Movies starring Pat

I suppose the best way to characterize The Forever Purge is as “red meat for Purge fans.” When you get this deep into a franchise, the tendency is to take the safe path and regurgitate earlier narrative beats, albeit with different “char...

The Founder, which chronicles the takeover and elevation of McDonald’s by Ray Kroc (Michael Keaton), works both as a character study and an examination of how ambition, even when harnessed for the “greater good”, can result in innoc...

The Fountain is Darren Aronofsky trying to be Stanley Kubrick. However, while Aronofsky is able to match Kubrick frame-by-frame for ending ambiguity, that's one of the few areas in which The Fountain keeps pace with 2001. Technically, this is an im...

Science fiction has always been fascinated by the "first contact" scenario: what would it be like if intelligent life from another planet decided to visit our little corner of the universe? Often, these tales are allegorical in nature, and there a...

The key to making a successful formula motion picture is to infuse it with energy and add a few original elements. The overall product might seem familiar but that doesn't mean it can't be an enjoyable viewing experience. This is true regardless ...

Suddenly, it seems that every romantic comedy is using the "best friend" branch of the formula. There are no doubt sociological reasons for this perhaps having something to do with the increasing popularity of the "friend with benefits" (a.k.a. "fu...

There seems to be little doubt that Ruben Fleischer, the director behind the well-received Zombieland and the less well-received 30 Minutes or Less, is a Brian De Palma fan. How else to explain the kinship that exists between Fleischer's latest, Ga...

1981’s Ghost Story, based on the bestselling novel by Peter Straub, is not a bad movie, especially for a horror film released into an era that was increasingly dominated by slasher movies. However, there’s a sense that the production not only ...

After 40 years and four movies, Ghostbusters is starting to feel as long-in-the-tooth as the returning members of the main cast. Although there are those who thought any considerations of continuing the principal timeline (as opposed to the one sp...

Early every autumn, there's one excellent studio movie released - a way to kick off the Oscar race and remind adult viewers that it's still possible to find intelligent, compelling movies in theaters. In 2014, that film is Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn...