“Space Jam: A New Legacy” did something I had not anticipated: It was a sweet, smart, funny and engaging movie.
I suppose I did not expect this because the word-of-mouth buzz for the film has been negative. I base this on anecdotal experience; people I know cringe at the thought of this movie existing because the 1996 original is so cherished.... Read Original Article
There have been eight movies in the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” series, but only two are worth watching if you want to feel real horror. One is the original film, “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” which was released by director/co-writer Tobe Hooper in 1974 and is rightly regarded as a classic. Like “The Blair Witch Project” a quarter-century later, it did not allow its low budget to get in the way of creating a uniquely creepy aesthetic, cleverly using practical effects and skillful pacing to scare viewers.... Read Original Article
A movie like “The Deaths of Ian Stone” makes you lament the fickle nature of show business. I know only two things about director Dario Piana and writer Brendan Hood: Together they made one of the most unique science fiction thrillers I’ve ever seen, and they have not done much other filmmaking work since.... Read Original Article
It is a shame that movie remakes usually cover films that were already perfect the first time. The ones that truly deserve a second shot are those based on interesting concepts but which, for one reason or another, collapsed upon execution.
“Darkness Falls,” a 2003 horror film directed by Jonathan Liebesman, is Exhibit A for this argument.... Read Original Article
I would like to write a review as brief as George Washington’s 2nd inaugural address, the briefest ever delivered in history.
The so-called Seltzerberg duo of C-rate spoofsters endlessly fascinate with me how they managed to perfectly capture the zeitgeist of periods in our pop culture history with all the cynical vulgarity that these shameful events deserved.... Read Original Article
The late ’90s and ’00s were a weird forgotten golden age for crocodile and alligator horror flicks. The best were in two series: You had Steve Miner’s “Lake Placid” in 1999, Tobe Hooper’s “Crocodile” in 2000, Gary Johnson’s follow up “Crocodile 2” in 2002 and the Todd Hurvitz/Howie Miller collaboration “Lake Placid 2” in 2007.... Read Original Article