Movie Review: Take Me Home Tonight

This is another example of a film that sat on the shelf for a studio that was unsure of what to do with it. One of the reasons for this movie's use of cocaine, it was deemed to be a bit too much for good taste it would seem. Take Me Home Tonight apparently sat on the shelf for four years waiting for someone to rescue it from oblivion and give it a shot at the big screen. It was Ron Howard and Brian Grazer who helped save the film with backing from Imagine Entertainment. It has now taken its bow on the big screen and I do not understand the reluctance in releasing it. Sure, there is some drug use and bad language in it, but still. I suspect the resurgence of R-rated comedy in recent years has helped as well.

Movie Review: Cedar Rapids

Take one part The Hangover, mix in some Napoleon Dynamite, bake it in Middle America, serves whoever will watch. Cedar Rapids is a broad comedy with modest aspirations. An odd combination for a film that is this fitfully funny and could probably do well on the national stage, but it doesn't look like it is going to get the chance. The film, which made its premiere at Sundance, is funny, sporadically so, but it will make you laugh. It is a mis-matched buddy comedy mixed with a fish out of water comedy. Will you like it? Probably. Will you love it? No, not likely. It is a movie that will make you laugh in the moment but will forget about a little way down the line.

Movie Review: The Adjustment Bureau

Some say that Hollywood doesn't get Dick on the big screen. That may be true, Phillip K. Dick's stories may not be among the easiest to adapt from page to screen, but that doesn't stop them from trying. You could probably argue that they will never top or come near to Blade Runner, based on the short story "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" Admittedly, I really should read more of his work, but that i an issue for another time. This time around we get The Adjustment Bureau, based on the short "The Adjustment Team." Does it work as a movie? Yes, I have to say it does; however, I cannot speak to its success as an adaptation, not having read the story.

DVD Review: Jabberjaw - The Complete Series

"They call him jabber-jabber-jabber-jabber-jabber-jabber-jabber-Jaw!
The most futuristic shark you ever saw!
He's the finniest, funniest, shark you ever saw,
He's Jabber-Jabbber-Jabber-Jabber-Jabber-Jabber-Jabberjaw!
Jabber: I don't get no respect!!
JABBERJAW!!! N-YUK N-YUK N-YUK!!"

Music Review: Trap Them - Darker Handcraft

Twelve songs clocking in just over the 30-minute mark, Trap Them certainly know that it is better to get in and get out while the getting's good. Darker Handcraft, their third album, is concise, to the point, and poised to hand out a beat down. This music is in your face and wants to draw blood. Whether it is any good is a different case all together. You certainly can't take away their energy, aggression, or their ability to play as tightly as they do within the confined quarters of their sound, but I am not about to hand them the keys to my car. If you know what I mean.

Reviews in Retrograde: Alien: Resurrection

Critical Outcast isn't my first attempt at a website, I had a few stutter steps in the late 1990's and early 2000's. These attempts generated a whole bunch of poorly written, often very short and spoilerific reviews. I recently stumbled upon them in my archives and thought you may be interested in seeing some of these early attempts at writing. They are as they were then, I make no apologies for how bad or how short they are. Feel free to have at them with reckless abandon! I present to you: Reviews in Retrograde.

Netflix'ns: The War Game

Netflix'ns is a series of review shorts of films, new and old, seen on Netflix, be it DVD or streaming. For better or worse, I sat through these films and have lived to tell the tale. These are not so much reviews as just comments on the film watched. Some will be first time views, others will be revisits. This is a work in progress.

Movie Review: Drive Angry (SHOT IN 3D)

Wow. Guilty pleasure alert! Is it wrong of me to say that I loved Drive Angry? It is flawed, it a long drive away from the world of A-list material, and it stars everyone's favorite whipping boy, Nicolas Cage (well one of them anyway). This is a movie that attempts no cover-up of its B (Z?) grade material. I would say it embraces it, but even that would be wrong. This is a movie built on the lowbrow, bolstered by the preposterous, and succeeds on its execution of goofy, over-the-top material.

Reviews in Retrograde: Alien3

Critical Outcast isn't my first attempt at a website, I had a few stutter steps in the late 1990's and early 2000's. These attempts generated a whole bunch of poorly written, often very short and spoilerific reviews. I recently stumbled upon them in my archives and thought you may be interested in seeing some of these early attempts at writing. They are as they were then, I make no apologies for how bad or how short they are. Feel free to have at them with reckless abandon! I present to you: Reviews in Retrograde.

Movie Review: Hall Pass

Based on the trailers, I was not so sure this was going to be any good. It certainly looked like it would provide a few laughs, but is that what we really want? Have we been so trained to merely want a few laughs and nothing else? Yes, I recognize the fact that a movie that does nothing other than make me laugh can be good for me, but the line shouldn't be drawn there. What I like are those movies that generate laughs as well as provide some substance. It doesn't have to be much, it doesn't need to be unpredictable, nor does it need to be terribly insightful. All I ask is for a little bit of substance told in a genuine fashion.

Music Review: Dragged Into Sunlight - Hatred for Mankind

A lot of people seem to love this album, but if I said I did, I would be lying. I don't think its terrible and it may just be a great album as many seem to think. I think it is a good album, it is one that will definitely get under the skin, but there is something about it that just doesn't click. I cannot say that I care for the sporadic use of sampled audio clips throughout, they just stood out like a sore thumb and ruined the flow.