
G.I. Joe: Retaliation (review)
You get the G.I. Joes for Christmas. Hooray! You make them cross the demilitarized zone between the china cabinet and the DVDs near the TV to rescue Barbie. *pawft pawft pawft pawft* — enemy fire.
handcrafted film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
You get the G.I. Joes for Christmas. Hooray! You make them cross the demilitarized zone between the china cabinet and the DVDs near the TV to rescue Barbie. *pawft pawft pawft pawft* — enemy fire.
Gangster Squad! In color! This is blustery postwar mythologizing about the violent birth of the modern metropolis, all pulpy-bright even when it’s night…
“From the director of Zombieland” gives me hope. Rape jokes and the presence of Danny McBride do not.
Apocalyptic tales are always popular, for many reasons, but is there something so particularly appealing about zombie apocalypses that now we’re starting to see not only zombie comedies and zombie action horror but zombie dramas?
To Woody Harrelson in Zombieland, the Twinkie was a “spunky yellow delicious bastard.” But the totally objective, just-plain-fact of the matter is that Twinkies are nasty. And somehow, they are rendered even nastier when the creamy filling is green: Does it taste like wasabi? Or like mold? It’s an adventure in every bite! (Apparently, there … more…
Here are the most quotable movie lines of the year 2009. No ranking — newer quotes are posted at the top. [Warning: May contain spoilers.] “I’m craving a burger. Is that strange?” –Sergeant Matt Thompson (Guy Pearce), as he puts on his bomb suit, The Hurt Locker “If he wasn’t an insurgent, he sure the … more…
Nothing can stop the high-flying Disney flick: 1. Up: £5.2 million (2nd week; drops 19%) 2. Couples Retreat: £1.8 million (NEW) 3. The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus: £.9 milion (NEW) 4. The Invention of Lying: £.589 million (3rd week; drops 46%) 5. Zombieland: £.576 million (2nd week; drops 54%) (actual numbers, not estimates) With Up … more…
I really wish the U.K. box office numbers were available earlier in the week…: 1. Up: £6.4 million (NEW) 2. Zombieland: £1.2 million (NEW) 3. The Invention of Lying: £1.1 million (2nd week; drops 38%) 4. Fame: £.91 million (3rd week; drops 49%) 5. Love Happens: £.56 million (NEW) (actual numbers, not estimates) Unsurprisingly, the … more…
But zombies and mad science and sentient toys hold strong: 1. Couples Retreat: $34.3 million (NEW) 2. Zombieland: $14.8 million (2nd week; drops 40%) 3. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs: $11.5 million (4th week; drops 27%) 4. Paranormal Activity: $7.9 million (3rd week in release; 1st week in top 5) 5. Toy Story/Toy Story … more…
Today’s QOTD comes via David Sirota at AlterNet, who poses the idea not as a question — because he believes the knows the answer — but as a declarative: he knows why undead corpses dominating at the box office. Not surprisingly — since politics is Sirota’s purview — he thinks it has to do with … more…