Michael Brun

14 Oct 2010

Horror season begins with dud

The first 10 minutes of “My Soul to Take” are hilarious and absurd – and intentionally so. The rest of the movie is just as funny, but I am not so sure it was supposed to be.

07 Oct 2010

Reviewers have high remarks for film about Facebook’s origin

Director David Fincher and writer Aaron Sorkin have succeeded in deflating the ego of an entire generation with “The Social Network.” The movie depicts Facebook inventor Mark Zuckerberg as a spiteful, vindictive egotist, who created the site as an act of revenge against a woman who dumped him.

30 Sep 2010

Oliver Stone film parallels current economic crisis on Wall Street

I will admit that I had no idea what was going on during large chunks of Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. Global economics is a complicated subject, and this movie makes little effort to dumb it down for you.

23 Sep 2010

Affleck falls short in completing masterpiece

With its talented cast, memorable characters and dedication to authenticity, “Heat” is widely considered the gold standard for heist movies. To say that “The Town” looks and feels inspired by “Heat” would be an understatement.

17 Sep 2010

Afterlife completes ‘Resident Evil’ series

From Paul W.S. Anderson, the industry’s best worst director, comes “Resident Evil: Afterlife,” the fourth installment in the video game-adapted franchise. It is a highly stylized affair that emphasizes the so-called Rule of Cool over the more restrictive, and less entertaining, laws of physics.

07 May 2010

Visually-stunning horror remake divides reviewers

Thrilling, frightening and even a little bit funny… is how I would describe the previews before “A Nightmare on Elm Street.” The only thing dragging them down was the the heartless, predictable and entirely unnecessary film that proceeded them.

30 Apr 2010

Cast, cinematography fail to deliver

With its sexy cast and vibrant style, “The Losers” feels like a bomb that’s primed to explode. I kept waiting for that big explosion, but unfortunately it never came.

23 Apr 2010

Reviewers divided about characters in newest superhero film

Although “Kick-Ass” certainly lives up to its title, i think that it was named after the wrong character. The real star of the film is 13-year-old Chloe Moretz as the pint-sized assassin Hit-Girl. Forget Pretty Pretty Princess; all this diminutive dynamo wants for her birthday is a pair of imported butterfly knives.

15 Apr 2010

A wholesome moral doesn’t equal a good film

It’s hard to hate a film like “Letters to God.” When you adapt a true story about a boy with brain cancer whose heavenly correspondences change the life of an alcoholic mailman, you pretty much get a free pass from criticism.

09 Apr 2010

Disasterous 3D effects, dull acting ruin 1981 cult-classic

A remake of the 1981 cult-classic, “Clash of the Titans” is a colossal waste of time. Although the original had a clunky story and cheesy special effects, it was also campy and fun.