Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 25,2012

Activity 4 a bore

Having racked up serious box office and generally favorable reviews with the first three Paranormal Activity films, the producers of the series have finally gone to the well once too often. The fourth

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 18,2012

Horrific Sinister succeeds despite flaws

By Chuck Koplinski

There is no question that Scott Derrickson’s Sinister is a flawed movie. While we expect horror films to test the boundaries where an audience’s suspension of disbelief is concerned, this

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 18,2012

More than meets the eye in Psychopaths

By Chuck Koplinski

There is far more at play in Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths than witnessing acts of gruesome violence committed by a collection of certifiable nuts. Well, there is that but the subtext that

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 11,2012

Affleck’s engrossing Argo

By Chuck Koplinski

If there’s a recurring theme in the three films Ben Affleck has directed, it’s that he’s fascinated with how characters react when they’re trapped. Gone Baby Gone dealt with th

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 11,2012

Pleasant surprises abound in Boom

By Chuck Koplinski

The last thing I expected when walking in to see Kevin James’ latest, Here Comes the Boom, was to be surprised by it. Wouldn’t you know it – I was – and pleasantly at that. The

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 11,2012

Neeson caters to his audience in Taken 2

By Chuck Koplinski

Having stumbled upon a new career path with Taken, Liam Neeson has become the action star of the moment, parlaying the success of that film – which grossed a quarter of a billion dollars worldwi

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 4,2012

The Master a challenging look at the displaced

By Chuck Koplinski

Since its premiere early this month at the Toronto International Film Festival, much of what’s been written about P.T. Anderson’s The Master has focused on the film’s complexity as w

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, October 4,2012

Pitch an off-key effort

By Chuck Koplinski

Jason Moore’s Pitch Perfect tries very hard to be liked, so much so that it winds up grating on the audience rather than charming it. Set in the world of collegiate a cappella competitions (yes,

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, September 27,2012

Realism makes Watch one of year’s best films

By Chuck Koplinski

Cop movies are a dime a dozen and writer/director David Ayer has done more than his fair share to keep the genre alive. Having written the Oscar-winning Training Day, and the Kurt Russell feature Dark

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, September 20,2012

A joy to see Eastwood in Trouble

By Chuck Koplinski

If you’ve followed Clint Eastwood’s career behind the camera, you’ll find that he’s an intensely loyal collaborator. He works with the same crew from one picture to the next an