Josh Tate

Most late-night grub benefits mightily from the drunken torpor we're often in when eating at two in the morning. Let's face it--the places that serve food deep into the night are not usually those we patronize when in full command of our senses. And, yet, there are exceptions. Luckily for me (since it's 50 feet from my apartment), Mao's is one of them. Every dish is prepared a la minute and you can tailor...

As Halloween draws ever close, what better way to spend an evening than having the shit scared out of you in a movie theater? Screamfest, in my opinion the best horror film festival out there, begins tomorrow in Hollywood. Screenings on tap include George Romero's brand new Diary of the Dead, Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D, the director's cut of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror, 30 Days of Night and the terrifically spooky...

Though it's opening weekend box office total was surprisingly low, it was no surprise that critics savaged The Heartbreak Kid. Of all the Farrelly Brothers movies, only There's Something About Mary received good notices (the very funny and underrated Stuck on You and the weak Fever Pitch did okay). Comedies, of course, never get the critical respect that dramas do and vulgar comedies typically fare worst of all (with the notable exception of Judd...

Surf's Up was actually better than Happy Feet but, as my grandpa used to always tell me, the second Penguin-themed animated movie never does as well as the first. 28 Weeks Later may lack the novelty of 28 Days Later, but it's just as tense and terrifying. The fate of Robert Carlyle is truly awful. Amazingly, even Steve Carrell can be unfunny sometimes. YHWH is truly powerful. John Dahl never gets the rich praise...

Despite early expectations that it would top $20 million in its opening weekend, The Heartbreak Kid failed to knock off The Game Plan at the box office. Though it's actually better than its fairly dismal reviews, The Heartbreak Kid could only muster $14 million in its debut frame, while The Game Plan reigned for the second straight weekend with $16.2M ($42.8M) and is now, unfortunately, a bona fide hit. Damn you, America! Can't you...

When you list the truly groundbreaking films in the history of Hollywood, The Jazz Singer would be right up near the top (if not at the top). For those who don't know, it was the first successful "talkie"--a film that has synchronized dialogue. It opened in New York on October 6th, 1927 and changed the course of cinema history. Silent films, which until then had dominated the film industry, would eventually become little more...

There was a time when I thought Ben Stiller was one of the more inventive comic minds in the business (consider these hilarious shorts as proof--1,2,3,4,5,6). He can still be funny (witness his brilliant turn on Curb Your Enthusiasm), but it seems like he mostly wants to play it safe now. Let's hope that The Heartbreak Kid is a return to old form, both for Stiller and the inconsistent Farrelly Brothers (who direct). Swedish...

Considering its initial mixed critical reception and middling box-office performance, it's sort of amazing how Blade Runner has grown in stature over the last two decades. In 2007, the American Film Institute even named it the 97th greatest movie of all time. Starting Friday, a final version of the film (there have been 7 different cuts) will begin screening in Los Angeles and if you're even half a fan of this movie you should...

I walked into Feast of Love with high expectations. Despite his reputation in some corners as a lightweight (probably only because he hosted Talk Soup all those years ago), I think Greg Kinnear is a profoundly underrated actor. His recent work, especially in Auto Focus, The Matador and Little Miss Sunshine has been wonderfully understated. That he would be joined by a bevy of equally solid, unflashy actors--Morgan Freeman, Jane Alexander, Radha Mitchell, Selma...

If you've missed Ken Burns' latest sprawling effort on PBS, you can catch it today when it drops on DVD. Silver Surfer was better than the original Fantastic Four, but that's not really saying much. Got to love Doug Jones, though. 1408 was a surprise summer hit. I think it'll work even better when you're watching it alone at home with the lights turned off. Entourage was never the same after the Aquaman arc,...