Wes Anderson transposes his quirky family dramas and characters, and that wonderful eye for details into an undersea adventure that pays homage to, and pokes fun at, the ocean adventure films that rose to popularity with the works of Jacques Cousteau. Bill Murray stars as the titular Steve Zissou, a Cousteau wannabe who, aboard his…
Tag: effects
Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022) – Dan Kwan, and Daniel Scheinert
An epic and hilarious story with an intimate tale of family and love at its heart. I couldn’t believe how much I enjoyed Everything Everywhere All at Once. I knew I would, but I was completely swept up in the tale, it’s toying with the multi-verse, and letting Michelle Yeoh show off all of her…
Tropic Thunder (2008) – Ben Stiller
Ben Stiller directed the ultimate Hollywood satire with Tropic Thunder. He developed the story with Justin Theroux, and the pair wrote a script with Ethan Cohen. It’s sharp, pointed, and under its endlessly quotable dialogue and performances is a skewering look at Tinsel Town. Everything seems to be a lie, from promotions to images to…
Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) – Mike Flanagan
Mike Flanagan has quickly become one of my favorite writer/directors and I realized that there were still a number of his titles that I hadn’t written about for the blog. So color me happy as I dig into some other examples of his work. Ouija: Origin of Evil is, in fact, a sequel to a…
Rambo (2008) – Sylvester Stallone
Stallone not only returns in one of his most iconic roles, but he also settles into the director’s chair to bring the grittiest incarnation of Vietnam vet to the screen. Continuity is key, and Rambo (Stallone) is still in the Far East, attempting to live a quiet life as best as he can, when, like…
The Frighteners (1996) – Peter Jackson
Michael J. Fox takes the lead in what was Peter Jackson’s first big studio film, with Bob Zemeckis serving as executive producer. While some of the special effects have not stood the test of time, it remains a fun film, trying to walk that balance between horror and comedy. Frank Bannister (Fox) is a con…
Alien Code (2018) – Michael G. Cooney
Somewhere along my prowling of the internet, I stumbled across the trailer for this film, and was suitably intrigued enough to add it to my viewing queue. Watching it, there’s an intriguing premise, a well-orchestrated execution of subject matter despite budget constraints, and despite overreaching on its subject matter (seemingly wanting to throw every piece…
A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child (1989) – Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins slips into the director’s chair for the fifth installment of the Nightmare on Elm Street series. Despite having vanquished him in the previous film, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) is back and Alice (Lisa Wilcox) doesn’t know how to stop because she doesn’t understand how he can be back. The viewer puts it together…
Moonfall (2022) – Roland Emmerich
Roland Emmerich seems to really enjoy putting global destruction, and cardboard characters on the screen, and Moonfall is no different, but unlike 2012 , and Independence Day: Resurgence this one actually like a lot of fun, though there’s a bit of a stumble with the last third of the film, though there may have been…
A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) – Renny Harlin
The fourth entry in the Elm Street series has a pretty cool pedigree behind the camera. A young, up and coming director, who would go on to make some solid 90s action films, Renny Harlin helms the film, and the story was developed by Brian Hegeland and William Kotzwinkle, before Heglenand, Jim Wheat and Ken…
The Mind Reels 