We critics face this dilemma every day. We walk into a screening, not knowing what to expect, and come out convinced we’ve seen a work of brilliance…or something worth shoving down a sinkhole. In between lies the real issue, however. Sometimes, a movie makes us, well, think. It makes us wonder. It challenges our perceptions as well as what we think, or anticipate, a film will forward. It becomes a question mark, a challenge to revisit at a later date. Such is the case with most of Stanley Kubrick’s creative canon.

If you ever needed proof that one thing, one unexceptional and rather mediocre thing can ruin an otherwise promising film, look no further than The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. No, it’s not fledgling novice feature filmmaker Don Scardino. No, it’s not the miscast Steve Buscemi or the left with nothing to do eye candy Olivia Wilde. It’s not even a barely there Jim Carrey taking the term “over the top” to new levels via his personification and interpretation of the entire Chris Angel/ David Blaine school of Jackass ‘magic’. In fact, the entire high profile prestidigitation angle is often engaging and ripe for satiric exploration.

Alternative titles: The Snake Gets All the Lines

POSITIVES:

Offbeat story.

Interpretive dance as only those colorful Asians can do it!

Snake-point-of-view shots add a degree of warped charm.
     

They’re called inner demons for a reason. Unlike the true mythic minions from Hell, who haunt us in moments of moral weakness, these creatures contradict our very human being. They destroy our psyche, contravene everything we believe about ourselves and our place in the world. Through exorcists like therapy and drugs, we try to rid ourselves of their unholy power, but in most cases, the efforts are for naught - or worse, complicated and ongoing. So when something like The Cause comes along, offering the promise of both freedom from said devils and continued clarity within one’s mind, it’s allure is incalculable. Toss in the spellbinding speciousness of a leader like Lancaster Dodd and you’ve got a cult waiting for its fodder. Someone like Freddie Quell fills that role quite effectively.

He’s back… the man who made the Deadites and that fabled Book of the Dead, The Necronomicon, a fright fan household name. Yet ever since he struck professional paydirt with an oddball Western starring a then hot Sharon Stone, Sam Raimi has wondered away from his horror roots. Over the course of the next few decades, he made two thillers, a baseball themed drama, and then literally re-invented the post-millennial popcorn comic book superhero blockbuster with his Spider-man movies. And now he’s tackling the family film (?) genre. That’s right, his recent release for Disney’s (??) Oz the Great and Powerful has just broken $80 million at the box office on its opening weekend, securing his legacy as both commercial king and ruler of the crepshow.