The 4th of July weekend box office was down significantly from last year. And while many analysts are surprised by the poor results over the holiday, I predicted that “Tammy”, “Deliver Us from Evil”, and “Earth to Echo” would all struggle, mostly because they aren’t designed to be Independence Day blockbusters. Last year, “Despicable Me […]

DUSTY CROPHOPPER AND I WANT TO WISH ALL OF YOU AN INCREDIBLE FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND! Lights Camera Jackson (a.k.a. Jackson Murphy) began his career as a film critic in 2006 at the age of 7. To date, Jackson has written nearly 1,000 reviews of new releases and, in total, has seen more than 1,500 films. […]

We’re six months into the year and there have already been several excellent films. Here are the 10 best from the First Half of 2014: 1. “Locke” Tom Hardy gives a nomination-worthy performance in writer/director Steven Knight’s moving and effective psychological drama. The premise couldn’t be simpler: a man driving his car, talking to a […]

Time for my movie awards for the first half of 2014: Best Picture “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” “Edge of Tomorrow” “Heaven is for Real” “The LEGO Movie” “Locke” Best Director Josh Boone – “The Fault in Our Stars” Steven Knight – “Locke” Doug Liman – “Edge of Tomorrow” Phil Lord and Christopher Miller – […]

July 2014 could go down as one of the wackiest scheduling months in Movie History. The extended Independence Day weekend, which starts on Wednesday the 2nd, features a uniquely weak crop of new releases, because none are designed as blockbusters. The Melissa McCarthy comedy “Tammy”, Relativity Media’s “E.T.” knock-off “Earth to Echo”, and the Eric […]

What a difference 25 years can make…or maybe not. Hollywood clearly likes to recycle, and this strategy has produced some huge franchises – many which have been reborn since their inceptions in ’89. 25 years ago this week, Tim Burton’s big-screen version of “Batman” was released. Starring Michael Keaton as the Caped Crusader and Jack […]

Not every film is specifically designed to gross $250 million or receive numerous nominations (aka “Awards Bait”). Some directors simply want to make movies for the best possible reason: to tell interesting stories in interesting ways. This seems to be the case with Clint Eastwood’s adaptation of the Broadway musical “Jersey Boys”. From the trailer, […]

A month ago I wouldn’t have predicted that the romantic drama, “The Fault in Our Stars”, would not only win, but dominate, the first weekend of June at the Box Office. Based on a 2012 novel about two teenagers who form an unlikely friendship and end-up falling in love, “Fault” easily beat competitors “Maleficent” and […]

Following an excellent, three-year stint by Neil Patrick Harris, Hugh Jackman is back as host of this Sunday’s Tony Awards. With Harris busy on Broadway with “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” (for which he is up for Lead Actor in a Musical), bringing back Jackman, who hosted from 2003-2005, was the smart move. But can […]

Edgar Wright, who directed British comedy duo Nick Frost and Simon Pegg in a trio of hits: “Shaun of the Dead”, “Hot Fuzz” and “The World’s End”, was all set to take on the epic Marvel superhero blockbuster “Ant-Man”, starring Paul Rudd. But a week ago, Wright left the project due to some major creative […]