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Those who would bundle Pump Up the Volume with the other numerous teenage-oriented movies to dot the '80s and '90s cinematic landscape do the film and themselves a great disservice. Pump Up the Volume is smart, perceptive, thought-provoking, and w...

Some critics, including Siskel & Ebert, are on the record stating that Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull, the story of boxer Jake La Motta, is the best film of the '80s. Since there are still a number of '80s films that I haven't seen, I don't fee...

The middle segment of the Red Riding trilogy, Red Riding: 1980, represents the best of the three films - a taut, bleak perspective of the power of pervasive corruption. By the end of this movie, it becomes clear that the rot within the Yorkshire p...

When it comes to the annual Liam Neeson cash-grab, I have learned to temper my expectations. A guilty pleasure would seem to be an attainable goal, although those instances have been more the exception than the rule lately. The problem is that Nee...

Liam Neeson action thrillers come in two categories: the straightforward variety that transform him into a superhuman force of nature and those that are grittier and a little more respectful of an adult audience's intelligence. Considering the wa...

Scent of a Woman is about Charles Simms (Chris O'Donnell), a Boston prep school senior, and the Thanksgiving weekend he spends working as the aide and companion of Lt. Colonel Frank Slade (Al Pacino), an embittered, lonely, blind veteran. The job,...

When it comes to period piece dramas, whether or not based on true-life characters and events, few countries accomplish these productions better than France. Séraphine, which chronicles slices from the life of 20th century painter Séraphine de S...

For about 75 minutes, Seven Psychopaths is a rollicking good movie - kinetic, clever, funny, and brutal. Then, inexplicably, it falls apart. Perhaps writer/director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges) didn't know how to end it, or perhaps his attempts to d...

The Shallows is almost a good movie. It misses by this much (hold thumb and index finger apart by an inch). For 75 of its 85 minutes, it’s a gripping woman-against-nature tale with tough, determined Nancy (Blake Lively) facing her own infirmiti...

One of the great action movie staples is the story of a grim survivor bonding with and becoming the protector of a child. This adoptive parent/child relationship, if handled with a degree of finesse, can add a layer of depth to high-caliber set pi...