Welcome to the Film School Rejects Archive

Release Date: August 29, 2006
Everyone seems to want to make their movie that “speaks out” in some way against the government, or the establishment, or the President for that matter. The past few years have seen an onslaught of politically charged films about problems faced in our society. Most get caught up in the [...]

Release Date: September 22, 2006
Experiencing a Michel Gondry film is like watching an adult’s life through a child’s eyes. Following in the footsteps of Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep is a kaleidoscopic journey into a dream world that only Michel Gondry could compose. Though laced with creativity and originality, the [...]

Release Date: July 28, 2006
Returning to the location of his last successful endeavor - London, England - Woody Allen has followed the tense and dark drama of Match Point with the lighter and more comedic Scoop. Many of the same elements are present, such as Scarlett Johansson - who this time plays the lead [...]

Release Date: September 5, 2006
There is nothing that I love more than the movie theater experience; the smell of popcorn, the overpriced sodas whose astronomical size is heightened by spending on a quarter more, and the feel of loving (or loathing) a new film with a group of strangers. But as much as I [...]

Release Date: August 15, 2006
There is absolutely no denying that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest directors of all time. I mean, he did make The Godfather, which is heralded by many as possibly the greatest film ever made. That would make it safe to say that he is pretty good. But after [...]

I have learned to never question the vision of Martin Scorsese. His newest film, The Departed, looks like it will be amazing. The cast is more loaded than Russell Crowe before one of his “incidents”. With stars such as Scorsese’s pet Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and my best friend Alec Baldwin, [...]

Jon Voight, who most people know is the father of Angelina Jolie, has further separated himself from his daughter by publicly embarrassing his family. While being interviewed at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Tea Party, Voight attempted to reach out to his daughter and grandchildren by wishing his grandson Maddox a happy [...]

Release Date: August 18, 2006
Matt Dillon has had moved in a very positive direction these past couple of years, especially when his role in Crash reestablished his legitimacy as a hollywood star. Dillon’s newest endeavor has attracted Oscar buzz for quite some time now as he portrays a character that many people believe to be [...]

Released in: 1974
The term film noir was coined in France in 1946 to describe a certain kind of American film which had become popular. Meaning black film in French, many of the directors of the time were not even aware that they were contributing to the phenomenon. It is still debated today what [...]

Release Date: August 25, 2006
From the producers of The Rookie, comes another inspiring sports movie starring Mark Wahlberg as a Philadelphia Eagles fan, Vince Papale, who just lost his wife and his teaching job and undergoes a big career change. When his favorite team holds an open tryout to help rejuvenate talent and fans, Vince [...]

Just as Japanese movie makers were about to claim the award for supreme dominance in the realm of martial arts filmmaking, Tony Jaa, representing Thailand, may have just knocked them back down the ladder. With audiences needing more awe-inspiring action sequences, current martial arts directors have reinvented the genre to include standard fight scenes mixed in with acrobatics that open the eyes and drop the jaw. Even more impressive, as Ong Bak’s marketing points out, is that Tony doesn’t have a stunt double or wires. When he leaps over a moving vehicle, it’s real.

Last week Snakes on a Plane was a let down in the Over/Under. This week Broken Lizard’s Beerfest was the object of Neil Miller’s compulsive need to gamble on Box Office performance…

Release Date: August 11, 2006
I have grown very tired of these movies in recent years. What movies am I referring to, you may ask? All of these teeny-bopper 16 year old girls acting like adults and dancing their way into the arms of a love they can’t have. Dirty Dancing was one of the only [...]

Release Date: July 14, 2006
There is something that is just unsettling about the thought of Danny DeVito in any state of undress. It becomes a completely more uncomfortable situation when you know that you will be seeing Danny DeVito half naked in a movie. I don’t mean any disrespect for Mr. DeVito, as he is [...]

