Josh Tate

Conducting "Die Entfuhrung aus dem Serail" | Photo courtesy of the Saul Zaentz Company I could talk for hours about it, but I'll simply say that Amadeus is the finest movie I have ever seen. From the amazing performances by F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce to the script by Peter Schaeffer (a superior revision of his stage play) to the direction by Milos Forman (who never again came close to this level of...

An all-star cast was enough to propel newcomer He Only Wants To Sleep with You to the top of the weekend box-office. The generic romantic comedy tallied an impressive $27.4M to easily beat last week's champ Taken ($20.3/$53.3M). The superb Coraline managed to snag $16.3M worth of kiddie dollars as parents weren't scared away by the film's dark themes. After that it was the unnecessary and dreadful The Pink Panther 2 ($12M) followed by the equally boorish Paul Blart: Pathetic Fatso ($11M/$97M).

Did anyone else see Martin's creative soul flee from his body? | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures Do you remember the days when you looked forward to the new Steve Martin movie? Is anyone anywhere looking forward to The Pink Panther 2? Speaking of bad movies, Push is proof that you shouldn't try to do effects-driven films on a tight budget. I'm just not that into He's Just Not That Into You. Fanboys was...

Photo courtesy of Marianitux via Flickr By now, everyone's sick of hearing about how the economy's in the toilet. But hey, sometimes it nets you cheap dinner and a free movie. If you're unemployed, that is. Then you'll want to be heading over to the old Aero, for the uncanny Boris Karloff's spookiest performances, the highly flappable combination of Laurel & Hardy & Fields, and more Ginger than a Shirley Temple - all on...

One of the best things about attending a festival isn't the films you get to see, but the industry panels the organizers assemble to give the public a glimpse into the inner workings of show business. On Saturday in Santa Barbara I was lucky enough to attend two dynamite panels. The first featured producers from five of 2008's most lauded films (The Dark Knight, Wall-E, Milk, Slumdog Millionaire and Rachel Getting Married. Moderated by...

Seth Rogen is definitely a grow-er and not a show-er. | Photo courtesy of The Weinstein Company In more able hands, Zack and Miri Make A Porno could have been a funny and insightful movie about sexual commerce, exhibitionism, friendship, financial desperation, etc. With Kevin Smith writing and directing, though, it was a shallow, dirty joke that had a scene where a guy was shit on by a constipated whore. I laughed a few...

Okay, this picture is from 'The Fog' but Maggie looks hotter here. | Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures The Liam Neeson thriller Taken ended the box office stranglehold of Paul Blart: Loser at Life this weekend by scoring a big win on Super Bowl weekend. Taken pulled in $24.6M to easily outpace the Kevin James non-laugher ($14M/$83.3M) and restore some semblance of sanity to the universe. Crappy re-make The Uninvited tallied up $10.5M in...

Can't you see she's fucking evil, you fools! | Photo courtesy of Paramount Pictures January is historically one of the worst months for movie-going. Studios typically drop their crappy product on the unsuspecting. This month is no exception. The Uninvited at least features Elizabeth Banks, but she's not naked or being funny so I'll pass. Good to see Maggie Grace back onscreen but would prefer to see her in something less crappy than Taken....

Photo courtesy of rhobinn via flickr Viddy well, Long Beach! This weekend, your humble narrator strongly advises you attend Stanley Kubrick's real horrorshow picture A Clockwork Orange, unspooling at the Art Theatre. Dress as one of those dashing droogs and get in for only $5. Bring your own moloko. If you prefer your milk with Kahlua, Insomniac Cinema presents the Coen Brothers' midnight mainstay, The Big Lebowski. Last week, founder Andrew Gualtieri broke the...

Yeah, actors do have a tough life. | Photo courtesy of the Weinstein Company After several lean years (anyone care to remember Deconstructing Harry or the laughless Hollywood Ending), Woody Allen is on a pretty good roll lately. Vicky Cristina Barcelona may be his best film since the fantastic Bullets Over Broadway. Kirk Cameron. Christian Action Star. Pride and Glory wasn't great, but it hit all the right notes of your standard cop corruption...