23 Feb 2014

Are You Not Entertained?!: "Pompeii," "3 Days to Kill," and "Winter's Tale"

By Mike Schulz

Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje and Kit Harington in PompeiiPOMPEII

About a half-hour into Paul W.S. Anderson's Pompeii, the film's protagonist - a gladiator-turned-slave amusingly named Milo - hears the unfamiliar sound of the nearby Mount Vesuvius preparing to erupt. "It is the mountain," says Milo's comrade Atticus. "It grumbles from time to time." So do movie reviewers, and this latest 3D action spectacle by the director of Mortal Kombat, Death Race, and a trio of Resident Evil flicks would, at first glance, appear to be exactly the sort of thing I'd personally grumble about: a predictably corny, derivative, overscaled costume party with loads of generic violence and nothing in the way of subtlety or emotional nuance.

Yet while it's easy to name the movie's most direct influences, Gladiator and Titanic chief among them, what I didn't at all expect was for this swords-and-sandals outing to be so thoroughly, cheerfully indebted to 1970s disaster epics in the vein of The Towering Inferno and The Poseidon Adventure; Pompeii, to its cheeky credit, is kind of like 1974's Earthquake with the ancient Roman city cast in the role of Los Angeles.

19 Feb 2014

Voting Like a Voter: Predicting, and Preferring, the 2014 Academy Award Winners

By Mike Schulz

Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a SlaveWhen it comes to the films and individuals that win Academy Awards, it's easy to get defensive, and even a little pissy, about voters' collective choices. "How could those people ever vote for ______," you find yourself asking, "when ______ is so obviously better? Don't they have any integrity at all?!"

16 Feb 2014

Let's Remake a Deal: "RoboCop," "About Last Night," and "Endless Love"

By Mike Schulz

Joel Kinnaman and Gary Oldman in RoboCopROBOCOP, ABOUT LAST NIGHT, and ENDLESS LOVE

I caught a triple-feature this past weekend, and lemme tell ya, it made me feel like a teenager again. Specifically, it made me feel 19, my age when the original RoboCop debuted; 18, my age when the original About Last Night debuted; and 13, my age when the original Endless Love debuted. I don't know what confluence of release strategies resulted in this trifecta of Reagan-era remakes, but I guess I should be grateful to Hollywood for the collective trip down memory lane. I'd be more grateful if the movies themselves were better, but ... .

11 Feb 2014

Plastics: "The Lego Movie," "The Monuments Men," and "Vampire Academy"

By Mike Schulz

The Lego MovieTHE LEGO MOVIE

Two of the characters in The Lego Movie are Lego Minifigures of Superman and Green Lantern, the latter of whom, here, is an obsequious suck-up whom the Man of Steel can't stand. That's a good joke. These decided non-friends are voiced by Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill, who famously played best friends in 21 Jump Street. That's a good in-joke. The Lego Movie is directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, who also directed 21 Jump Street. That's a good in-in-joke. But the news that this new animated release is not only the cleverest, most hysterical comedy since 21 Jump Street, but an altogether stronger, more audacious piece of work than at least 90 percent of everything Hollywood gave us last year? No joke at all.

07 Feb 2014

Mike Schulz with Dave & Darren on 104.9

By Mike Schulz

Going to the cineplex this weekend? Every Friday morning at 9 a.m. you can listen to Mike Schulz dish on recent movie releases & talk smack about Hollywood celebs on the Quad City Rocker 104.9FM, with the fabulous morning team of Dave and Darren. The morning crew previews upcoming releases, too.

Or you can check the Reader Web site and listen to their latest conversation by the warm glow of your computer.

Never miss a pithy comment from these three scintillating pundits again.

Friday, February 7, 2014: After an appreciation of the gone-far-too-soon Philip Seymour Hoffman, discussion of "Labor Day," "That Awkward Moment," and "All Is Lost," previews of "The LEGO Movie," "Vampire Academy," and "The Monuments Men," and the guys' pitch for a really great-sounding movie: A comedy -- maybe starring Bill and Ted? -- in which time travelers convince a young Adolph Hitler that his artwork is actually sensational, thereby changing the future for the much, much better.

mp3

02 Feb 2014

Peach Pits: "Labor Day"

By Mike Schulz

Gattlin Griffith, Josh Brolin, and Kate Winslet in Labor DayLABOR DAY

Once upon a time, in the world of writer/director Jason Reitman, there was a magical kingdom called Labor Day.

02 Feb 2014

There's a Hole in Your Vessel, Dear Redford, Dear Redford ... : "All Is Lost" and "That Awkward Moment"

By Mike Schulz

Robert Redford in All Is LostALL IS LOST

Continuing to earn cool points following their November booking of Enough Said - a marvelous movie that finally landed in our area several months after its initial national release - schedulers for Moline's Nova 6 Cinemas have done it again with the booking of All Is Lost, another critically acclaimed title that managed to bypass the Quad Cities' first-run cineplexes.

26 Jan 2014

Plains Spoken: "Nebraska," "Gimme Shelter," and "I, Frankenstein"

By Jeff Ignatius

Will Forte and Bruce Dern in NebraskaNEBRASKA

After opening nationally (in larger markets) in November, Alexander Payne's comic elegy Nebraska - nominated for six Oscars, including Best Picture and Director - finally hit Quad Cities cineplexes this past weekend.

18 Jan 2014

Now Is the Midwinter of Our Mild Discontent - Notes on a Quadruple Feature: "Devil's Due," "Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit," "Ride Along," and "The Nut Job"

By Mike Schulz

Allison Miller in Devil's DueJanuary 17, 10:05 a.m.-ish: If it's January, it must be time for our annual demonic-possession thriller in the guise of a "documentary," and yet it still seems strange to be watching Devil's Due. The devil may be, but a mere two weeks after the release of the latest Paranormal Activity, were we audiences really due for another of these things?

16 Jan 2014

The 2014 Academy Award Nominees

By Mike Schulz

Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Amy Adams in American HustleThe big shock of this morning's announcement of nominees for the 86th Annual Academy Awards? The almost complete lack of shocks, especially given such an insanely competitive year.

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