Weinberg's Big Fat 2012 Year-End Global Horror Cinema Summary Pajama Jammy Jam
As we close out another year, let's take some time to look back over the past 12 months in horror cinema. You're already here. You may as well just scan the damn lists, right? As always, please keep in mind...
Weinberg Reviews IN OUR NATURE, a Low-Key Character Film That Rings True
Sometimes you're just in the mood for a low-budget, four-character indie film in which a few flawed but very relatable folks deal with their low-key stresses, concerns, and issues in a way that, at the very least, rings true and,...
Weinberg Reviews FUNERAL KINGS, a Funny, Foulmouthed, Yet Humane Tale
Three 14-year-olds cause all sorts of trouble in and around their Catholic middle school. Sounds pretty familiar, perhaps, a bit obvious, and possibly even downright dull. I mean, who still makes movies about troublemaking teenagers these days? First-time fraternal-twin filmmakers...
Weinberg Reviews PUSHER, a Remake That Respects the Original
The easy way to approach an English-language remake of a (relatively) recent film is with ample doses of frustration and disdain. "How dare they remake a great film like [REC] / Let the Right One In / The Girl with...
Weinberg Reviews HEAD GAMES, a Sports Doc on Brains
After a while, certain documentary filmmakers start to feel like reliable friends. No matter what the topic of conversation might be, I've grown to trust the films of Ken Burns, Werner Herzog, and Steve James. It doesn't matter what...
Weinberg on Film: KILLER JOE Emerges as Highly Original
The filmography of celebrated director William Friedkin is a colorful one indeed. First-year film buffs will, of course, point to classics like The French Connection (1971) and The Exorcist (1973), while the more seasoned of the celluloid-obsessed will rattle...
TIFF 2012 Review: END OF WATCH, a Gritty, Realistic Police Story
If there's one filmmaker out there who is clearly and passionately interested in the psychology of modern police officers, it'd have to be screenwriter turned director David Ayer. Although his first release was the submarine thriller U-571, all of his...
Weinberg Reviews BRANDED, AKA "WTF Did I Just Watch?"
Every few years you stumble across something like Branded: A tonally retarded, editorially misshapen, and thoroughly amateurish film that -- here's the best part -- has delusions of insight, intelligence, and originality. OK, to be fair, this arcane Russian production...
Weinberg Reviews BACHELORETTE, a Refreshingly Profane Sex Farce
Let's get one slightly pertinent but ultimately unimportant thing out of the way before we begin: the lovably lewd new comedy known as Bachelorette is based on a play from 2008, which means it predates the smash hit Bridesmaids by...
Weinberg Reviews GET THE GRINGO
I'm not sure if Mel Gibson told his first-time director that he wanted his new movie to be a certifiably insane concoction of Walter Hill characterization and Sam Peckinpah brutality, but Adrian Grunberg's Get the Gringo feels like it just...
Weinberg Reviews MARGARET
What the hell is this? A 2.5-hour capital-D "DRAMA" movie about a teenage girl who says and does selfish things and causes all sorts of trouble for all the people around her? Why would I care about that? We already...
Weinberg vs. Kevin Smith on the Value of Film Criticism
For the record, I am a big fan of Kevin Smith's films. Aside from his two most recent offerings (Cop Out and Red State), I'd call Kevin Smith one of the most original and consistently funny voices in the indie...
Weinberg Reviews MOONRISE KINGDOM
Wes Anderson doesn't do formula. Love, hate, or ignore his movies, there's little denying that the man has a decidedly unique visual approach to cinematic storytelling, one that amuses many and leaves others cold. Personally, I have yet to see...
Oak Cliff Film Festival 2012 Review: JEFF Documents the Disturbing Dahmer
On the occasion of its screening at the Oak Cliff Film Festival, we present a reprint of Scott Weinberg's review from the film's world premiere at SXSW 2012There is no shortage of chintzy C-level horror movies that trade on the...
Weinberg Reviews THE AVENGERS
So here it is. After five Marvel movies, thousands of comic books, and millions of film geek dreams, it has arrived: the world's first big-time superhero team-up movie. Whether you grew up in love with Super Friends, Justice League, or...
Weinberg Reviews WRATH OF THE TITANS
We've become very advanced in how we watch movies. We know all about the technical angles, the budgetary concerns, the tracking, the box office numbers, the 3-D gimmick, and all the rest ... I think we've become a little too...
SXSW 2012 Review: JEFF Documents the Disturbing Dahmer
There is no shortage of chintzy C-level horror movies that trade on the infamous names of Gacy, Gein, and Dahmer, but there aren't quite as many documentaries about their unseemly behavior. On television, perhaps, and certainly from cable channels and...
SXSW 2012 Review: EXTRACTED, a Sci-Fi Memory Tripper
When you're an independent filmmaker with very limited funds but a pretty cool idea for a science fiction movie, you can either give up -- because who the hell makes sci-fi flicks with no money? -- or you can forge...
Review: THE FP
With the Trost Brothers' cult hit The FP opening in theaters tomorrow we now revisit our earlier review from the SXSW 2011 premiere. A common complaint directed at scrappy little indie comedies is that while they frequently have a clever...
SXSW 2012 Review: CASA DE MI PADRE
We all know that Will Ferrell can be funny. And we all know that Will Ferrell can be weird. But can the brave, silly, outrageous screen comedian be ... sweet? Charming? Quietly and nobly heroic while entrenched in a supremely...