Release Date: August 25, 2006
I have always been skeptical of musicians that attempt to make the cross-over to making films. Some have a little bit better luck than others; for instance, Ice Cube has had a long and successful film career. Jon Bon Jovi, not so much. It is truly something that is hit or [...]

Release Date: August 25, 2006
Oh those poor Philadelphia Eagles fans… No championships since 1960. Needless to say I do not feel that sorry for them, as I am from Cleveland, which is far worse than any other city’s sports woes, especially know that the Red Sox have won a World Series. But if the City [...]

Release Date: August 25th, 2006
Ever wondered what would happen if drunken college kids wrote a screenplay and directed a film starring all of their friends? Well Jay Chandrasekhar and friends, also known as Broken Lizard, have captured the pure joy and hilarity that ensues while drinking with friends and brought us the freshest brewed comedy [...]

Time again for a very fun edition of Weekly Top 5. We all have those guilty pleasure movies that bring us back to better, and maybe even somewhat humiliating times. Even though you might not remember the lines from these films verbatim (for whatever reason), it is the thought that counts. It was really hard [...]

Release Date: August 8, 2006
I find it difficult sometimes to review movies on DVD. Why? Because I believe that I have ADD, that’s why. While at home I generally shift from one task to another at a whim and without regard for whether I have finished the previous task. This type of behavior makes [...]

Release Date: August 25th, 2006
Oh the humanity! What a great month it has been for those of us capable of displaying such an infantile sense of humor! First we are treated to the mindless yet refined antics of Will Ferrell with Talladega Nights, then we file in with groups of our closest and most like-minded [...]

Release Date: August 19, 2006
The much anticipated SoaP, or Snakes on a Plane, hit the theaters recently, led by the always popular Samuel Jackson. The months of hype ended and it was time to sample the pudding itself. SoaP obviously does not try to follow in the footsteps of Schindler’s List, but does [...]

As you can imagine, after last week it will be very difficult to out-do myself with my Weekly Top 5 column; who can resist talking about the All-Time best “Snake” movies? So this week I have moved on from slithering creatures to something that every can enjoy: Underdog Stories! Everyone loves a good underdog story, [...]

You had to know this was coming. Rounders was a great film, but it was a little early for the pop culture explosion that occured around the world of professional gambling that would be brought upon by the televising of the World Series of Poker and - well - the internet. So here comes a [...]

Release Date: August 19, 2006
Are you frickin’ kidding me?
Those were the first thoughts that popped into my head once the credits were rolling on the long awaited and highly over-hyped Snakes on a Plane. But it wasn’t an “Are you kidding me? This movie was terrible” as much as it was an “Are you kidding [...]

Finally the wait is over, and one of the most highly anticipated summer blockbusters has finally arrived. Samuel L. Jackson, with his nonsensical speaking volume and syllable emphasis, is back in top form in Snakes on a Plane. The cult-classic buzz had already gotten out of control when the film buffs discovered that the movie’s [...]

If there is one thing that I have picked up along the way of becoming a “real” film critic over the past few months, it is that it is very important to take good notes during a film. For me it helps keep me focused, making it easy to keep my thoughts in order. So [...]

Will Smith has been due for another potentially Oscar-worthy performance for quite a while now, in my opinion. Since Ali in 2001, he has gone back to his big blockbuster making self and gone away from dramatic roles. But he did make some serious bank along the way, including Men in Black II, Bad Boys [...]

Release Date: September 22, 2006
If you aren’t “really” into film (you know, the kind of person who could sit around an urban coffee shop for hours and talk about the French New Wave like it just happened), then you may have trouble “getting” the hubbub about director Michel Gondry. And even though you may have [...]

An all around well made film: well shot; subtle at points; characters are well drawn; it even takes its time to develop the characters and story.

I know that I have not been talking about it much, but we all know it is coming. We are all very aware of what is about to happen at the end of this week. On Friday, quite possibly the Summer’s most anticipated film will slither its way into theaters. Almost an instant cult classic [...]