By Nick Maylor (****) There’s a question that has been bothering me for about a decade… What business is it of a fifty-year-old lollipop man to know karate? Do you know what a “lollipop man” is? I didn’t. I thought it was a guy who sold lollipops. And now, context: That scene is just one…
By Nick Maylor 2003 was a pretty abysmal year for Ben Affleck’s career. He appeared in three films that year, Daredevil, Paycheck, and Gigli (now considered one of the worst movies ever made). The bad press from Gigli was compounded by the overexposure of Ben Affleck’s relationship and subsequent breakup with his co-star, Jennifer Lopez. None of this was…
By Nick Maylor In the world of sword and sandal epics, this 2004 film by Wolfgang Petersen isn’t often mentioned among the best of the genre. It’s a reimagining of the Trojan War as told in Homer’s Illiad. The film tells the tale as narrated by Homer through the lens of a “what if?” scenario where it…
By John H. Foote At Close Range (****) Of all the films I have seen which never found an audience or the acclaim it so richly deserved, At Close Range (1986), based on a true story, is in the top five. Superb on every level, I sat awestruck the first time I saw the film…
By Nick Maylor (***1/2) I believe that this film directed by Danny DeVito to be one of the greatest black comedies of all time. Many would disagree. This widely-hated movie holds a special place for me. It was filmed in and around my hometown in Hamilton, Ontario, and Toronto (doubling a New York City). It…
By Nick Maylor (****) I have been a fan of Kevin Smith for the better part of two decades. His irreverent and sharp writing style has always spoken to me and I first fell in love with his work when I saw Dogma (1999) for the first time. An intensely smart and funny film about…
By Nick Maylor There are many examples of comedic actors giving great dramatic performances. People like Steve Carrell, Bill Murray, Jonah Hill and even Jim Carrey have successfully taken their fame as comedic stars and turned only to give strong performances in dramatic fare. Here, I am focusing on the opposite; actors primarily known for…