Florida Agenda

First the bad news: “X-Men Days of Future Past” (20th Century Fox/Marvel) is yet another example of the unnecessary overuse of 3-D. The few scenes in which it is best utilized would probably be as effective in 2-D. Also, newly-out actress Ellen Page is completely wasted as Kitty Pryde, whose powers of intangibility extend to […]

In the original 1950 movie Sunset Boulevard, William Holden finds himself inside the world of silent movie star Norma Desmond (played by Gloria Swanson). “Haven’t I seen you before?” Holden asks Swanson. “You’re Norma Desmond,” Holden insists, after Swanson tells him to get out of her house. “You used to be in silent pictures. You […]

Part homage, part parody, Jerome Sable’s “Stage Fright” (Magnet), contains references to “Camp,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Friday the 13th,” “Carrie,” “Phantom of the Paradise,” “Scream” and countless other pop culture faves in the horror/slasher/fame genres. “Stage Fright” opens with the familiar horror device of a gory death – the brutal murder of Broadway musical […]

Putting the fashion and anachronistic issues aside, writer/director/novelist Stephen Chbosky’s film adaptation of his own book “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (Summit) is worth watching for the performances by scene-stealer Ezra Miller and a nuanced Emma Watson. Because they are both so good, it’s possible to overlook some of the movie’s time-challenged flaws. Wallflower […]