Editorials

A SECOND OPINION: Beauty and the Beast

/ Chris Luckett / Leave a comment

Image: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Lauren Luckett

The worst part about being married to a chef, I imagine, would be losing the ability to eat your favourite foods — the new, more experienced, palate would make old favourites feel bland.

The same goes for being married to a film critic. The cheesy flicks you once loved are now ruined because your darling spouse has pointed out the lacklustre script, the bad lighting, or that crew member standing in the background of the eighth scene. Chris can spend two hours watching a movie, then another two telling me what was wrong with it.

Continue reading →

An Unfortunate Reality

/ Chris Luckett / Leave a comment
Photo: Scott Summerhayes

Photo: Scott Summerhayes

Chris Luckett

In 2012, I launched The Apple Box. I’d spent 15 years immersing myself in movies by that point, and a decade publishing my reviews and opinions on films on various sites, going all the way back to old Xanga and MySpace pages of mine. At the recommendation of my professors at Mohawk College, though, I went full ahead with a dedicated film site.

In the years since, I’ve used it for awards coverage, “Best Of” lists, editorials, podcasts, videos, monthly features, and interviews. And, of course, reviews. Lots of reviews. Continue reading →

Poltergeist to Poltergeist: Which to Watch?

/ Chris Luckett / Leave a comment
Photo: MGM/United Artists

Photo: MGM/United Artists

Chris Luckett

There are four major releases coming out on DVD and Blu-Ray this week, and despite the fact that one of them is the highest-grossing movie of 2015 not featuring dinosaurs, the most talked-about movie seems to be Poltergeist, the remake of the classic 1982 horror film about a suburban house built on a cemetery.

While social media is by no means an accurate barometer all the time, I’ve been finding most people who’ve seen the original are curious about the remake, and most who’ve seen the remake haven’t seen the original. The former is understandable, as remakes are a dime a dozen these days. The latter is disappointing, because the original film deserves to be seen before, if not instead of, the limp 2015 re-tread.

Continue reading →

OPINION: The Year So Far (2014 Edition)

/ Chris Luckett
Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

Chris Luckett

On October 9 last year, I saw my 50th movie of 2013. On the same date this year, interestingly enough, I watched my 100th movie of 2014.

Seeing twice as many movies as I normally have by this time of year has given me a broader view of cinema in 2014, having seen more of the year’s best and worst than I normally do before the end-of-the-year lists begin rolling out. There have been a couple masterpieces already, as well as a few completely worthless bombs, with many average movies in between.

Continue reading →

GUEST COLUMN: Horrible Movies I Love (National Lampoon’s Loaded Weapon 1)

/ Chris Luckett
Photo: New Line Cinema

Photo: New Line Cinema

Kevin M. Griffiths

It’s a quandary, really. I mean, what makes a movie horrible? If you find a movie horrible, isn’t it only your opinion? Conversely, if you love a movie, how can it be considered horrible? Yet every day, people talk about movies as being “so bad they’re good.” This blurring of the lines between objectivity and subjectivity keeps discourse on movies and film eternally fascinating.

Naturally, this fascination with opinion made compiling and writing this article a stop-and-start process, wrought with frustration. Would I be able to both trash and praise movies that mean something and entertain me, sometimes in spite of themselves? Would I be able to convey my love for these movies adequately while systematically exposing their faults and failures? Would I change my own mind on how I view movies that I claim are bad, yet love?

Continue reading →

GUEST COLUMN: Price Wars

/ Chris Luckett
Photo: Getty Images

Photo: Getty Images

Patrick Fenton

We’ve all done it. I did it last week. That supposedly cheap night at the movies, a summertime excuse to sit in a dark air-conditioned room and hopefully get a few cheap laughs and thrills, while munching and drinking the cheapest and most produced commodity in North America: corn. So why the hell did it cost me fifty bucks?

Continue reading →