Hollywood Resurgence Demands Creative Thinking … and Fast
It didn’t take a genius to predict “Wicked” fans wouldn’t silently sit through the musical’s big-screen adaptation. They wanted to sing, loud and proud, and it drove some audience members to distraction. It’s bad enough patrons yap through movies like it’s their private man cave. Now, amateur crooners are belting out “Popular” and “Defying Gravity.” …
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‘Day of the Fight’ Punches Above Its Weight Class
Jack Huston’s “Day of the Fight” begins with the familiar but becomes something truly special. To be specific, I was emailed a press note from the director that this isn’t a boxing movie but a movie about a boxer. Alright, but to not undersell it, the film does have a great boxing match as its …
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Sorry, ‘Die Hard’ Is NOT a Christmas Movie
My new web site boasts just one image and no content. For now. The subject, however, sparks endless social media debate each December. It started as a novel argument for friends and family who light-heartedly joked that “Die Hard,” the greatest action flick (or at least the most influential) of the previous century, is a …
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How ‘The Polar Express’ Changed Hollywood Forever
Robert Zemeckis’ “The Polar Express” (2004) represents not only a turning point in the filmmaker’s career but a no-turning-back moment in visual effects. Here was a film that showed us photo-realistic characters and vividly rendered CGI settings in a manner that was uncanny and chilling. Despite the limitations of the 2004 technology, Zemeckis’ film seemed …
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‘Kraven the Hunter’ Brings the Laughter (But It’s Not a Comedy)
There’s a reason Sony released the first eight minutes of “Kraven the Hunter” before its theatrical bow. It’s the best part of the supervillain origin tale. Faint praise alert! Director J.C. Chandor’s film isn’t as snicker-worthy as Sony’s other 2024 dud, “Madame Web.” But it’s close. A pumped-up Aaron Taylor-Johnson looks like the Marvel Comics …
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Is ‘Nosferatu the Vampyre’ the Creepiest Count Ever?
Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu the Vampyre” (1979) is among the most faithful film adaptations of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula.” It’s also one of the strangest. Herzog, Germany’s extraordinary chronicler of natural beauty, human obsession and unorthodox living, made a film that, while dutiful in the way it recreates the well-told vampire tale, is in line with his …
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‘Reagan’ Producer Shares What Gipper, Trump Have in Common
The biopic “Reagan,” starring Dennis Quaid as the nation’s 40th president, is now available on DVD, Blu-ray and digital on demand. Rob Bluey, president and executive editor of The Daily Signal, interviewed “Reagan” producer Mark Joseph over email to mark the occasion. Rob Bluey: “Reagan” exceeded box office expectations, earning over $30 million after its …
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Dylan Goes Electrifying in ‘A Complete Unknown’
A young Bob Dylan would be an awkward fit for 2024. The balladeer followed his own, mercurial muse. He defied conventional labels, eager to grow as an artist on his terms. Social media would eat him alive. So would the press. Happily, he came of age during the tumultuous ‘60s, the decade captured in the …
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