Produced by Guillermo del Toro and directed by Jorge R. Gutierrez, The Book of Life is a new animated film that feels fresh, but makes a few missteps to keep it from becoming an animation classic. Continue reading
Movie Reviews
Doug Reviews: Kill the Messenger
Imagine for a moment that in the midst of the War on Drugs in the 1980s, the U.S. Government turned a blind eye to the import of crack cocaine to American city streets—most specifically, Los Angeles—because the profits were going to fund the rebel Contras in Nicaragua. Now imagine that an investigative reporter broke this story in 1996. That’s the story behind Director Michael Cuesta’s true-life film Kill the Messenger. Well actually, that’s only half the story. Continue reading
Episode 51: Gone Girl / The Good Lie / The Book of Life
In Episode 51, Doug and Dirty A delve into David Fincher‘s latest Gone Girl before covering The Good Lie and delivering an early review of The Book of Life. Be warned, the Gone Girl review goes into heavy spoilers (11:26 – 31:52). Then, Doug and Dirty A give their picks from Fincher’s filmography. Continue reading
Doug Reviews: The Judge
On the surface, The Judge looks like it should be a homerun. However, the final product is an overlong, but enjoyable movie with serious identity problems. Continue reading
Doug Reviews: Dracula Untold
Have you ever wished that Dracula was a superhero and not a monster that lures unwitting victims to him in order to drink their blood? Well, that’s what you get with Dracula Untold, which, not coincidentally, Universal is hoping will launch a shared universe for their monsters like Frankenstein and the Mummy a la Marvel Studios. Continue reading
Doug Reviews: The Good Lie
Though she’s the prominent face on the film’s poster, Reese Witherspoon is not the star of The Good Lie. No, that honor goes to the men who play three of the Sudanese “Lost Boys” in this touching and ultimately safe film. Continue reading
Doug Reviews: Gone Girl
Like his 2011 adaptation of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Director David Fincher’s Gone Girl is a very faithful interpretation of the source material. Of course, it helps a bit when the novel’s author is also the screenwriter. What Fincher and Author Gillian Flynn have created for audiences is not just a great movie, but the first must-see film of the fall. Continue reading
Episode 50: 5 for 50
For the milestone 50th episode of The Hodgepodge Podcast, Doug and Dirty A discuss a slew of films including: A Walk Among the Tombstones, The Equalizer, The Maze Runner, This is Where I Leave You, and The Skeleton Twins. Continue reading
Doug Reviews: The Skeleton Twins
Indie dramedy The Skeleton Twins comes from Director Craig Johnson and stars Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig, who both channel the chemistry they honed on Saturday Night Live to create a funny, touching story of siblings trying to find their way in the world. Continue reading
Doug Reviews: The Equalizer
For what seems like years, I’ve heard about Denzel Washington’s adaptation of the CBS television show The Equalizer. The movie has finally arrived and Washington has reunited with his Training Day director, Antoine Fuqua to deliver a solid revenge thriller that could have been tightened here and there to make it one of the greats. Continue reading
The Hodgepodge Podcast 