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BRETT MICHEL

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Review: Conned (2010)

"What is this, some kinda' fuckin' joke?" These are the first words uttered in writer/director Arthur Luhn's homegrown comedy.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 18, 2012

Review: Taken 2

Retired CIA operative Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) is still trying to remain an active part of the lives of his ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen) and his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace).

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 10, 2012

Any real-world comparisons between the Sarah Palin-like Laura Pickler (Jennifer Garner) and her African-American opponent, Destiny (Yara Shahidi), are encouraged in this over-churned movie that presents itself as a "cutthroat story of greed, blackmail, sex, and butter."

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 11, 2012

Review: How to Survive a Plague

In 1987, 26-year-old Peter Staley, a closeted Wall Street trader, was diagnosed as HIV-positive. Given less than two years to live, he addressed the International AIDS Conference . . . three years later. He's still alive.

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 02, 2012

Review: Solomon Kane

The last time Pete Postlethwaite died onscreen, he was being gunned down in The Town .

By: BRETT MICHEL | October 02, 2012

Review: Vulgaria

"Your attention please," announces a voiceover at the start of the new movie from Pang Ho-Cheung.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 25, 2012

Review: The Perks of Being a Wallflower

"Just smile and be yourself," advises Charlie's naïve dad. "That's how you make friends in the real world."

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 25, 2012

Review: House at the End of the Street

A project that's been around the block, Mark Tonderai's horror thriller was slated to go into production nearly a decade ago, with Jonathan Mostow (Breakdown) attached to direct.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 25, 2012

Review: Diana Vreeland: The Eye Has to Travel

Legendary Harper's Bazaar fashion editor Diana Vreeland (1903-1989) was the inspiration for both the Maggie Prescott character in 1957's Funny Face and Miss Maxwell in 1966's Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 25, 2012

Review: The Ambassador

Raoul Duke by way of Borat
Mads Cortzen is a diplomat on a mission.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 18, 2012

Review: For Ellen

A man/child gets a brief taste of adult responsibility
Barely visible in a close-up behind the wheel of his car until the flame from his lighter illuminates his angular profile, floundering rocker Joby Taylor (Paul Dano) promptly spins into a snow bank. It's going to be that kind of trip.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 18, 2012

Review: Resident Evil: Retribution

Creative bankruptcy
Uwe Boll gets most of the scorn, but has anyone done more to destroy hope of a decent movie being made from a video game than Paul W.S. Anderson?

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 18, 2012

Review: Dredd 3D

Slow-mo blow-ups
Johnny Knoxville and his merry band of Jackasses were on to something when they shot their last movie in 3D; their formula of slow-motion + stereoscopic imaging was just about the greatest thing ever.

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 20, 2012

Review: The Cold Light of Day

Mabrouk El Mechri's latest film
What I learned from the latest movie from Mabrouk El Mechri ( JCVD ): Madrid's police only work during the daytime, when they're everywhere (in the morning, they seem to be the only people on the streets).

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 11, 2012

Review: 2016: Obama's America

Not much of a movie or a documentary
Walking into Dinesh D'Souza and John Sullivan's political hatchet job, I overheard a woman exiting an earlier showing, breathlessly informing someone on her cell phone that "it's not a movie — it's a documentary!"

By: BRETT MICHEL | September 05, 2012

Review: For A Good Time, Call ...

The usual opposites-attract sludge
Other than Kevin Smith, is there anyone more toxic to a film than Nia Vardalos?

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 28, 2012

Review: The Bullet Vanishes

Lo Chi-leung's mystery actioner
Piracy has never been more rampant in China.

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 28, 2012

Review: Oslo, August 31

Surveying a failed life
Thirty-four-year-old Anders considers himself "a spoiled brat who fucked up."

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 21, 2012

Review: Sushi: The Global Catch

Mark S. Hall's documentary
Director Mark S. Hall begins his documentary by focusing on the traditions and history of raw-fish preparation, as demonstrated by Mamoru Sugiyama, master chef at Tokyo's Sushiko Restaurant.

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 23, 2012

Review: ParaNorman

Throwback to Amblin's summer fare of the '80s
This second feature from animation house LAIKA (the company behind Coraline ) is the type of holiday entertainment that kids (and adults) used to tune into annually, back when Rankin/Bass was creating wonders of stop-motion.

By: BRETT MICHEL | August 17, 2012

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