03 Jul 2014

Four-of-July Weekday - Notes on a Quadruple Feature: "Deliver Us from Evil," "Tammy," "America: Imagine the World Without Her," and "Earth to Echo"

By Mike Schulz

July 2, 10:40 a.m.-ish: My screenings begin with the demonic-possession thriller Deliver Us from Evil, and I notice, during the "found footage" prelude, that the action begins on the Fourth of July. So, clearly, the film is being released at the right time. Ninety minutes later, I notice, during the climactic exorcism, that the action ends on 4/20. So, clearly, the filmmakers were high.

21 Apr 2014

Near-Def Experience: "Heaven Is for Real," "Transcendence," "Bears," and "A Haunted House 2"

By Mike Schulz

HEAVEN IS FOR REAL

So far this year, audiences for faith-based films at the multiplex have been treated to Son of God, God's Not Dead, and Noah, and now there's director Randall Wallace's Heaven Is for Real to add to the mix. Have the Hollywood powers-that-be heard something about an imminent Rapture that the rest of us haven't? Should I now be feeling awkward and guilty about my raucous laughter at This Is the End?

25 Mar 2014

Four Stories and Seven Hours or So - Notes on a Quadruple Feature: "Divergent," "Muppets Most Wanted," "The Earth Wins," and "God's Not Dead"

By Mike Schulz

March 24, 10:30 a.m.-ish: After several days spent visiting friends in Ohio - among them, now, my hosts' adorable 17-month-old daughter - I return to my movie-reviewing duties filled with fresh perspective and hope for the future. Then I see Divergent, which earned $54.6 million over the weekend, and is already green-lit for two follow-up films. Well, the feeling was fun while it lasted.

09 Mar 2014

Get Her to the Greeks: "300: Rise of an Empire," "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," and "Titans of the Ice Age 3D"

By Mike Schulz

300: RISE OF AN EMPIRE

No movie that opens with Gerard Butler being beheaded, even off-screen, can be all that bad, and so maybe I shouldn't be surprised by the not-so-bad-ness of director Noam Murro's 300: Rise of an Empire. I still am, considering how little fun I had at Zack Snyder's smash-hit predecessor from 2007, yet personally speaking, it's not hard to identify what makes this CGI-heavy bloodbath an overall better time - a much better time - than 300. But we'll get to her momentarily.

10 Nov 2013

Loki Here: "Thor: The Dark World," "Jerusalem," and "About Time"

By Mike Schulz

THOR: THE DARK WORLD

As the comic-book demigod Loki, the nefarious thorn-in-the-side to the Avengers and adopted brother to Thor, Tom Hiddleston, in the Marvel Studios movies, exudes a teasing, seductive malevolence. With his sharp, angular features and chilling gaze that suggests he might prefer eating you to killing you, he's a wonderfully unstable and hypnotic screen creation. Yet the brilliance in Hiddleston's interpretation is that his Loki is also so damned charming. The character may forever be planning destruction or plotting revenge - specifically against the golden-haired preferred son with the red cape and hammer - but Hiddleston's bearing is so smooth and relaxed, and his wide grin so infectious, that you almost can't help rooting for him, especially because he also, generally, gets his movies' best jokes.

06 Oct 2013

Homecoming Float: "Gravity," "Runner Runner," "Generation Iron," and "Metallica Through the Never"

By Mike Schulz

GRAVITY

Alfonso CuarÃƒÂ³n's space thriller Gravity opened this past weekend, and if you haven't seen it yet, you really should. Like, now. I'm serious. Step away from whatever electronic device you're using to read this and get in line at the cineplex - or, if the cineplex isn't currently open for business, drive over there and wait. Don't be one of those people who procrastinates until the movie hits home video and then whines about missing it on its initial release. Because I'm telling you: You're gonna want to catch CuarÃƒÂ³n's latest on the big screen, and preferably on the biggest screen possible with your 3D glasses firmly in place. No kidding, folks: This thing is going to blow your mind.

29 Sep 2013

Race War: "Rush" and "Room 237"

By Mike Schulz

RUSH

While experiencing the technical craftsmanship of director Ron Howard's Rush, with Slumdog Millionaire cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle working at peak ability and the sound effects and editing exquisite throughout, I was frequently tempted to say, "Wow." Too bad that the film's overall presentation more often had me asking, "Why?"

01 Sep 2013

Labored Day Weekend: "Closed Circuit," "Instructions Not Included," "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," "One Direction: This Is Us," and "Getaway"

By Mike Schulz

Eric Bana and Ciaran Hinds in Closed Circuit It's a commonly held belief, mostly because it's generally true, that no worthwhile movies open on either the last weekend of August or Labor Day weekend. So I hope I wasn't alone, among reviewers, in feeling trepidation about my most recent cineplex duties, given that this year, in a calendar rarity, those weekends were one and the same. (Would the films be twice as bad as usual? Would there be twice as many bad films to contend with?) But I'm pleased, and somewhat shocked, to report that my latest movie-going experiences weren't relentlessly grim. They were just relentlessly weird, especially considering I had the best time at the weekend's worst picture, and the lineup's most professionally rendered offering made me fall dead asleep.

17 Feb 2013

crazy/beautiful: "Safe Haven" and "Flight of the Butterflies"

By Mike Schulz

SAFE HAVEN

Whatever else it is, and it's not much else, Safe Haven is the least boring Nicholas Sparks adaptation I've yet seen, mostly because it's so unequivocally bonkers.

27 Aug 2012

Draining Wheels: "Premium Rush," "Hit & Run," and "2016: Obama's America"

By Mike Schulz

PREMIUM RUSH

Anyone who's ever wanted to perfect an imitation of Michael Shannon - fearless, ferocious, crazy-as-a-shithouse-rat Michael Shannon - is advised to catch the action thriller Premium Rush, because director David Koepp's movie finds the familiar character actor doing a pretty spectacular imitation of himself.

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Four-of-July Weekday - Notes on a Quadruple Feature: "Deliver Us from Evil," "Tammy," "America: Imagine the World Without Her," and "Earth to Echo"

Near-Def Experience: "Heaven Is for Real," "Transcendence," "Bears," and "A Haunted House 2"

Four Stories and Seven Hours or So - Notes on a Quadruple Feature: "Divergent," "Muppets Most Wanted," "The Earth Wins," and "God's Not Dead"

Get Her to the Greeks: "300: Rise of an Empire," "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," and "Titans of the Ice Age 3D"

Loki Here: "Thor: The Dark World," "Jerusalem," and "About Time"

Homecoming Float: "Gravity," "Runner Runner," "Generation Iron," and "Metallica Through the Never"

Race War: "Rush" and "Room 237"

Labored Day Weekend: "Closed Circuit," "Instructions Not Included," "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," "One Direction: This Is Us," and "Getaway"

crazy/beautiful: "Safe Haven" and "Flight of the Butterflies"

Draining Wheels: "Premium Rush," "Hit & Run," and "2016: Obama's America"

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Subscribe & Listen to Reader Podcasts

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