Safety Not Guaranteed dares to keep your attention at every turn and really succeeds. The script is brilliant and deserves the praise it has already gotten. From diving deeper into Kenneth's world to seeing the different motivations that come to light, for both our time travelers and our magazine team tailing him, more and more layers of interest keep coming into play. All the while, you feel the countdown and are driven to wonder if Kenneth and his time machine are the real deal when the time comes to leave. This pace makes the movie breeze by and, unlike some other edgy indie movies that sell you with teases, the payoff is really rich and deserved.

"4 STARS", 2012, 4 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJune 28, 2012Safety Not GuaranteedComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Brave

Brave is a fantastically empowering movie for mothers and daughters. Many daughters, young and old, can relate to this kind of story about the plans and expectations that their mothers have for them that differ from their own interests. The story is a bold one and devoid of cheese and syrup that can sometimes come with Disney's movies.

2012, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJune 23, 2012Brave, PixarComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Avengers

The movie, whether your are a fan of the comics and previous movies or not, is infectious summer blockbuster fun. Those going in casual may just come out a fan. The Avengers delivers the comic book action, beefy heroics, impressive special effects, and 3D spectacle as advertised. When put up against the previous movie greats of the genre, The Avengers might just chisel out its own spot on the Mount Rushmore of comic book movies

VINTAGE REVIEW: Titanic

This month in 2012, just in time for the 100th anniversary of the ship's fateful maiden voyage and the 100th birthday of Paramount Pictures, Titanic has been meticulously re-mastered for a 3D re-release to movie theaters around the world.

2012, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, Retrospective, SPECIAL, Vintage ReviewDon ShanahanApril 4, 2012 Comment

VINTAGE REVIEW: Casablanca

To anyone who will listen, I preach the greatest love and respect of Casablanca, the 1943 Oscar winner for Best Picture from director Michael Curtiz. You might be able to name singular instances, throughout the vast history of cinema, of better ensemble acting, better war-time intrigue, better left-field star turns, better broken hearts, better dialogue, and better romance. You might. However, I challenge and dare you to find a better movie in Hollywood history that has all of those qualities working together at once. Because of the successful combination of so many outstanding qualities, Casablanca is a perfect movie to me.

MOVIE REVIEW: John Carter

The infinitely detailed world that Burroughs created 100 years ago in 1912 when it originally debuted as a magazine serial was transcendent, wildly inventive, and one of the major influences for George Lucas in creating Star Wars, James Cameron's Avatar world, and the science-fictional novelists that followed such as Ray Bradbury and Carl Sagan. To those gentleman, John Carter was their childhood "light bulb" discovery and fantasy, and it came in novel form, not a cartoon or a movie.

4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEW, 2012Don ShanahanMarch 12, 2012Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Grey

To me, Liam Neeson is channeling a darker and fiercer resolve than the other silver-haired tough guys like Charles Bronson, Clint Eastwood, and Steve McQueen that came before him. He's more rugged than Bronson, channels more rage than Eastwood, and is more stoic than McQueen's coolness. At this kind of game, he's better than any one of those guys would be if they were in roles like The Grey or Taken.

2012, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJanuary 28, 2012Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Melancholia

Melancholia is not your your typical science-fiction drama or even a typical family drama. With Lars Von Trier and his track record (Europa, Dogville, Antichrist), we shouldn't be surprised. It's essentially a wedding movie about two very different, yet equally damaged sisters, but it has a lot more going on. What's going on exactly? Well, it's a little foggy and full of issues.

2011, 2 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 15, 2011Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: 50/50

50/50 will have you packing your tissue box to wipe away both tears of sorrow and tears of laughter. It's more than a numbers game, though, in balancing humor with drama. It's not about adding up equal parts. It's about timing your jokes to fall in dramatic places when you need them and in funny places where they work like magic.

2011, 5 STARS, Independent Film, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanOctober 31, 2011Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Moneyball

Through Pitt’s performance, Moneyball has that outstanding character study that all great sports movies have to have. In a way, Moneyball feels like Jerry Maguire without the romantic comedy, where the smoothly-written business side of a sport trumps the game and players on the field. For those looking for a sports movie with a brain, that will impress you and spark your interest. If you need thrills and camaraderie, you're going to have to look somewhere else.

2011, 5 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanSeptember 25, 2011Comment

MOVIE REVIEW: Crazy, Stupid, Love.

Crazy, Stupid, Love. is not divorce drama like Kramer Vs. Kramer. You're not watching courtroom proceedings and messy custody battles. Crazy, Stupid, Love. is bigger than that and so much more. It's about personal reinvention, mentoring, courtship, fighting for love, and the idea of soulmates. It's incredibly fresh, funny, emotional, daring, and, for a romantic "dramedy," has more jaw-dropping twists than big budget thrillers.

2011, 4 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJuly 31, 2011Crazy Stupid LoveComment

MOVIE REVIEW: Captain America: The First Avenger

The Captain America character stirs your patriotism in the audience as a guy you really root for to save the day and get the girl. For all that, Captain America: The First Avenger is, far and away, the best comic book movie this summer and acts as an outstanding final springboard piece to Marvel's mega-event Avengers team-up next May.

2011, MOVIE REVIEW, 5 STARSDon ShanahanJuly 22, 2011Comment