Recent Articles from Dave Taylor
Dave on film: Micmacs hits the mark
Skip the mainstream this week, I have a fun French film that I’m featuring instead. Can a film about a guy with a bullet lodged in his head trying to wreak revenge on the armory that made the ordinance be entertaining? Review: Micmacs Jean-Pierre Jeunet hasn’t directed many films, but they’ve all been terrific, distinctive […]
Dave on film: Don’t look twice at “Splice”
What would happen if smart genetic engineers mixed up an animal and human DNA soup and created a strange creature that produced a beneficial protein for medical research? Well, you won’t find out from Splice, because while it tries to be a horror film, it ends up being banal and stupid. Review: Splice Horror films […]
Dave on film: crass comedy or rollicking adventure?
Whether you’re feeling in the mood for an asinine, crass comedy or a rollicking adventure film that’s sure to be one of the blockbusters of the summer, I’ve got you covered with MacGruber and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Review: Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Prince of Persia: The Sands of […]
Dave on film: The Square—dark and gripping
If you’re sick of immoral behavior being characteristic of protagonists in modern Hollywood cinema, you’ll really enjoy the Australian limited-run import The Square, where bad decisions have overarching consequences in the classical film noir sense. Review: The Square In classic movies, we’re presented with a morality play, an examination of good versus evil, with a […]
Dave on firm: one stinker, one pleasure
Two films this week, one that stunk, and one that was a delight and well worth seeing: Repo Men and How to Train your Dragon. Interestingly, their box office results have reflected this view and it’s Dragon that had a solid opening weekend, one of the best ever for a spring animated film opening. Review: […]
Dave on film: entering the Green Zone
There was clearly more than met the eye in Desert Storm and our subsequent engagement in Iraq, but is it all a huge government conspiracy, as suggested by the new Matt Damon action film, Green Zone, or was it more layers of incompetence and misinterpretation? Either way, the bad news is that this is not […]
Pre-ordering the iPad
I don’t know what it is about Apple products that makes me just whip out my credit card, but damned if I don’t have one of each, even to the laptops. I think the only product that I’ve resisted is the Apple TV and that’s only because it doesn’t play Hulu content. When I started […]
The day Amazon cut me off
Here in Colorado, we’ve been battling a greedy bill from the state legislation that sought to tax all affiliate transactions by establishing a “nexus” for tax with any company that had any affiliate that sold more than $100 from that state. Effectively it would mean that all but the most unsuccessful of affiliate programs would […]
Dave on film: an absolutely A-1 Alice
This week I have one review, because it’s the film I want to encourage you to go see this weekend. It’s Tim Burton’s retelling and reimagining of Alice in Wonderland and, well, it’s pretty phenomenally cool. Review: Alice in Wonderland Lewis Carroll’s immortal story Alice in Wonderland has been brought to the big screen many […]
Dave on film: shuddering on “Shutter Island”
This week you have two choices: a safe, relatively shallow biopic about a brilliant thinking from the 1800s, or a creepy film about cops and insane asylums from one of the masters of cinema, Martin Scoresese. Which is a better choice for your weekend dollars and popcorn purchases? Well, as is often the case, that […]
Dave on film: a double dose of action from Luc Besson
Odds are, if you’re either a guy or one of those rare female fans of kick-ass action films, you know the works of French über-action director Luc Besson. He’s the creative force behind The Transporter, Taken, The Fifth Element, The Professional and La Femme Nikita and there’s no question in my mind at least that […]
Dave on film: bored at the “Edge of Darkness”
Am I the only one tired of tough cop films at this point? Maybe, maybe not. Apparently, though, after a rough few years, Mel Gibson has decided that going back to his roots is how he can reinvent and relaunch his career. Problem is, well, it doesn’t really work. Review: Edge of Darkness Mel Gibson […]