Josh Tate

The presence of Tina Fey and Steve Carell gives me hope for Date Night, but the directorial hand of Shawn Levy really, REALLY worries me. I saw When You're Strange: A Film About the Doors at Sundance back in 2009 and, as a Doors fan, really dug all the previously unseen footage. Johnny Depp's newly recorded narration should improve an already solid film. The Australian The Square has been sitting on the shelf for awhile,...

How many horror stories begin with a group of friends, alone at night? How many board games begin the same way? If the comparison seems absurd, consider that the terrifying forces of The Exorcist are unleashed by a single child, playing an innocent game. Now, imagine the lengths of evil that would ensue when a group of adults set more sinister pieces in motion. Relationships are ripped apart - and so are bodies. This is...

If you have somehow avoided watching Battlestar Galactica up till now (and God damn you if that's the case), you can finally watch it as God (e.g. Ron Moore) intended: the complete series on Blu-Ray. Sure, it's expensive but how could you more wisely spend your money? On health insurance? On fucking food? Please! I love everything that Werner Herzog even walks past, so naturally I loved Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans. Nicolas...

To no one's surprise, the unnecessary re-make of Clash of the Titans easily claimed the box office crown this weekend thanks to America's pathetic embrace of bad 3-D. The crappy reboot hauled in $61.4M ($64M) to easily top the equally mediocre Tyler Perry's Why Do I Keep Making Bad Movies ($30.1M). The fantastic How To Train Your Dragon claimed $29.2M worth of treasure to top Miley Cyrus' pointless shit-fest The Last Song ($16.2M | $25.5M)....

If ever a movie didn't cry out for a re-make it was Clash of the Titans. The original wasn't necessarily good, but it was beloved by a distinct sliver of the populace. They will now hate this re-make, while those new to it will think the movie is just stupid. Which it is. A last-minute 3-D conversion only adds to its mediocrity. At least, it's not the worst movie of the weekend. That is surely...

Now that all the publicity and hype have passed, isn't it obvious that there is no way in hell Sandra Bullock should have won an Oscar instead of the divine Carey Mulligan in An Education? I had serious doubts about Sherlock Holmes when it was originally announced, but I found it to be much better than I expected. Sure, it was your typical, bloated, over-done studio film, but it was actually a pretty good one....

Parents and kids (and critics) were totally charmed by How To Train Your Dragon as it easily won the weekend box office race. It's huge haul of $43.3M demolished previous champ Alice in Wonderland ($17.3M | $293.1M) and disappointing newcomer Hot Tub Time Machine ($13.6M). The terrible, shitty, depressing The Bounty Hunter actually had a decent hold in its second frame ($12.4M | $38.8M) while Diary of a Wimpy Kid was clearly the victim of...

Week by week, trailer by trailer, Hot Tub Time Machine is growing on me. Now, I'm really itching to see it (and not just to see aging hottie Jessica Pare slumming it in a thankless role). Is it this year's The Hangover? We'll see on Monday morning! Atom Egoyan definitely belongs on the list of directors who never get the notoriety they deserve. Chloe looks fantastic (and not just because crush object Amanda Seyfried is...

If you're already having SXSW withdrawal, get a fix from Harmony and Me, a prime cut of Austin lo-fi. Crafted under the auspices of the Sundance Institute's Annenberg Film Fellowship Program, the break-up film is visually sparse...

Those who read this column frequently know that I am a fierce proponent of true independent film (e.g. micro-budgeted films not featuring famous people slumming). Sadly, most of those films -- even the good ones -- will only play at film festivals and not be seen by a wider audience. From time to time, though, a small film breaks through and makes it into a theater (e.g. where any film should be seen -- fuck...