Oct 23

Oct 23 Richard Curtis' LOVE ACTUALLY

Back in the Day, the phrase “English ensemble actor film” brought to mind names like John Gielgud, John Mills, Alec Guiness, and Trevor Howard. Love Actually shows how far we’ve come when we can watch a blank-faced actor like Martin Freeman ( Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy) nonchalantly chatting away while feigning naked sex with his soon-to-be-girlfriend.

Oct 10

Oct 10 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy

I can take 5 or ten minutes of tongue-in-cheek, but a whole movie, plus annoying characters?

Jun 27

Jun 27 Peter Jackson's “DEAD ALIVE”

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Horror, Peter Jackson, Zombies

I’m not sure what this says about me and my taste in movies, but I think this film is some type of masterpiece.

Mar 14

Mar 14 Lynn Hershman-Leeson's TEKNOLUST

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Quirky, Science Fiction

This movie is like a breath of fresh air. The story is original, the acting is uniformly engaging, the dialog is witty, and it looks cheap in all the right places. It’s an in-your-face-reminder that you don’t need a bezillion dollars to create something fresh, entertaining, and original.

Mar 1

Mar 1 Spongebob Squarepants: The Movie

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Comedy, One of a Kind, Surreal

How many movies can show the main characters getting drunk on ice cream?

Feb 14

Feb 14 Sue Brooks’ “Japanese Story”

Dennis D. McDonald

Drama, Comedy, Quirky

Toni Colette (About a Boy) shines in this fishes-out-of water story.

Jan 17

Jan 17 Cédric Klapisch’s “L'Auberge Espagnol”

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy

Imagine what it would be like as a young man to spend a year in Barcelona with an apartment full of male and female students drawn from all across Europe.

Dec 27

Dec 27 Monster Man

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Horror

A bar full of amputee rednecks. Road trip guys chased by giant monster truck driven by faceless horror. Sexy scantily-clad hitchhiker. Giant pentagrams. Headless corpses. Fart jokes. Blood and gore up the wazoo. Road kill fantasies. This movie has it all.

Dec 25

Dec 25 Wes Anderson's THE LIFE AQUATIC WITH STEVE ZISSOU

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, One of a Kind, Wes Anderson

I admit it. I'm terminally unhip. But I really enjoyed this movie. I put it right up there with Buckaroo Banzai and Repo Man, and that's very good company.

Dec 25
Dec 25 Lemony Snicket's A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Fantasy

While watching this film I Imagined I was seeing an alternate universe view of a hybrid Charles Addams/Edward Gorey/Roald Dahl world as seen through the eyes of a child.

Nov 7

Nov 7 Saved!

Dennis D. McDonald

Comedy, Teens

Nov 6

Nov 6 Brad Bird's THE INCREDIBLES

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Comedy, One of a Kind, Pixar, Robots, Science Fiction

The house was packed. The movie was terrific. We had a great time. Another Pixar triumph. So what is so great about this movie? It’s funny, the action is nonstop, the characters are memorable, the animation excellent, the dialog is witty, the satire is clever.

Sep 15

Sep 15 George Plympton's MUTANT ALIENS

Dennis D. McDonald

Animated, Comedy, Quirky, Science Fiction

I saw this on the Sundance channel, so I didn’t get a chance to see any DVD extras. Still, that’s quite enough. As a great fan of animation I love Plympton’s quirky, jiggly style, and his lewd, schoolboy humor sometimes transcends its frequently sophomoric origins. (Really, how many visual representations of an erection can you think of?)