D” is a meat grinder of a flick that assaults the audience’s sensory organs with wave after wave of mayhem, death and gratuitousness. This is a movie that aspires to the ne plus ultra of rated R, possessing qualities that will surely enshrine it as a cult favorite but damn it for those who want more than full-fledged viscerality. Forget the Stallone version from 1995: “Dredd 3D” is the ... more >
ARCHIVES
Dredd 3D
Delivering the goods. And justice.
Karl Urban, Lena Headey and Olivia Thirlby
Directed by Pete Travis
Resident Evil: Retribution
Sequel now a venerable institution
Milla Jovovich and Sienna Guillory
Directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
In some alternate reality, critics waited with bated breath for the release of an Oscar-worthy “Resident Evil: Retribution.” On this earth, however, they were sharpening their knives for director Paul W.S. Anderson’s fifth entry in the videogame-based “Resident Evil” series. Considered under standard film criteria, “Retribution” unabashedly meets those expectations. Yet Anderson nonetheless ... more >
TOTAL RECALL
A by-the-book reboot gets invigorated by its female leads
Colin Farrell, Kate Beckinsale and Jessica Biele
Directed by Len Wiseman
“Total Recall”, the unnecessary remake starring Colin Farrell, Jessica Biel, and Kate Beckinsale, proves that all the computer-generated imagery in the digital world cannot simulate a believable storyline. This movie stands proudly in the company of “Transformers”, “G.I. Joe”, and every other action flick with gossamer believability. The story involves a factory worker named Douglas Quaid (the ... more >
REVIEW – “The Avengers”
An Experience worth the capital letter
Robert Downey, Jr., Scarlett Johansson and Samuel Jackson
Directed by Joss Whedon
Comic book mavens rejoice, for Marvel Studios has concocted a heady and wonderful sensory brew in “The Avengers.” Weaving together the origin stories of Iron Man, Thor, Hulk, and Captain America, “The Avengers” packages a star-studded cast, one that could easily have imploded under its own weight, into a fleet-footed, yet cohesive, plotline. Nefarious forces from other worlds threaten Earth, ... more >
“The Cabin in the woods” -REVIEW
You think you know the story
Kristen Connolly, Chris Hemsworth and Anna Hutchison
Directed by Drew Goddard
Smart horror–is that an oxymoron? Not in “The Cabin in the Woods,” a devilishly-twisted film written by Joss Whedon, maker of beloved TV series “Buffy” and “Firefly.” Whedon starts with a generic plot premise that has been hackneyed to death: youth in the woods, getting feisty inside and out a cabin, and then getting killed. Luckily, Whedon torques this premise and pushes into unfamiliar ... more >
The Raid: Redemption – Anatomy of a hard-action flick
There's nowhere left to run or hide
Iko Uwais and Ananda George
Directed by Gareth Evans
If Hollywood summer blockbusters leave you dissatisfied because of their unreal veneer of CGI effects, or if PG-13 ratings turn your stomach because you yearn for a hard R action flick, then you must watch The Raid: Redemption, an Indonesian action dynamo that raises the bar for raw kinetic energy per-screen-minute. Set in the drably-lit slums of Jakarta, Raid tells the story of Rama, a SWAT ... more >