ENTERTAINMENT
July 3, 2012 | Matt Pais and RedEye movie critic
When trying to identify the quintessential American movie, you could look at a timeless classic - and a celebration of all-American love, cinema, song and dance - like "Singin' in the Rain. "Or you could go to something grittier like "12 Angry Men,"which encapsulates the American judicial system and its vulnerability to group-think as well as the importance of standing up for your beliefs against a vocal, close-minded majority. Sorry, "Independence Day. " Despite your title, alien invasion doesn't really fit here.
ENTERTAINMENT
November 22, 2011 | By Matt Pais and RedEye movie critic
*** (out of four) “Hey, kids! Wouldn't you love to see a movie that touches on the early days of filmmaking? You might learn about how frames are spliced together to create an illusion on screen! And there's lots of steam coming out of pipes and trains. In 3-D!” Fine. So this dignified family adventure from Martin Scorsese - yes, that Martin Scorsese - doesn't scream “Huge hit with short-attention-span kids,” despite the presence of, uh, some fun-looking wind-up toys.
ENTERTAINMENT
October 9, 2012 | Matt Pais, @mattpais and RedEye movie critic
Good grief? Coinciding with the comic strip's 65th anniversary, Charles Schulz's "Peanuts" gang--that's Snoopy, Charlie Brown, Lucy and the rest, if your memory needs a reboot--will hit the big screens Nov. 25, 2015, a press release announced this morning. My first thought, of course, is concern that "Peanuts" will be adapted with the same pop culture references and obnoxious sense of humor as the recent movies based on "Alvin and the Chipmunks" and "The Smurfs. " Fortunately the script for the as-yet-untitled movie has been written by Schulz's son Craig.
ENTERTAINMENT
January 8, 2013 | Matt Pais, @mattpais and RedEye movie critic
No matter who wins or loses Sunday, the 2013 Golden Globes ceremony obviously will be awesome because Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler are hosting. Really: That should be enough to make even the most awards show-averse movie/TV fans tune in. Yes, there will probably be plenty of frustrating developments once the winners are announced but I'm trying to stay positive here, people. In 11 categories of the movie department, here's who I want to win, who will actually win and who really, really needs to not win. Best Picture, Drama.
ENTERTAINMENT
January 23, 2012 | By Curt Wagner and RedEye
Lifetime's "Drew Peterson: Untouchable" movie generated record viewership, the network said Monday, averaging about 5.8 million total viewers when it aired Jan. 21. I wonder how many of them made watching it a drinking game. It'd be easy to do. Each time Rob Lowe, playing Peterson, squints, you take a gulp. Each time his accent turns to Wiconsin instead of Chicago, you take a sip (you'd be drunk too fast if you were gulping). Each time the movie "convicts" him, you pick a friend to do a shot.
ENTERTAINMENT
March 8, 2012 | Matt Pais and RedEye movie critic
**1/2 (out of four) Maybe Elizabeth Olsen should stick to big cities. In the tremendously unsettling “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” escaping a cult for a quiet lake house wasn't enough to calm the demons in Martha's (Olsen) head. Now in “Silent House,” returning to a childhood vacation home quickly goes from Sarah (Olsen) admiring the water nearby to being trapped in a house without power, where she hears the footsteps of an intruder. Incidents like this make people want a vacation from their vacation.