“We didn’t know if, when we broke up, these songs would ever get released,” said Colin Bray, guitarist for the band. “I’m really glad they did. I think they’re some of the best songs we’ve written.” The disc was recorded pre-breakup in the band members’ houses, and the cover was conceived by them and local […]
video
Posted inArts & Culture
Dungeons & Dragons / Dungeons & Dragons: Wrath of the Dragon God
That the sequel went straight to video should tell you just how successful the first one was: not at all. Directed by Courtney Solomon, “Dungeons & Dragons” is a tedious adventure that tries hard to wow viewers with spectacle, forgetting about the story. As it stands, tricksters and wannabe magicians Ridley and Snails (Justin Whalin […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Hatchet II
His “Hatchet II” — shown briefly in this unrated version in AMC Theaters before being suddenly and unexpectedly booted — is made precisely for the growing fan base surrounding 2006’s original “Hatchet,” and nobody else. That film simultaneously sought to pay homage to (and even parody) the slasher anti-heroes of 1980s horror, while establishing a new […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Futureworld
The original Michael Crichton effort is something of a seminal sci-fi film of that decade, but Richard T. Heffron‘s is often forgotten, even if it’s not bad. Both take place at the high-tech amusement park Delos, which specializes in fulfilling adults’ fantasies, planting them in Western, Roman and medieval scenarios. This one picks up after […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Inside Job
One could read its 576 pages in an attempt to understand it all, but director Charles Ferguson (“No End in Sight”) does the same thing — and certainly a better job of it — in 108 minutes, in the documentary “Inside Job.” Nominated Tuesday for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, the film has […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The Cobweb
Reminiscent of many an Arthur Hailey adaptation, the 1955 film concerns the goings-on of the mental cases who reside in the psychiatric facility known as The Castle, as well as the people who work there — primarily one Dr. Stewart McIver, which you’ll hear as “MacGyver” each and every time it’s spoken. Stewart (Richard Widmark) […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Love at First Kill
Also known as “The Box Collector,” the film finds its biggest star in Margot Kidder, now a far, far cry from Lois Lane as Beth, one kooky, miserable old hag who lives alone with her long-suffering, socially awkward son, Harry (Noah Segan, “The Brothers Bloom”). They’re both on meds of some sort, but things look […]
Posted inNews
Sketchy deal?
Along with most of the people there, she was scheduled to make an initial appearance that day — a legal proceeding in which the accused appear before a judge and receive a copy of the charges against them. The woman’s attorney excused himself for a few minutes before returning and motioning for the woman to […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Psychosis
For example, in “Paper Man,” Jeff Daniels is a novelist under extreme pressure to deliver a new book, so he goes to a remote location where things in his head start to distract him. In “Psychosis,” Charisma Carpenter is a novelist under extreme pressure to deliver a new book, so she goes to a remote […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Paranormal Activity 2
Granted, with the first film being more or less “just all right,” incoming director Tod Williams (who helmed the underrated John Irving adaptation “The Door in the Floor”) didn’t have to jump very high to clear the bar set by Oren Peli, but he jumped even higher than that. This sequel is actually a prequel, […]