Originally published on msnbc.com June 5, 2009, in advance of the Will Ferrell movie Land of the Lost, based on the 1970s TV show. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. Reinventing the beloved Krofft Brothers TV show from the prehistoric, polyester-clad age known as the 1970s, the new comedy …
Originally published on msnbc.com May 4, 2009, in advance of the J.J. Abrams-directed reboot Star Trek movie. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. “Star Trek” has enjoyed a long journey across space and time. The original science-fiction TV series created by Gene Roddenberry only ran for three seasons from …
Originally published on msnbc.com July 11, 2008, in advance of the movie Hellboy II: The Golden Army. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. Hellboy is perhaps the most unlikely superhero of all: A gruff, cigar-chomping muscle-bound dude who protects the world from toothy monsters isn’t uncommon in the world …
On March 8, moviegoers will jump back in time to an age of mammoths, saber-tooth cats and Stone Age humans fighting for survival in 10,000 BC, the latest movie from director Roland Emmerich. It probably won’t be a paragon of scientific accuracy, judging by Emmerich’s previous track record on Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow …
A movie roundup originally written in advance of the 2008 release of Cloverfield. Something very big and very angry stalks the streets of New York City in Cloverfield, being released in theaters this week. The brainchild of producer J.J. Abrams (of the TV hit Lost and the upcoming Star Trek remake), Cloverfield aims to revitalize …
Originally published on MSNBC.com October 29, 2007. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. Just as the vitality and bold style of manga has swept through the formerly American-dominated field of comic books, Asian cinema has left a lasting stamp on the horror-film genre — especially the violent and distinctively …
Originally published on msnbc.com July 23, 2007, in advance of the Simpsons movie appearing in theaters. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. “The Simpsons” has been on the air for the better part of two decades, and during that time the animated adventures of America’s favorite dysfunctional family has …
Originally published on msnbc.com June 11, 2007, in advance of the movie Ocean’s 13. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. “Ocean’s Thirteen” reunites director Steven Soderbergh with George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and the other actors who populated his previous two caper movies “Ocean’s Eleven” and “Ocean’s Twelve.” It also …
Peglegs and parrots, cutlasses and corsairs, yarrrrs and yardarms, pieces of eight and bottles of rum: They’re all part of a good solid pirate story, a tradition that’s been around pretty much as long as pirates themselves have. Sea raiders have been causes for fear and sources of storytelling inspiration for thousands of years, of course, …
Originally published on msnbc.com July 10, 2006, in advance of the Kevin Smith film Clerks II. It’s no longer online there, so I’ve reposted it in full here. Kevin Smith made a lasting name for himself with his 1994 low-budget debut Clerks, an offbeat comedy following the exploits of a couple of hapless worker drones, …