NYC Film Critic

Woah, what’s going on here?  First I enjoyed Paranormal Activity 3 and now here comes A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, another strong third installment in an ongoing franchise.  I explain why Harold and Kumar’s Christmas adventure is the best mainstream 3D film since Avatar in my review over at TWoP.  Follow the links below for this week’s content.

A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas
Tower Heist
I Want My DVD
Community Recap
American Horror Story Recap
American Horror Story Q&A
TV on DVD
Pan Am Recap
The Weirdest Christmas Movies Ever Made
Eddie Murphy’s Cinematic Crimes

Roland Emmerich’s Anonymous makes the case that William Shakespeare wasn’t the author of his plays.  Fortunately (or unfortunately if you subscribe to the Oxfordian school of thought) it doesn’t make that case at all well.  Read my full review at TWoP by following the link below.

Anonymous: Full of Sound and Fury Signifying Nothing
Indie Snapshot: The Rum Diary, The Double, The Other F Word
Major Director Change-Ups
I Want My DVD
Attack the Block Exclusive Scene
TV on DVD
Pan Am Recap
American Horror Story Recap
Community Recap
Halloween Movies
’90s Animated Series That Deserve a Comeback
Stars That Should Have Stayed Forever Young

Hey, you know what movie is a lot of fun?  Paranormal Activity 3.  I’m not kidding.  The third installment in the hit horror franchise is the best of the series so far.  I explain why in my review over on TWoP, where I also rave about this week’s indie psychological thriller Martha Marcy May Marlene.  Follow the links below.

Paranormal Activity 3: Third Time’s the Charm
Indie Snapshot: Martha Marcy May Marlene, Margin Call, The Swell Season
Long Delayed Sequels
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
American Horror Story Recap
Pan Am Recap
Best Movie Sword Fights
Documentary Directors Crossing Over to Fiction

Kick off your Sunday shoes–Footloose is back in theaters in a brand spanking new version. Directed by Craig Brewer and starring to very attractive professional dancers/amateur actors, this remake largely follows the same beat as its predecessor, but is entertaining (if not particularly profound) in its own right. And as remakes go, it’s a damn sight better than the remake of The Thing that’s opening today as well.  Read my reviews of both films, along with the rest of my TWoP content from the week, by following the links below.

Footloose and The Thing: A Tale of Two Remakes
Indie Snapshot: The Skin I Live In and Father of Invention
I Want My VOD
Remake Do’s and Don’ts
That Avengers Trailer
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
American Horror Story Recap
Community Recap
Remaking ’80s Action Movies with Female Leads
Biggest Years of the Stars of The Big Year

George Clooney gets political in the new drama The Ides of March, which he co-wrote, directed and starred in.  It’s a well-acted, competently-made movie that nevertheless manages to be vaguely disappointing.  I discuss why in my review over at TWoP.  Follow the links below to check out this week’s content.

Decoding The Ides of March
Indie Spotlight: The Human Centipede II and Dirty Girl
George Clooney, Actor vs. George Clooney, Director
I Want My DVD
Robot Duels We Most Want to See
TV on DVD
Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison Doc
American Horror Story recap
Up All Night recap
Community recap

It’s only September, but Jeff Nichols’ marvelous sophomore feature Take Shelter is sitting on top of my Best of 2011 list.  Read my review of this utterly unique American parable and the rest of this week’s TWoP content by following the links below.

Take Shelter: The Storm is Threatening
Margaret: The Only Living Girl in New York
50/50: Life As He Knew It
New York Film Festival Preview
Long Delayed Films
Life After Bond
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
Community Recap
Serious Subjects, Funny Movies
Act Together, Stay Together?
TV’s Worst Alpha Males

The fall’s first big Oscar hopeful, Moneyball, arrives in theaters today.  Originally set to be directed by Steven Soderbergh, the movie instead bears the imprint of Bennett Miller, best known as the director of Capote.  I’m sad that we’ll never get a chance to see what Soderbergh planned to do with the material, but the movie Miller produced is pretty good on its own terms.  Read my review at TWoP as well as the rest of this week’s content, including my detailed analysis of the Prime Suspect pilot.

Moneyball: How To Succeed In Baseball Without Really Trying
Killer Elite: Why It Disappoints
Puncture: Captain America, Attorney-At-Law
Seven Movie Characters Whose Pasts Are a Lie
Using Sabermetrics to Analyze the Moneyball Movie
I Want My DVD
Prime Suspect Recap
TV on DVD
Six Degrees of Jason Statham
Building a Real All Star Team

I don’t generally get very personal in my reviews, but in the case of The Lion King it felt appropriate somehow.  I wanted to work through how this viewing of the film differed from my first seventeen years ago and also talk about how the movie played for my young son, who tagged along with me.  I’m quite pleased with the way the finished piece turned out; maybe we’ll try it again when his first viewing of Star Wars rolls around.  Check out that review and the rest of this week’s TWoP coverage below.

The Lion King: Fathers and Sons 
Drive: Ease on Down the Road
Restless: Live Like You Were Dying
Straw Dogs: Unleash the Hounds
I Don’t Know How She Does It: And I Don’t Care
Up All Night: Mommy’s Alright, Daddy’s Alright
TV on DVD
I Want My DVD
I Want My VOD
Working Moms in Movies
Ryan Gosling: Cinema’s Worst Boyfriend?

Two men enter, one man leaves in the MMA-themed Warrior, an irresistibly corny and completely addictive male melodrama/fight movie.  Also out in theaters this weekend is Steven Soderbergh’s excellent virus procedural Contagion.  Reviews of both movies lead off my round-up of TWoP stories from the past week.

Warrior: Gonna Fly Now
Contagion: Captain Trips Rides Again
Best Movie Title Bouts
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
How to Recognize the Signs of a Cinematic Outbreak
Hey, You Look Familiar…
9/11: 10 Years, 10 Movies

Jessica Chastain and Helen Mirren embody the past and present versions of the same Mossad operative in the new thriller The Debt, a passable potboiler that plays like the cinematic equivalent of good airplane fiction.  The actors elevate it, the ending almost ruins it.  Get my full thoughts over at TWoP and also check out my review of Kevin Smith’s latest and a post about the state of horror movies today.

The Debt: Keep On Playing Those Spy Games 
Red State: God’s Lonely Man
The Sorry State of Contemporary Horror Movies
I Want My DVD
TV on DVD
The Six TV Superhero Shows That Should Be Rebooted
Kevin Smith’s Most Hateable Characters
Five Thoughts About The Hunger Games Trailer