Welcome to the Film School Rejects Archive

Final Grade: A-
When some directors decide to remake a film, especially a cinematic legend, it ends their careers. Peter Jackson decided to pay homage to one of the most spectacular movies of all time, and in the process created one of the most amazing cinematic experiences since 1933.
Carl Denham (Jack Black) is on a search [...]

Final Grade: B-
Bank heists have been grist for the movie mill for almost as long as there have been movies. With such a long history, any movie in this genre that wants to stand out must choose its path with care to avoid becoming just another in a long tradition of cheap bank robbery [...]

Final Grade: B-
When poor Melquiades Estrada, an illegal immigrant and ranch hand from Mexico, is shot and killed, it takes three burials to get the job done right and give him peace. This is the story of his death, his necrography if you will.
Julio Cedillo plays the character in the movie’s title, and [...]

Just this morning I watched for the first time, the trailer for the newly re-titled United 93. This film was very recently called Flight 93. As the title eludes to, this is a film that chronicles the doomed 4th plane that was hijacked on the morning of September 11, 2001. The film is directed by [...]

Final Grade: C+
Derailed is one of your more standard psychological twist thrillers. What makes this film different however, is that Clive Owen and Jenifer Aniston’s performances keep your interest throughout the entire film all the way to its gritty ending.
Charles Schine (Clive Owen) is an average businessman who makes the daily commute from his [...]

Final Grade: A-
“Everything is illuminated in the light of the past” is a quote taken from possibly one of the most under-rated films of 2005, Everything is Illuminated. The film is a genuine, heartfelt, and humorous look at the self discovery one can only achieve through uncovering the past.
Jonathan Safran Foer (Elijah Wood) maintains the [...]

This seems to be a very pathetic New Release Tuesday in my opinion. What makes a great set of new releases, you ask? It would have to be the fact that there are multiple great choices for consumers as they travel to their retail destinations to pick up the most recent renditions of theatrical greatness. [...]

Final Grade: B-
DVD Release Date: March 7, 2006
Prime is a sophisticated, character driven comedy set in New York City about a divorced woman dating a younger man, which is a basic enough story until it turns out the man she is dating, is her therapist’s son.
The Film
Newly divorced Rafi (Uma Thurman), 37, [...]

Overall Rating: B
In the post 9/11 world, can you imagine a major movie release in which the hero is a bomb planting terrorist/freedom fighter in a life and death struggle with his own government? Just such a bold movie is now in wide release, penned by the Wachowski brothers (Andy and Larry) and directed [...]

Final Grade: B
I believe there is something to be said about the recent slue of romantic comedies to emerge from the depths of Hollywood’s money hungry elite. They have very often become event films, meant to draw a man and his date out of the confines of a creative evening on the town and into [...]

Woody Allen offers us his latest opus in Match Point. A tale at times foreboding, its purpose and tone remain veiled behind the conventions of another genre until a delicious plot twist reveals the true nature of the film.
Jonathan Rhys Meyers plays Chris Wilton, a former professional tennis player who has realized he is [...]

Here are some trailers that you should be looking at for the upcoming week:

A Scanner Darkly [Trailer]I was very intrigued by Richard Linklater’s earlier work, Waking Life. He has since committed near career suicide in his direction of a half-witted remake of The Bad News Bears. But even with that recent shortfall he seems to [...]

Release Date: March 14, 2006
“A simple enough beginning, a record received as a Christmas gift. A record with a highly unusual title: The Mysterious Tale of How I Shouted Wrong-Eyed Jesus. It was record so full of strangeness you had to wonder. in a shrinking world. where this music comes from. This film sets out [...]

Release Date: March 14, 2006
The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio stars Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson and is based on a true story and book, The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less, which describes the focus of the movie.
The Film
Evelyn Ryan (Moore) is [...]

Have you ever wondered how people get into those test screenings that studios hold during the post-production process? Have you ever wondered what happens inside of the afore mentioned screenings? Well it seems that Chris Beaumont, a fellow BlogCritics.com contributor has the scoop on a recent experience that he had with a test screening:
After expressing [...]

