Christopher Saunders

LATEST ARTICLES ( 667 )

• Trumbo

  

  "You don't just write happy endings - you believe them!"Jay Roach's Trumbo (2015) depicts an unlikely hero: a Communist screenwriter victimized by, then... Read more

  Posted on 29 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Cop Land

  

  Sylvester Stallone earned some of his best reviews for Cop Land (1997), James Mangold's overachieving crime drama. Despite Stallone and a high-caliber supportin... Read more

  Posted on 25 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part II

  

  With Mockingjay Part I, The Hunger Games franchise veered from Battle Royale lite to Spartacus for Teens. It impressed me as a surprisingly violent and sober... Read more

  Posted on 23 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Fifty Shades of Grey

  

  It's well-known that Fifty Shades of Grey started life as Twilight fan fiction. But E.L. James' novels manages to one-up those books; at least Stephanie Meyer... Read more

  Posted on 22 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky Balboa

  

  "It ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward."After Rocky V, Sylvester Stallone fell into self-parody... Read more

  Posted on 20 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky V

  

  "Time to put some hustle behind this muscle!"Rocky IV won over fans through sheer silliness; it's impossible to hate, even if it's terrible. Read more

  Posted on 19 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky IV

  

  "I must break you."And so the Rocky franchise becomes a joke. Rocky IV (1985) is a time-capsule of '80s Cold War kitsch, where a forceful left hook can shatter... Read more

  Posted on 18 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky III

  

  "This guy is a wrecking machine, and he's hungry!"About halfway through Rocky II (1979), Rocky Balboa went from relatable man to godlike pugilist. Read more

  Posted on 17 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky II

  

  "Was ya ever punched in the face 500 times a night? It stings after a while, ya know."Rocky (1976) proved incredibly successful, winning Best Picture (among... Read more

  Posted on 16 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rocky

  

  Depending who you ask, Rocky's (1976) backstory is either a real-life Cinderella tale or a studio con job. Sylvester Stallone, struggling actor-filmmaker, sold ... Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Bridge of Spies

  

  Steven Spielberg's Bridge of Spies (2015) suffers from both distended dramaturgy and a compromised Cold War liberalism not seen since Hubert Humphrey. Read more

  Posted on 15 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• France

  

  As everyone likely knows, yesterday saw a horrible wave of terrorist attacks in Paris, France. Seven attacks, most notably a massacre at the Bataclan concert... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Comanche Station

  

  "A man can cross over anytime he has the mind."Budd Boetticher closed out his Ranown cycle with Comanche Station (1960), another chamber Western starring... Read more

  Posted on 14 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Raging Bull

  

  (1980) is Martin Scorsese's most challenging film - no mean feat, considering his filmography. Like Taxi Driver, it studies a malcontent, but Jake LaMotta... Read more

  Posted on 01 November 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Cat O'Nine Tails

  

  Dario Argento all but disowned his second feature, The Cat O'Nine Tails (1970). More detective story than horror flick, it's a sloppy show that's entertaining... Read more

  Posted on 30 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• The Power and the Glory (1933)

  

  "You can't judge him by ordinary standards. They wouldn't fit him. He was too big."William K. Howard's The Power and the Glory (1933) was lost for decades,... Read more

  Posted on 27 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Rancho Notorious

  

  "He might be a joy, but don't send a boy to do the work of a man!"Fritz Lang's first two Westerns, The Return of Frank James (1940) and Western Union (1941), ar... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• RIP Maureen O'Hara

  

  Maureen O'Hara, John Ford's favorite leading lady, passed away at age 95. Best-known for her pairings with John Wayne in The Quiet Man and several other... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Steve Jobs

  

  (2015) isn't your average biopic. Danny Boyle tries an episodic look at Jobs' life and achievements, probing his personality through high-pressure situations.... Read more

  Posted on 25 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES

• Goosebumps

  

  Like most of my generation, I grew up reading R.L. Stine's Goosebumps books. Since reading Cuckoo Clock of Doom at age ten, they've been a not-so-guilty... Read more

  Posted on 19 October 2015 ENTERTAINMENT, MOVIES