Josh Tate

Could Kara Thrace be the last of the final five? | Photo courtesy of the Sci-Fi Channel As a true devotee, I feel it's my duty to spread the word about the criminally overlooked Battlestar Galactica. You may be thinking that a science-fiction show is not for you, but give it a few episodes and you will be hooked. Under much of the cultural radar, Katee Sackhoff is delivering one of the fiercest, most heartbreaking...

Fat elephant struggles to save bacteria colony | Photo courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox To no one's surprise, Horton Hears a Who swamped the box office this weekend with a year's best $45.1M. It easily out-distanced 10,000 B.C. which managed to bring in an additional $16.4M ($61.2M) in its second weekend. Newcomer Never Back Down surprised to the high side with a take of $8.6M followed by hold-overs College Road Trip ($7.8M/$24.2M), Vantage Point...

Love Will Tear Us Apart | Photo courtesy of Warner Independent David Gordon Green is in the very first rank of American filmmakers. As far as I'm concerned, every movie he makes is an automatic must-see on opening weekend. Snow Angels debuted last week in New York and opens today in Los Angeles. What sets Green's films apart from so many others is the lyrical melancholy that hovers over every scene and the carefully...

Josh Brolin is the heart and soul of No Country for Old Men | Photo courtesy of Paramount Vantage Though its elliptical ending caused a bit of a backlash, I can't imagine any serious film fan not enjoying the hell out of No Country for Old Men. It doesn't quite rise to the level of the Coen's one perfect film, Miller's Crossing, but it's full of violent beauty. Incidentally, if you don't think the...

Actor struggles to look afraid in face of bad SFX | Photo courtesy of Warner Brothers Despite a critical reception that could charitably be called awful, 10,000 B.C. rolled to the top of the box office this weekend, taking in $35.7M. Fellow newcomer (and fellow terrible movie) College Road Trip finished a distant second with $14M, almost twice that of the resilient Vantage Point ($7.5M/$51.6M). Semi-Pro sunk in its second weekend ($5.9M/$24.8M) but still...

You can almost feel the grit coming off this picture | Photo courtesy of Lionsgate Entertainment I've always thought it was a shame that Jason Statham got stuck in the ghetto of glossy, empty action flicks. You'd never guess it by watching The Transporter 2 or Crank but Statham can be a legitimately good actor. I'm glad to see him in The Bank Job, a re-telling of the 1971 Baker Street bank robbery. Director...

Prior to his 1993 death, legendary guitarist Albert Collins played a rare second show at Montreaux and yesterday--after a 15 year wait--that show (Collins' last recorded concert) finally came to DVD. Despite his poor health, the Master of the Telecaster plays a loose, fun show as he burns through "Iceman", "Honey Hush", "Lights Are On (But Nobody's Home)", "If You Love Me Like You Say", "Too Many Dirty Dishes", "Put The Shoe On The...

How do you say "circling vultures" in Spanish? | Photo courtesy of Paramount Vantage I'm still a bit surprised that Into the Wild was so completely overlooked during awards season. Sure it meandered a bit, but the acting and directing were all top-notch. And how on earth was Eddie Vedder's "Hard Sun" skipped over by the Academy in favor of three--three!--songs from Enchantment? This may sound weird, but I liked everything about Mr. Magorium's...

Still the champ but diminished | Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema It's usually good news for a movie when it wins the weekend box-office race. When the movie severely underperforms expectations, however, that win feels like more of a Pyrrhic victory. Such was the case with Semi-Pro this weekend as it only brought in about half of what was expected--a lowly $15.3M. Last week's champ, Vantage Point, held up well and took second...

A shy Will Ferrell covers his shame | Photo courtesy of New Line Cinema I'll go on the record and say that I think Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy is the funniest movie in the last ten years. Will Ferrell's subsequent pictures--most of them amusing to varying degrees--have never lived up that early, brilliant standard. Semi-Pro is his latest picture and if its previews are any barometer of its quality, it looks like...