MoviePass Review: The Raven

I’m no Edgar Allan Poe expert. I know I like Poe, at least, I know I like what little of his work I’ve actually read. Ever since the “Tree House of Horror” episode of The Simpsons featuring “The Raven” as re-enacted by Bart and Homer, I’ve considered myself a fan. Still, though I wouldn’t call myself a Poe devotee, I have little doubt in my mind that were he alive to see James McTeigue’s The Raven, afterward Poe would rise nevermore.

Ambiguous Christmas – Part 3: Noir Before Christmas

Naughty… nice… these are the Christmas movies that are fun.

I don’t know about you, but when I think of Christmas one of the first things that comes to mind is film noir. Nothing says “holly jolly Christmas” like terse tough-guys and a fiery femme fatale. But, just in case you aren’t similarly inclined to equate noir with Noel, I’ve got two movies that show that crime and Christmas go together like Santa and reindeer, like tinsel and holly, like zombies and Easter.

My Favorite Films of the Last Decade #9

Rob: What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

I’d Buy That For A Dollar: Hot Tub Time Machine

I’m going to spend about as much time on this review as I think the filmmakers spent on this movie, which feels like a scant amount. Hot Tub Time Machine is the latest collaboration between John Cusack and his pal Steve Pink (High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank) and it is easily the least significant of the three.