SONNY BUNCH
Articles by SONNY BUNCH
MOVIES: Third time not the charm for ‘Punisher’
There's a serious film to be made about the Punisher, Marvel Comics' avenging angel...Then there's the Punisher film that ends with a half-wit Keystone Kop muttering, "Oh ..., now I've got brains splattered all over me." Guess which one "Punisher: War Zone" is. Published December 5, 2008
MOVIES: Return of a child soldier
"War Child" is a moving documentary about the tribulations faced by Emmanuel Jal, a child-soldier-turned-rapper who returns to his war-torn homeland years after fleeing the civil war that plagued his country. Though a little convoluted, "War Child" tells a story Western audiences have mostly ignored. Published December 5, 2008
On the road again … Frank the driver is back
The "Transporter" series is the cinematic equivalent of cotton candy: a quick sugar rush that melts in your mouth and is forgotten five minutes later. Sure, there might be some slight rot (your teeth with the cotton; your brain with the movie), but no lasting harm is done. Published November 28, 2008
MOVIES: Warm, funny ‘Christmases’
"Four Christmases" could have easily devolved into a loosely linked series of moderately funny family-centered skits, but the family squabbles and relationships in these vignettes are handled with heart and a careful touch, and the movie is paced quickly enough to keep the audience laughing without too many breaks. Published November 28, 2008
Sean Penn overacts as gay leader in ‘Milk’
"Milk" was supposed to be a triumphant capstone to the gay rights movement's victories of recent years. Planned to be released just weeks after the largest state in the union ratified the right to gay marriage by popular vote, Gus Van Sant's opus about the slain gay rights leader was to have shown us just how far we've come in the past 40 years. Published November 26, 2008
BEYOND: Boyle’s ‘Slumdog’ has buzz
A casual filmgoer would be forgiven for not immediately recognizing the title "Slumdog Millionaire" on the box-office marquee despite the Oscar buzz surrounding it; the studio has done little to no marketing of the picture. Published November 14, 2008
MOVIES: Rushed Bond sequel
You'd do well to rewatch "Casino Royale" before seeing "Quantum of Solace," Daniel Craig's second turn as James Bond, because the sequel offers little in the way of recap. Published November 14, 2008
George Carlin honored for comedy
George Carlin was posthumously awarded the Mark Twain Prize on Monday night at the Kennedy Center. Published November 12, 2008
‘Slumdog’ a prize worth savoring
Danny Boyle is the most versatile director working today. In the past decade or so, he has helmed "Trainspotting," "28 Days Later" and "Sunshine," three films most critics would label as among the best of their genres (the drug flick, the zombie flick and the intellectual science-fiction flick, respectively). Published November 12, 2008
MOVIES: ‘Synecdoche’ a disappointing debut for Kaufman
Charlie Kaufman is, without a doubt, one of the most unusual filmmakers to have burst onto the scene in the past decade. Published November 7, 2008
MOVIES: A twist on the vampire flick
"Let the Right One In" is a fantastic picture - a moody, original take on the vampire film that anyone interested in vampire films or relationship films will enjoy. Published November 7, 2008
MOVIES: Kevin Smith’s latest pushes boundaries
Writer-director Kevin Smith's latest comedy, "Zack and Miri Make a Porno," takes the standard romantic comedy and raunches it up without really altering any romcom cliches, with uneven - although not altogether unentertaining - effects. Published October 31, 2008
MOVIES: Guy Ritchie returns to form with ‘RocknRolla’
"RocknRolla" is a return to form, of sorts, for Guy Ritchie after pumping out two atrocious movies. Published October 31, 2008
EDGE: Foreign fright flicks better
Mainstream American horror is in a moribund state. It's not quite as dead as a promiscuous teenager at Camp Crystal Lake, but it's headed in that direction. Published October 31, 2008
MOVIES: Violent ‘Pride and Glory’ toes the line
When Joe Carnahan's name pops up in the opening credits, you know you're in for a rough time. Published October 24, 2008
MOVIES: Frustrating ‘Ashes’ almost impossible to understand
It's never a good sign for a film's narrative coherence when a critic rushes to the press notes to decipher exactly what transpired on the screen. Published October 24, 2008
MOVIE REVIEW: A pawn’s life
Why would you make a movie about George W. Bush and exclude any serious discussion of Sept. 11? Published October 17, 2008
MOVIE REVIEW: The art of the deal
There comes a moment in "What Just Happened?" when you realize that what you're seeing is not really a comedy but a tragedy, a tale of a man beaten down by life more than he (probably) deserves. But until you get there, the movie's a fun ride. Published October 17, 2008
Hollywood stays behind scenes in race
The entertainment industry is usually a lightning rod when presidential contests roll around. But celebrities are mostly keeping their distance from this one, afraid of again tilting the outcome in the GOP's favor. Published October 15, 2008
EDGE: Partisanship at the theaters
Hollywood can be an awful place for conservatives, personally as well as professionally. Andrew Breitbart has thoroughly documented its closed-mindedness and hostility to conservatives in general and Republicans in particular in these pages. Published October 10, 2008
