The story goes that "Gremlins" was written by Chris Columbus as a sample, hoping to catch Hollywood attention. As director Joe Dante suggests in one of the extras here, this idea should be taken with a grain or two of...
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This dense, intricate and serious movie alienated some filmgoers, though it was popular and handsomely profitable. Generally speaking, mass audiences are not comfortable with films that make you think, and "Twelve Monkeys" is downright cerebral. It's a rich, detailed film...
Guy Ritchie made a strong impression with two early movies, "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels," and "Snatch." For the next several years, he was best known as Madonna's latest husband, and for directing her in the excoriatingly-reviewed remake, "Swept...
Pixar is almost unnerving. They've been making features since 1995's "Toy Story," and every one of them, without exception has been very good. Several have been outstanding, among the best movies of the year, animated or otherwise. Their ease and...
"Wrong Turn" is tense and well-directed, and was successful enough to produce two straight-to-video sequels, which seem to have just replayed more or less the same story. Which would make them very blurred carbons, since the original film itself is...
Cormac McCarthy took the title of his novel "No Country for Old Men" from the first line of William Butler Yeates' "Sailing to Byzantium," a poem about old age. The book, and movie, are not about old age, but partly...
In 1972, "The Poseidon Adventure" was a major hit, kicking off a short-lived but go-for-broke mini-flood of what were soon termed "disaster movies." These were always expensive epics, graced with big sets and lots of special effects, and usually outfitted...
I was watching "Max Payne" when my wife entered. "Is this based on a video game?" she asked. It's that obvious, that dismaying: someone who didn't even know there was a video game called "Max Payne" immediately recognized the movie...
