Click the Posters and Links Below to View My Latest Reviews...

TRAITOR - (2 1/2 out of 4 Buckets) - "Pacing is a key component of any movie, but with one like Traitor it’s especially essential. This is because Traitor is a thriller in the most basic sense of the word: its effectiveness relies entirely on the slow unveiling of its tightly-wound plot. In order to be successful, the picture must both keep the viewer guessing and not allow them to be savvy enough to predict what will happen in the end. [...] Traitor may end up achieving a substantial level of unpredictability, but it fails to meet the additional aforementioned requirement of a thriller. In the..." Read More >>>

HAMLET 2 - (3 out of 4 Buckets) - "Like The Rocker, another one of this late-August cinematic-dumping-ground weekend’s many releases, Andrew Fleming’s Hamlet 2 is a tough movie to review in that it’s a straightforward comedy that doesn’t attempt anything earth-shattering, stylistically or substantively. How much can I blabber on about a motion-picture that I don’t aggressively hate and, at the same time, don’t find to be particularly striking? What I can say about Hamlet 2, however, is that it’s actually funny, a trait that instantly separates it from the rest of said dumping..." Read More >>>

THE ROCKER - (2 out of 4 Buckets) - "It’s tough for me to write a review for The Rocker that is as negative as the one it deserves because, all told, I’d probably pop the movie into my DVD player and watch it again right now if the opportunity presented itself. There’s something inherently pleasant and digestible about the picture’s airy entertainment-value; it is as charming as a project of its relatively-low level of intelligence could be. Nonetheless, given that The Rocker presents itself as a comedy, there’s something clearly missing from the equation: fresh belly..." Read More >>>

BOTTLE SHOCK - (3 out of 4 Buckets) - "In 1976, many of California’s Napa Valley winemakers sent their products to be judged in a blind taste-test against the most prestigious of French bottles. The contest was largely thought to be a joke—how could a group of musky Californians’ wine possibly beat that of sophisticated cultivators of a product that practically ran through their veins?—but it soon became a harsh reality-check for the snooty judges. As Bottle Shock informs us, the Napa Valley producers won in a landslide, marking an occasion that may not..." Read More >>>

VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA - (3 out of 4 Buckets) - "There seems to be a common consensus held in the critical community that Woody Allen’s best work is behind him, that his cinematic outings in the 2000s (with the exception of Match Point) have been total disasters. I’ve never bought into this notion, figuring it to be a mindless exercise in comparison. Yes, Allen’s recent films may not be able to measure up to Annie Hall’s brand of observant romantic-comedy or Take the Money and Run’s goofy hilarity, but they all represent decent entertainments. The Curse of the..." Read More >>>