Josh Tate

I confess to being a little confused by the enthusiasm for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland since my enjoyment of Burton's work has steadily waned over the years. For me, he peaked with Ed Wood. Despite all the lovely visual filigree that decorates his work, I find that I'm never particularly surprised by any of his films anymore. Sure, I'll see Alice in Wonderland, but that's mostly to see if Mia Wasikowska is as good...

A Prophet bridges insurmountable gaps: imprisonment and freedom, French and Arab, child and man. In its native France, the film was picked up like a Royale at the Louvre, sweeping the CÈsar Awards (the French Oscars) and scoring Cannes'...

A common complaint I heard from parents last year who took their kids to see Where the Wild Things Are was, "It was too dark for a kids' movie." To these parents I say, "You are fucking morons." The only kids for whom this movie is too dark are stupid and ordinary kids, and who cares what they think anyway. For me, Where the Wild Things Are was the latest oddball entry in Spike Jonze's...

Showing unexpected strength, Shutter Island held off all comers to claim its second straight weekend at the top of the box office heap ($22.2M | $75M). Yay Marty! Newcomers Cop Out ($18.5M) and The Crazies ($16.5M) placed second and third while Avatar just keeps fucking hanging around ($14M | $706.9M). Percy Jackson & The Olympians: Unusually Long Title is showing good legs in its third week ($9.8M | $71.2M), unlike Valentine's Day which continues to...

Some might say I am a Woody Harrelson apologist, but I think I'm just a really big fan. In any case, his latest film opens today and everyone should see it. Defendor is about a mentally unstable man who believes (and acts) as if he's a superhero (think Kick-Ass but more insane). Check out the trailer after the jump and try and tell him it doesn't look hilarious. A Prophet was one of the prestige...

Jesus H. Christ might have turned water into wine, but Maynard James Keenan goes for the hard stuff in Blood Into Wine, uncorking this weekend at Laemmle's...

I thoroughly enjoyed The Informant! and am actually really looking forward to catching it again on DVD. If only Soderbergh would spend all his time making flicks like it and no time making flicks like this. It is by no means a good movie, but Dead Snow was a rollicking horror of a film (though a lack of solid nudity does penalize it substantially). How can you beat Nazi zombies? The less said about Jersey...

James Nguyen first saw The Birds in junior high. It scared the hell out of him then, and it still does now. He hopes you'll be just as frightened by his new film Birdemic: Shock and Terror, which the writer/director/producer/casting-agent/everything-under-the-sun describes as a "great homage" and "modern take" on Alfred Hitchcock's classic. How great? Nguyen returned to some of the same locations in Northern California, and enlisted friend Tippi Hedren (who also appeared in his previous film Julie & Jack) for a cameo.

Shutter Island destroyed all comers this weekend, bringing in a huge $40.2M to easily win the box office crown. The debut was a personal best for both Martin Scorcese and Leo Di Caprio...which is kind of tragic actually. Last week's champ, Valentine's Day collapsed in its second frame (yay!), but still brought in a shameful $17.1M ($87.4M) while Avatar doesn't appear to be going anywhere anytime soon ($16.1M | $687.8 Fucking Million Dollars!). Percy Jackson...

I love Martin Scorcese, but frankly I'm just ready for him to collaborate with an actor other than Leo. Their latest joint effort is Shutter Island which, by all impressions, is a meticulously crafted mind-fuck. Will I see it? Yes. Will I love it? That would surprise me. What I could love, though, is Ghost Writer. Edited from his chalet prison in Switzerland, it's Polanski's latest film. Considering how much I've been watching Chinatown in...