To be perfectly honest, if you’re not already a fan of the alternative rock band known as Eels, their latest release, End Times, will probably not be the album to win you over. First listeners will most likely make the mistake of labeling the work as “sad bastard music,” as the majority of the [...]

Miramax Films
92 min., dir. by Mike Judge, with Jason Bateman, Mila Kunis, and Ben Affleck
With “King of the Hill” coming to a close after a long run of 13 seasons, fans of Mike Judge had little time to mourn the end of the Hill family’s adventures when the animation icon released his fourth feature film [...]

Universal Pictures
153 min., dir. by Quentin Tarantino, with Brad Pitt, Eli Roth, and Til Schweiger
The hype of Inglourious Basterds has many people saying it marks Quentin Tarantino’s best film in years. After seeing the movie for myself, I have only one question to those making that statement: How can you tell?
Not to say that this [...]

Key Creatives
112 min., dir. by Neill Blomkamp with Sharlto Copley, William Allen Young, and Vanessa Haywood
According to the film’s trailer, “There are many secrets in District 9.” But what’s not a secret is that this movie is the must-see hit of the summer, with both critics and audiences agreeing that District 9 is a science [...]

Warner Bros. Pictures/Dark Castle Entertainment
123 min., dir. by Jaume Collet-Serra with Peter Sarsgaard, Vera Farmiga, and Isabelle Fuhrman
There are plenty of imperfect films out there that I enjoy for the simple reason I am able to ignore their flaws, as they are usually few and far between. But for one to enjoy Orphan, the film [...]

Universal Pictures/Apatow Productions
146 min., dir. by Judd Apatow with Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, and Leslie Mann
Whether you’re able to catch Funny People in the theater or wait for its release on DVD, my advice remains the same: watch the movie, laugh your guts out, and then never think about the film ever again. Perhaps [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #25
Entertainment Films
100 min., dir. by David Schwimmer, with Simon Pegg, Thandie Newton, and Hank Azaria
Upon this film’s release, a lot of critics pulled no punches in giving this comedy a bad review. After my own viewing of Run Fatboy Run, I’m convinced these so-called “experts” were only expressing their disappointment [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #25
Camelot Pictures
93 min., dir. by Marc Schoelermann, with Milo Ventimiglia, Michael Weston, and Alyssa Milano
It’s always a shame when a potentially great concept is ruined by poor execution. Such is the case with the new horror/thriller, Pathology, a film that never fails to perk interest when described by word of [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #25
Any current fans of this Montreal indie rock band will not be disappointed with their sophomore effort. Although no great experimenting is present here compared to their first release, Wolf Parade shows much wisdom by holding off on branching out too much. The second album is often the most [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #24
Insight Film & Proud Mary Entertainment Productions
93 min., dir. by Harris Goldberg, with Matthew Perry, Kevin Pollak, and Mary Steenburgen
It appears that during his hiatus from motion picture appearances, Matthew Perry has been working on his game. After leaving audiences wondering for four years when their favorite “Friend” would come [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #24
Sony Pictures Classics
92 min., dir. by Anand Tucker, with Colin Firth, Juliet Stevenson, and Jim Broadbent
After a long stint of playing the festival circuit (beginning in Telluride, Colorado in September of last year and concluding this past April in Florida with both the Miami and Sarasota film festivals), When Did [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #23
Picturehouse/New Line
79 min., dir. by Seth Gordon, with Billy Mitchell, Steve Wiebe, and Walter Day
You know there’s something special about a film when its content is about grown men competing for the top score of a classic arcade game, yet it does not limit its audience to this strange niche. [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #23
Babelsberg/Sony Pictures Classics
98 min., dir. by Stefan Ruzowitzky, with Karl Markovics, August Diehl, and Devid Striesow
Although the title sounds like what could be the name of a comedic heist flick, in reality The Counterfeiters is the farthest thing from it. Nominated for an Academy Award for best foreign language film, [...]

Originally appeared in Verbicide issue #22
Scott Rudin Productions
92 min., dir. by Noah Baumbach, with Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Jack Black
If Margot At The Wedding, the new comedy/drama from director Noah Baumbach, receives any Oscar and/or Golden Globe nominations this coming year, it had better be exclusively for acting. An unfulfilling storyline and a [...]

Originally published in Verbicide issue #22
Fox Searchlight Pictures
92 min., dir. by Jason Reitman, with Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, and Jason Bateman
Juno, the latest film from Jason Reitman, director of Thank You for Smoking, is currently being hailed as this year’s, Little Miss Sunshine. Personally, I have no problem with that title whatsoever considering [...]