I’m a regularly contributor on Picktainment.com, joining in on a weekly movie review podcast. It’s a perfect way for me to keep my hand in it and I love talking with Picktainment’s top honcho, Phil Wallace, along with other movie aficionados. Here’s my conversation abo… Read full post »

Step 1: Watch too many plot plots. You know you’re in for some kind of visual treat when you see a Tim Burton/Johnny Depp collaboration, and Dark Shadows doesn’t disappoint. Yet, it is hindered by an abundance of storylines and a lack of cohesiveness.

Step 2: Listen to a Barnabas’… Read full post »

Us Picktainment podcasters talk about how we marveled over The Avengers.

Step 1: Gain a perspective. Director Richard Linklater paints a wonderfully vivid depiction of what happens when good is pushed just a little too hard by evil.

Step 2: Live in Texas. Set in a small town in the Lone Star State, the film is based on a true story… Read full post »

I talked with the Picktainment fellows about the fourth installment in the American Pie series. Even though I was never an avid fan, I felt a sort of comfort and familiarity revisiting the Pie characters 10 years later.

On this week’s Picktainment Movie Show we review three new films. First, Kit Bowen and Nate Freiberg offer lukewarm feelings on Mirror Mirror. Then Bowen and Michael Benedict criticize Wrath of the Titans.

  Read full post »

On this week’s Picktainment Movie Show, we devote the entire program to The Hunger Games. HGFiresideChat.com co-hosts Adam Spunberg and Savanna New join Picktainment senior writer Kit Bowen to review the upcoming film.

&… Read full post »

On this week’s Picktainment Movie Show, Kit Bowen, Sarah Simmons, and Jennifer Spelkin offer high praise for 21 Jump Street.

  Read full post »

This week’s Picktainment Movie Show, Scott Youngbauer praises Silent House. Then Hiko Mitsuzuka, Andrew Payne, and Kit Bowen pan John Carter.

  Read full post »

Step 1: Don’t cut down any trees or The Lorax is going to have to come down and kick your ass! Or maybe I should say butt, since this is a family movie.

Step 2: Keep it simple. Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax is really a simple message about industrialism and… Read full post »

It’s difficult putting into words how I feel about the end of “Harry Potter,†but this last installment in what has turned out to be an incredibly entertaining movie franchise does everything it’s supposed to – and more. In fact, let me count the ways – and I’ll warn… Read full post »

We all remember a teacher we didn’t like growing up – the one who smelled bad or who hated you just because or was a mean as a snake. But I’m pretty sure we never had a educator quite like Elizabeth Halsey.

As portrayed by Cameron Diaz, Elizabeth is a very,… Read full post »

Step 1: Go ahead and pop this Penguin treat. The Jim Carrey comedy is the kind of brain friendly family entertainment perfect for a summer movie.

Step 2: Add penguins. Seriously, you could be watching the worst movie ever made and if they happen to stick in an adorable penguin, suddenly… Read full post »

Step 1: Find the mark. X-Men: First Class is first rate. It’s definitely the best in the X-Men franchise, but prequels can be tricky. In the X-Men series, there have been two – Wolverine, which takes a look at how Logan (Hugh Jackman) becomes the knives-for-fingers badass mutant we kno… Read full post »

Step 1: Begin by chuckling. Bridesmaids might not be the best comedy ever, but there are some individual scenes that will leave you in a heap on the floor.

Step 2: Then starting giggling. We all know how excruciatingly funny SNL alum Kristen Wiig can be, but up to this point,… Read full post »

Step 1: Step in. The Water is a little too tepid but at least the Elephant steals the show.

Step 2: Remember the book is usually better. Based on the bestselling novel by Sara Gruen, Water for Elephants is a romantic tale set in the 1930s Depression about the demise of… Read full post »

Step 1: Go, IMAX! The brilliant IMAX technology works its magic again with the fascinating and heartwarming nature tale Born to Be Wild.

Step 2: Start with a dedicated idea. This documentary, narrated by the always good Morgan Freeman, follows the efforts of two animal activists. In the lush r… Read full post »

Step 1: I’m afraid to say something negative about the Christian-based Soul Surfer for fear of going to hell. So I won’t.

Step 2: Uplift the spirits. While there’s a fair amount of cheesy dialogue and Lifetime TV sensibilities, the film still touches your heart. Soul Surfer i… Read full post »

Step 1: Take a look. The uber-stylistic, action-packed  Sucker Punch definitely titillates the ocular senses. I mean, it’s some bad-ass eye candy, no question about it.

Step 2: Try not to have high expectations. This isn’t the kind of film you go see if you want zippy dialogue or… Read full post »

Step 1: Battle: Los Angeles is only a mediocre addition to the alien invasion genre.

Step 2: Poor L.A. It’s always getting beaten up either by weather anomalies (Day After Tomorrow), giant meteors (Deep Impact), the Mayan doomsday calendar (2012) – and yes, many alien invasions staking… Read full post »

Step 1: How do you take a short fairy tale warning kids not to talk to strangers and stretch it into a feature film? In Red Riding Hood‘s case, not very successfully.

Step 2: Start with a red cloak. All the classic elements are in there: the girl, the red cloak,… Read full post »

Step 1: Don’t mess with a classic. Beastly should be considered a romantic flick by the tweener set but fails as a modern-day take on the classic Beauty and the Beast tale.

Step 2: Stick to the facts. As the story goes, there’s a vain prince who thinks of no one… Read full post »

This is my article from Picktainment.com about this year’s Best Picture Oscar race…

Now that the 10 nominee thing has sunken in with the Academy voters, this year’s crop of Best Picture contenders round out 2010 well. You have the blockbusters (Inception, Toy Story 3), the su… Read full post »

Step 1: Not Taken. While Unknown isn’t as compact an action thriller as Taken, it still manages to hold your attention.

Step  2: Think The Bourne Identity meets Frantic. The story focuses on Neeson’s Dr. Martin Harris, a scientist who is traveling to Berlin with his lovely wife, L… Read full post »

Step 1: If you’re an Adam Sandler fan, you’ll probably just go with this one. If not, you might just go with another movie.

Step 2: Repeat. Just Go With It is regurgitated Sandler rom-com schtick, light on story, heavy on babes in bikinis. Sandler plays Danny, a plastic surgeon who… Read full post »