Search for Christophe Bec

Pitch Perfect looks, sounds, and feels like pretty much every other movie that features a singing or dancing competition. With all the effort invested in the musical numbers, the dramatic elements feel like warmed-over John Hughes. And it's not eve...

These tough economic times, with the national unemployment rate inching toward double digits, would seem to offer the perfect opportunity to release a movie about the difficulties faced by a recent college graduate in obtaining not merely the "perf...

It's difficult to pinpoint how R.I.P.D. fell into the rat-hole in which it exists. Is the problem the director? The screenwriters? Did the studio step in and sabotage the production team's creative vision? Regardless, in R.I.P.D., we have a legitim...

Not to be confused with the early-'90s Kieslowski film of the same name. Definitely not. Sometimes, casting makes a difference. Under the stewardship of the same director with the same screenplay, Red might be an enjoyable-but-forgettable late...

Runner Runner contains elements that, if properly nurtured and presented, could form the basis of a compelling film noir. Unfortunately, director Brad Furman is less interested in developing characters and building tension than he is in shaking the...

School for Scoundrels feels like a wasted opportunity. This is a case of a motion picture failing to unlock the promise of a ripe potential. As black comedies go, this one is too tepid to hit any mark by which a movie is deemed successful. The d...

The Sentinel is a movie in which one's perception of the proceedings will be impacted by a familiarity (or lack thereof) with the TV series 24. For those for whom that number means little more than "two dozen," The Sentinel is a Michael Douglas mo...

The second Shazam! movie, sequel to the 2019 modest success, is an undercooked casserole of cliched narrative elements, underdeveloped characters, juvenile humor, and a deus ex machina cameo. It embodies all that’s bad about modern superhero mov...

Sometimes it's hard to recognize the importance of seemingly inconsequential element like "tone" when it comes to a romantic comedy. This Means War is a case study in what happens when the filmmakers mess this up. The movie is being marketed as an ...

Whether suffused with tension or laced with humor, the heist movie has enjoyed enduring appeal since the heyday of film noir. Good heist movies proceed according to an established template that includes meticulous attention to the details of the sc...