Every time a new film by the Coen brothers comes out, I dread having to hear from the same old so-and-so’s who can’t bear to slog through the Coens’ peculiar brand of pessimism. The words “bleak” and “cynical” often pepper their reviews rather liberally, along with some gasp of regret that the brothers don’t seem ... read more »

In the midst of this blogospheric firestorm revolving around Inglourious Basterds, one relatively mild concession we can all make is that, for one reason or another, the movie (like all of Tarantino’s work) certainly inspires people to watch other movies. One old favorite I found myself attracted to after seeing it was The Dirty Dozen, ... read more »

Even within the notoriously cheese-ridden genre of science fiction, few films can rival the alien visitation picture in terms of how much suspicion they arouse. Rare is the film that deals intelligently, meaningfully, and creatively with man’s first contact with extra-terrestrial life, and nearly every film that tackles the subject winds up as either an ... read more »