Search for State

In the arena of American animated films, Pixar represents the Gold Standard and it has been thus since the arrival of Toy Story in 1995. Over that span of more than 25 years, the animation studio has been responsible for very few duds so, when...

In the decade of the 1980s, when the teen movie was redefined as either a juvenile sex comedy or a bloody slasher movie, Lucas became one of the few exceptions to try a different approach. Even today, thirteen years after it first played in theate...

Lucky Number Slevin is a fascinating case study of what might result if Quentin Tarantino directed a script written for Alfred Hitchcock. From a screenwriting perspective, this is pure suspense, with twists that would appeal to The Master, includi...

A single phrase might be all that's necessary to review The Lucky One: "A Nicholas Sparks movie." Sure, Scott Hicks (Shine) is the director and Will Fetters (Remember Me) gets a screenplay credit, but the average movie-goer who settles into a theat...

If one was to apply loose definitions, The Lucky Ones could be considered a "war movie." In reality, however, this is less about how the characters react under fire than how they react when removed from it. The Lucky Ones is a road movie and, in ...

Like most movies concerned to one degree or another with the subject of gambling, Lucky You addresses the themes of obsession and redemption. The film loosely follows the trajectory of an "addiction movie," although it's less grim than pictures of...

Ang Lee's follow-up to Brokeback Mountain is Lust, Caution. The film's receipt of an NC-17 by the MPAA was dutifully noted by the mainstream media, as was the distributor's (Focus Features) decision not to appeal the rating. NC-17 movies aren’t r...

Putting aside the cheesy TV commercials and theatrical trailer, it’s clear that M3gan has more on its agenda than being the next iteration of a Chuckie-style slasher movie. A case can be made that this production, directed by Gerard Johnstone fr...

Have I ever before used the phrase “unspeakable dreck”? I don’t remember; maybe I was saving it up for this movie. It’s not the worst thing I have seen but it’s among the year’s most soulless, unentertaining slogs. The first M3GAN was ...

On the surface, Ma is seemingly just another entry into the generic horror/thriller category about a seemingly good-hearted stranger who worms her way into the bosom of a group before showing her true (psychopathic) tendencies. Although these ...