Search for John

The main problem with Coach Carter can be summed up simply: too much sermonizing. In a way, it's hard to fault the film, because its heart is in the right place. The movie wants to impress upon teenagers that education is the first step on the pa...

The “so bad it’s good” tag often applied to co-called “cult classics” is as elusive a categorization as there is in cinema. Most of the time, it evolves organically from the failure of a movie. Planning campiness is more apt to result in...

Tag line #1: "An action-packed international thriller starring Bruce Willis, Sigourney Weaver, and soon-to-be Superman Henry Cavill." Tag line #2: "A box office disaster with perhaps the most uncharismatic action hero of the decade in a preposte...

It's not often that, when the primary thread of a movie fails, the secondary storylines are compelling enough to make the overall experience a positive one. However, that occurs with Cold Mountain, a Civil War era romance where the love affair fiz...

Know, O Prince, that between the years when the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities, and the years of the rise of the sons of Aryas, there was an age undreamed of... Hither came Conan the Cimmerian, black-haired, sullen eyed, sword in han...

Since the release of Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton has become a Hollywood staple. Rights to each new novel are quickly optioned, and the resulting film is on the market as soon as ILM can get the special effects done. Congo is the fourth adapta...

James Wan is among the best horror directors working today. His filmography reads like a “best of” modern scary movies, and The Conjuring 2 is a worthy addition to the list. Although the successful box office performance of The Conjuring ...

The Conjuring represents a member of an increasingly endangered species: the R-rated horror movie that relies more on suspense and scares than blood and gore. That's not to say there are no instances of horrific, stomach-churning visuals in The Con...

Beware the third installment of any series. For even some of the best-conceived and executed franchises, the third time is often not the charm. It’s when things start to fall apart. It’s when ideas dry up. It’s when the creators, writers...

For his follow-up to City of God, Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles has elected to adapt John Le Carré's The Constant Gardener into movie form. A slow-burn thriller simmering with international intrigue, the book would at first seem too long ...