Skip to Content

‘Godzilla’ a genuinely exciting spectacle with incredible setpieces

Godzilla Written by Max Borenstein Directed by Gareth Edwards USA, 2014 It’s been almost 16 years to the day since Roland Emmerich attempted and failed to bring Godzilla to a wider American audience, a mistake almost as gargantuan as the monster itself was an accident of nuclear radiation and mutation. Surprisingly, the concept of making …

Read More about ‘Godzilla’ a genuinely exciting spectacle with incredible setpieces

‘Jaws 3D’: Cheap Carny Tricks and SeaWorld Sharks

The summer of 2001 was especially tense. Having just been through an unending presidential election, the U.S. seemed especially on edge. Even before the towers fell in September, the media was already pushing a large, unknown insurgency, it’s face gracing the cover of Time just a month before. The infamous “Summer of the Shark” cover is …

Read More about ‘Jaws 3D’: Cheap Carny Tricks and SeaWorld Sharks

Alien Invasion Month: ‘Independence Day’ – Over the top fun

Independence Day Directed by Roland Emmerich Written by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich USA, 1996 Independence Day is one of my favorite movies. That’s not exactly a fact that I’m proud of but it’s the truth. Every time it’s on TV I watch it, I know all the lines, I have it on special edition …

Read More about Alien Invasion Month: ‘Independence Day’ – Over the top fun

The audacity of dope: ‘White House Down’ a goofy, fun ‘Die Hard’ rip-off

Subtlety is a skill Roland Emmerich has not mastered. Subtlety is not, nor ever will be, in his repertoire; it is likely as alien a concept to him as opposable thumbs are to all non-human creatures. Most of the time, his thudding portentousness doesn’t serve him well as a director, with previous misfires like The Day After Tomorrow, Godzilla, and 2012 lining his filmography, movies that are big and loud enough to make money despite being massively, unpleasantly stupid.

Read More about The audacity of dope: ‘White House Down’ a goofy, fun ‘Die Hard’ rip-off

Is ‘Liberal’ Hollywood to Blame for America’s Gun Culture?

On December 14, 2012, a young man named Adam Lanza broke into a primary school and fatally shot 26 people in the small village of Sandy Hook, Connecticut. Twenty of them were children, aged 6 or 7. On that day, no matter where I went or what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about the …

Read More about Is ‘Liberal’ Hollywood to Blame for America’s Gun Culture?

2012

2012 Directed by Roland Emmerich This review is SPOILER ridden so beware. Then again, if you’ve seen any disaster movie made since 1960 then nothing will be a surprise. Trust me. Judd Apatow, Tina Fey, Ben Stiller, Will Ferrell and all the other maestros of contemporary comedy should be afraid, as there is a new …

Read More about 2012