ReelViews for PG-13 movies

Allegiant exemplifies what happens when a book or movie exists solely for the purposes of placating fans and maintaining a revenue stream. Craft and originality are swapped out for familiarity and sameness. Plot turns into a regurgitation of not only...

During the first two decades of his movie career, Cameron Crowe was a critical and popular darling, turning out titles like Fast Times at Ridgemont High (which he wrote), Say Anything (wrote/directed), Jerry Maguire (wrote/directed), and Almost Famou...

Usually, the problem with romantic comedies is that, although the "romantic" part of the equation works, the "comedy" aspect falls flat. With Along Came Polly, it's the other way around. The film, written and directed by John Hamburg (Safe Men), ...

It takes something lackluster like The Amazing Spider-Man 2 to remind viewers why movies like Captain America: The Winter Soldier are considered superior. In the superhero genre, it's too easy to become sloppy and fall back on clichés. The fifth S...

Where to go with Spider-Man? That's the billion dollar question that has plagued Sony Pictures. One of their flagship franchises, Spider-Man is a proven money-maker that could not be allowed to lie fallow simply because the creative engine ran out ...

Is it possible to satirize something that, in and of itself, often crosses the line into self-parody? That's a question that American Dreamz attempts to address. The objects of Paul Weitz's lampoon are two ripe ones: American Bush and American Id...

Over the years, the “Rip Van Winkle” concept (inspired by the central conceit of the Washington Irving 1819 short story) has been used by a number of films. The idea – a person hibernating for a number of years and waking up to a vastly ...

It's hard to believe that The American President was made by the same man responsible for the no-holds-barred satire of This Is Spinal Tap. Is there any element of American culture more ripe for the humorist's razor-sharp wit than presidential pol...

American Teen, which has captured audience awards and drawn standing ovations at film festivals from coast-to-coast, is the latest example of a growing genre called "DINO" (Documentaries In Name Only). Combining candid footage with staged events,...

Films can be tremendous vehicles for escapism - paths to freeing oneself from worldly concerns and considerations. They can also be a means of getting in touch with essential elements of humanity such as love, sacrifice, and mortality. Those three ...