— by CAM SMITH — I consider myself to be a fairly enthusiastic supporter of Bill Paxton and his quirky cinematic oeuvre. He’s insanely fun in pop-corn classics such as “Weird Science,” “True Lies” and “Near Dark,” and genuinely compelling and powerful in more serious fare l[...]
Author Archive
A Clip from ‘Tron: Legacy’
— by CAM SMITH — Disney is pulling out all the stops in promoting the bejeezus out of “Tron: Legacy,” and who can blame them? They’ve dropped obscene amounts of money on a sequel to a cult fave that has as almost as many detractors as supporters. So, if the studio wants to turn thi[...]
The Top 5 Greatest Train Thrillers
— by CAM SMITH — As film history junkies may recall, the train famously ushered in the cinematic age in 1896 when Auguste and Louis Lumière legendarily terrified an unwitting audience with one-minute of footage, titled “L’arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat,” depicting a lo[...]
Is the Superman Movie Lining Up a Director?
— by CAM SMITH — While he may be more powerful than a locomotive, and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, Superman has had a mighty tough time carving out a place for himself in the current superhero movie world. Bryan Singer’s entertaining “Superman Returns” certainly d[...]
Trailer Talk: ‘Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics’
— by CAM SMITH — Despite having spent the last decade struggling to establish itself as a mainstream-friendly cinematic brand-name in line with its rival Marvel, DC Comics looks to be finally on track towards correcting past mistakes and striking while the superhero movie craze is still [...]
Trailer Talk: ‘Case 39’
— by CAM SMITH — Now that summer is coming to an end, and the time for high-concept event pictures is officially kaput, we’re getting to the point in the calendar year when Hollywood begins airing out its dirty laundry; the long-delayed efforts that have been gathering dust on the shel[...]
Short Film: Heavy Soul
— by CAM SMITH — There are few things more unbearable than surrealism done badly. Any unfortunate viewer who has attempted to wade through Richard Kelly’s “Southland Tales” or Rob Zombie’s “Halloween II” can attest to this. It takes sharp creative focus and a keen understandi[...]
Warner Bros. Getting ‘Green Lantern’ Sequel Ready
— by CAM SMITH — Despite having just wrapped principal production last Friday, and with almost a year until its grand public unveiling, DC and Warner Bros. must be feeling really confident that they’ve got something special in “Green Lantern.” In fact, they’re so confident that t[...]
Casting Updates for ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo’
— by CAM SMITH — As exciting as the prospect of “Zodiac” and “Seven” helmer David Fincher tackling Stieg Larsson’s “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” is, I have to wonder if the whole project will feel like really old news by the time December 2011 rolls around. After all, f[...]
Poster Peek: ‘Green Lantern’
— by CAM SMITH — Out of all of the comic-book superhero-to-film enterprises currently being assembled for major market release, “Green Lantern” is both the most curious and the most worrying. The first pic released of star Ryan Reynolds in the emerald suit was a disappointment, and w[...]
Trailer Talk: ‘Sucker Punch’
— by CAM SMITH — Honest to Pete, for the life of me I don’t quite understand the popular fan backlash against Zack Snyder. He’s one of the most dynamic visual directors currently occupying Hollywood’s big budget heavy-hitter ranks, reliably populating each of his dazzling works wit[...]
Ryan Reynolds’ ‘Green Lantern’ Look Revealed
— by CAM SMITH — Translating popular comic-book character costumes to the big screen is mighty tricky business in our present pop-culture landscape – where small roaming hordes of foaming fans can instantly destroy a film’s good buzz via social networking sites and message boards the[...]
Another Summer in Amity: 35 Years of Jaws Finale: Jaws: The Revenge
— by CAM SMITH — As unthinkable as it seems now, there was a point in time when a fourth “Jaws” film seemed like a good idea to someone. How and why is hard to determine, but it would seem that Universal decided, a few years after the release of “Jaws 3D,” that the cracks [&helli[...]