— by ADAM DALE — L. Frank Baum created the wonderful world of Oz in 1900 and with 14 novels in the series, Oz has vast and interesting characters to draw upon and elaborate lands to explore. In 1939, “The Wizard of Oz” sky-rocketed Judy Garland to stardom. It remains the most signifi[...]
Author Archive
Review: Jack the Giant Slayer
— by ADAM DALE — After multiple delays, director Bryan Singer’s fairy tale epic “Jack the Giant Slayer” is finally in theaters. Inspired by tales of Nordic and Celtic origins, Jack and his adventures defeating giants has been in print since the early 18th century and has many adapt[...]
Snitch: Review
— by ADAM DALE — Although it has been fairly common to see athletes appear in films over the years, never before has one transitioned so well onto the silver screen as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. In a movie career that has now lasted more than a decade, Johnson took a professional wre[...]
Beautiful Creatures: Review
— by ADAM DALE — There has been much talk about what film or franchise will replace the niche left empty by the ending of the super successful “Twilight” franchise now that the fifth and final film has been released, and while “The Hunger Games” is looking to cash-in on the newly[...]
Identity Thief: Review
— by ADAM DALE — When you take two comedians such as Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman — each with a fine-tuned style that works for them and audiences don’t mind seeing again and again – and put them in a movie together, it would be pretty funny, would it not? Well, unfortuna[...]
Review: Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
— by ADAM DALE — In recent years, there has been a growing trend in Hollywood to take classic fairy tales or children’s stories/movies and re-imagine them with a more adult-targeted story in mind. In the past few years, we have seen the fairest of them all get an edgier tone with “Sn[...]
Review: Jack Reacher
— by ADAM DALE — While Tom Cruise has been a staple in the action genre for years, the aging star recently seemed to be slowing down his involvement in high intensity physical roles. However, if last year’s hit “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” proved anything, it’s that the 5[...]
Review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
— by ADAM DALE — Almost 10 years after the final film in the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy opened in theaters, we are being taken back to Middle Earth in a George Lucas/“Star Wars” way of storytelling by the man who started it all, Peter Jackson. Overcoming many hurdles along the w[...]
Review: California Solo
— by ADAM DALE — The aging rock star past his prime is an archetype we have seen in many different films, but writer and director Marshall Lewy has taken the subject and made it much more relatable and intimate in his portrait of a drunken ex-Brit pop musician struggling with a dark past[...]
Review: Buffalo Girls
— by ADAM DALE — In Thailand, one of the more popular styles of fighting is Muay Thai in which participants box, hit and kick their opponents, all of which can result in injuries ranging from bruises to broken bones. Well, what if I told that this was all being done by young children as [...]
Review: Rise of the Guardians
— by ADAM DALE — If you thought that Marvel’s “The Avengers” would be the only hero team-up film you would be seeing hitting the big screen this year, think again. Shifting from comic book heroes to fairy tales is the DreamWorks animated film “Rise of the Guardians,” which show[...]
Review: Lincoln
— by ADAM DALE — It is apparent by the number of films being made about the man that the legend and the lore of our 16th president, Abraham Lincoln, is as strong and powerful as ever. We have already seen the man fight the undead in the ridiculous but fun “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunt[...]
Review: Flight
— by ADAM DALE — While Robert Zemeckis’ last two films – “A Christmas Carol” and “Beowolf” — didn’t garner much praise from critics, there is no denying he has a unique style of storytelling utilizing a very specific visual language that plays very well in his new fil[...]
Review: Cloud Atlas
— by ADAM DALE — “Cloud Atlas” takes the writing/directing team of the Wachowski siblings (“The Matrix” trilogy) and pairs them with “Run Lola Run” Tom Tykwer to bring to life the novel by David Mitchell and turn it into a major blockbuster film. “Cloud Atlas” takes multi[...]