Here is a quick rundown of what DVDs you should be heading to your local retailer to pick up on this Tuesday morning:
Neil’s Pick of the Week:

Good Night, and Good Luck (Widescreen Edition)
My personal pick for Best Director this year was George Clooney for his reverent and compelling biopic of Edward R. Murrow’s fight against [...]

Release Date: March 14, 2006
What if you woke up one day and mobsters from the east coast were accusing you of being someone from their past? What if they threaten you and your family if you don’t admit to being the person that they say you are? This film simply asks, what would you do?
Tom [...]

Release Date: March 14, 2006

A film shown in black and white, set in the 1950’s, and primarily with a subject matter concerning the birth of television news journalism would usually be considered boring. Except in this film, George Clooney’s homage to truth and accuracy in the mass media provides an experience that can be considered [...]

There are so many issues that plague the everyday lives of most men in their mid 30’s: Should I be on time to work today? What should I pick up off of the floor and wear out tonight? When am I going to find the answers to inner peace? When should I move out of [...]

Release Date: February 28, 2006
Going with the recent industry trend of making old films, comes yet another remake but of the family classic Yours, Mine and Ours, (which didn’t need to be remade in the first place but nonetheless has) and delivers another cute family film that unfortunately pales in comparison to the original 1968 [...]

Release Date: March 7, 2006
“A man fires a rifle for many years. And he goes to war. And afterword he turns his rifle in at the armory, and believes he is finished with the rifle. But no matter what else he might do with his hands, love a woman, build a house, change his son’s [...]

Release Date: March 7, 2006
Remember that fat kid in high school who was “best friends” with the hottest girl in school? Well odds are you do remember him, or you were that guy…probably minus the hot chick. Well imagine if 10 years have passed and he is perfectly fit, rich, and dating models.
The year is [...]

Here is your trailer fix for the week, ya savages:

The Hills Have Eyes [Trailer]This one looks absolutely terrifying. I am not a huge fan of horror flicks, and even less of a fan of movies that appear to be this gory. But if being pushed almost to the point of vomiting in your seat is [...]

To say that Ultraviolet is not as bad as one might expect is like saying that drinking kerosene is not as unpleasant as one might imagine: even though it might have been worse, I still do not recommend the experience.
The Story
Set in the future, the movie, which is based on the comic book series of [...]

Release Date: February 28, 2006
It is absolutely impossible to quantify the greatness of films made before 1960 in comparison to films made today. The technology is much different, the styles are more developed, and not to mention the fact that films today have the unique perspective of many years of history in film from which [...]

Here is a quick rundown of what DVDs you should be heading to your local retailer to pick up on this Tuesday morning:
Neil’s Pick of the Week:

Jarhead (Widescreen and Collector’s Editions)
My personal favorite Jake Gyllenhaal performance of the year, Jarhead is a very dazzling war story about a lack of fighting, and the psychological effects [...]

Release Date: March 7, 2006
I have always heard that you should never judge a book by its cover. This critic found that you should never judge a film by its fanfare. After seeing this film I quickly realized that I had been missing out on three other movies I should have seen a long time [...]

The 78th Annual Academy Awards have been complete for just over 24 hours by now, but the effects of Sunday’s events have and will continue to resonate in my mind for a long time. All the hype, all the spectacle, all the predictions. They were all completely obliterated as the winners were announced one by [...]

There are certain aspects of the movie making industry which Hollywood has mastered. There are plenty of good actors to go around, and cinematographers almost always manage to get their jobs done well. When it comes to screenwriters and directors, there is a bit of a bear market. Out of this situation [...]

Recently Worth1000.com conducted a contest for its public. The contest was to see which one of its readers could make and submit the coolest movie poster that combined multiple films. The results showed outstanding levels of creativity and humor. Some examples of poster names included “Raylien,” which mixed Ray and Alien, “George” which spoofed the [...]