DecentFilms.com

Review: Dark Shadows (2012)

Fri, 11 May 2012 12:46:07 EST

If you are in love with the 1970s and Johnny Depp, perhaps you will enjoy this. Andrew O’Hehir says he knew he would love the film when he spotted a banana-seat Schwinn bicycle leaning against the front porch of Collinwood in an early scene. All right. But then comes a “happening” featuring Alice Cooper as himself (!), with a disco ball and cage dancers. At Collinwood. Is this really anyone’s idea of a good time?

Post: SDG’s Top 5 Superhero Movies

Fri, 04 May 2012 06:24:08 EST

In my Avengers review I wrote, “If The Avengers isn’t necessarily the best superhero movie ever made, it is unquestionably the most superhero movie ever made.“ That, of course, raises the question: What is the best superhero movie ever made?

Post: On the Air: Catholic Answers Live, 5/4/2012

Thu, 03 May 2012 14:10:05 EST

This Friday, May 4 I'll be appearing on the first hour of “Catholic Answers Live” (6pm–7pm EDT).

Review: The Avengers (2012)

Thu, 03 May 2012 06:47:09 EST

If The Avengers isn’t necessarily the best superhero movie ever made, it is unquestionably the most superhero movie ever made — and, in that capacity, it is more than well-made enough to take comic-book entertainment to unprecedented levels. We might possibly see a better film later this summer, but if there’s a more enjoyable popcorn action movie this year than The Avengers, I’ll eat my hat.

Post: The Pirates! Band of Misfits (60 Second Review)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:29:55 EST

The Pirates! Band of Misfits / In an Adventure with Scientists! in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.

Post: The Cabin in the Woods (60 Second Review)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:26:52 EST

Cabin in the Woods in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.

Post: Chimpanzee (60 Second Review)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:24:36 EST

Chimpanzee in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.

Post: The Hunger Games (60 Second Review)

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 08:23:06 EST

The Hunger Games in 60 seconds: my “Reel Faith” review.

Review: The Pirates! Band of Misfits / In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012)

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 19:38:30 EST

An Aardman film is always an exercise in absurdity, but The Pirates, directed by Peter Lord (Chicken Run) and Jeff Newitt, is possibly their silliest ever. This is the kind of film in which people say things like “Blood Island! So called because …it is the exact shape of some blood!” And: “You can’t always say Arrrrr! at the end of a sentence and think that makes everything all right.” And: “London town: the most romantic city in the world.” (Followed by: “London smells like Grandma!”) Those crazy Brits!

Article: Jane Goodall on Chimpanzees, Language and the Soul

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 21:18:20 EST

Disneynature’s Chimpanzee, the latest family-friendly nature documentary from Earth directors Alastair Fothergill and Mark Linfield, depicts a surprising twist in the early life of a young chimpanzee nicknamed “Oscar” living in the Taï Forest in the Ivory Coast. Dr. Jane Goodall, the world’s foremost expert in chimpanzees, has seen the film, and discussed it with me via phone a couple of days ago.

Review: Chimpanzee (2012)

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 09:55:03 EST

Disneynature’s Chimpanzee has the makings of a great nature documentary. It takes us places other films haven’t and shows us sights we haven’t seen on any screen. Visually, it’s a triumph of intripid nature documentary filmmaking, with an extraordinary and heartwarming twist in the lives of a chimpanzee community. Yet like other recent nature flicks, including Arctic Tale and African Cats, it’s wrapped in increasingly tiresome, condescending kiddie-movie packaging. It’s like discovering a rare dish prepared by eminent chefs, drizzled with waxy treacle and stuffed in a Happy Meal box.

Post: On the Air: Catholic Answers Live, 4/13/2012

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 12:59:34 EST

This Friday, April 13 I'll be appearing on the first hour of “Catholic Answers Live” (6pm–7pm EDT).

Review: We Have a Pope [Habemus Papam] (2012)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:58:54 EST

In a way it’s like the antithesis of a Dan Brown novel. Brown’s stories peer with feverish, lurid imagination at the inner workings of the Catholic hierarchy, discovering all manner of ridiculous subterfuge, ruthlessness and skulduggery. Moretti’s film hardly peers at all. It’s good-natured and inoffensive, regarding the cardinals with gentle amusement. But there’s no complexity or ambiguity, no depth or insight.

Post: We Have a Pope [Habemus Papam] (60 Second Review)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:58:53 EST

We Have a Pope in 60 seconds: My “Reel Faith” video review.

Post: The Kid with a Bike (60 Second Review)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:58:52 EST

The Kid with a Bike in 60 seconds: My “Reel Faith” video review.

Post: 21 Jump Street (60 Second Review)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:58:51 EST

21 Jump Street in 60 seconds: My “Reel Faith” video review.

Post: Wrath of the Titans (60 Second Review)

Sat, 07 Apr 2012 15:58:50 EST

Wrath of the Titans in 60 seconds: My “Reel Faith” video review.

Post: Saving the Titanic on PBS

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 20:22:59 EST

Saving the Titanic, a docudrama airing this month on PBS, sheds light on an untold page from the heroic side of the ledger. Combining traditional documentary with speculative historical dramatization, it highlights the story of the engineering crew, firemen, electricians and stokers who labored below decks to keep power flowing to pumps and lifeboat winches, first hoping to save the ship and then striving to delay the inevitable as long as possible to save as many lives as possible.

Review: Mirror Mirror (2012)

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:54:40 EST

What’s the last movie you saw that created an imaginary world that was actually beautiful, bursting with color and beauty and inspiration? A world that reminded you of the feeling you had as a child the first time you saw Dorothy open that door on the Technicolor world of Oz? A world you would actually like to enter and walk around in?

Review: Wrath of the Titans (2012)

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 12:32:27 EST

“Let’s have some fun,” says one god to another, suggesting that they “put on a show.” The moment comes late in Wrath of the Titans. Very, very late. I don’t remember the response, if any, but “Why start now?” would have been appropriate.