Even though it basically foundered in theatrical release, the 2005 comedic thriller Kiss Kiss Bang Bang marked a notable career comeback for stars Robert Downey, Jr. and Val Kilmer. Downey’s years of drug problems had left him close-to-unemployable for a while, and Kilmer had a reputation for being difficult to work with that made him… Read More L.A. Don’t Want You No More | Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005)
For our Film at 11 podcast this week, my young son learns a valuable life lesson from watching the 1984 sci-fi adventure The Last Starfighter, which unambiguously delivers the message that playing video games is the most important skill any kid can ever learn and may literally help save the universe. As a parent, I… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 6 | The Last Starfighter (1984)
Nostalgia for the 8-bit video game renaissance of the 1980s is such a compelling force that, even despite astronomical improvements in computing power over the decades, the format continues to live on in popular modern games such as Minecraft or Roblox. Every once in a while, Hollywood attempts to cash in with a movie either… Read More Let the Nerds Take Over | Pixels (2015) 3D Blu-ray
In this week’s episode of the Film at 11 podcast, I sit down with my son to watch the very kid-friendly baseball flick The Sandlot. It was a first-time viewing for the both of us. Afterward, we share our thoughts on the movie from both a parent’s and a Fifth Grader’s perspective. I was 19-years-old… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 5 | The Sandlot (1993)
Rob Reiner had a hell of a directing run through the 1980s and early 1990s. Just about every movie he made from This is Spinal Tap (1984) to A Few Good Men (1992) turned out to be an enduring classic. Arguably (and indeed strong arguments can be made for others), the best of them remains… Read More Two for Flinching | Stand By Me (1986) 4K Ultra HD
Up, up and away! Richard Donner’s 1978 Superman (typically marketed as Superman: The Movie, even though that’s not how it’s credited on screen) was a record-setting blockbuster in its day and has endured as a beloved classic of its genre. However, can the movie still hold the attention of today’s kids raised on the CGI… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 4 | Superman (1978)
Just one year prior to his big critical and commercial breakthrough with The Crying Game, writer/director Neil Jordan released a tiny Irish drama that slipped through the cracks, was noticed by almost no one, and has since been nearly forgotten to time. Despite all that failure, I managed to catch a screening of The Miracle… Read More You’ve Got to Be Kind to Your Characters | The Miracle (1991)
The Film at 11 podcast is back with its original co-host, my 11-year-old son Joseph. This week, I introduce him to Edward Scissorhands, the movie that may serve as a statement piece to define director Tim Burton’s entire career. Joseph tells me he doesn’t typically like movies with too much drama, and this one sure… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 3 | Edward Scissorhands (1990)
During its release dead-center in the middle of the 1990s, Crimson Tide felt more than a little like a watered-down retread of The Hunt for Red October, once again churning up Cold War paranoia for another (then) modern-day nuclear submarine thriller. Three decades on, the film’s plot about a megalomanaical Russian dictator plunging the world… Read More The True Enemy Is War Itself | Crimson Tide (1995) Blu-ray
For the second episode of our new Film at 11 podcast series, I’ve both chosen a new movie and switched 11-year-olds! This week, I introduce my son Thomas to director Joe Dante’s delightfully wicked dark comedy Gremlins. The kid was actually a little nervous going into this one. I first saw Gremlins when I was… Read More Film at 11 Podcast: Episode 2 | Gremlins (1984)
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