Email Author Nick Schager

2011 Stories by Nick Schager

• Knuckle Review

  published December 1, 2011

  Making UFC brawlers seem decidedly dainty by comparison, Ireland's Quinn McDonagh clan has for decades engaged in bare-knuckle brawls with... More >>

• INCENDIARY: The Willingham Case Review

  published November 17, 2011

  Conservative Texas governor and presidential hopeful Rick Perry comes across as the poster child for unjust death-penalty fanaticism in... More >>

• Jack and Jill Review

  published November 10, 2011

  Al Pacino romantically pursuing a cross-dressing Adam Sandler around a medieval castle should be stunningly surreal, so it's a... More >>

• The Catechism Cataclysm Review

  published November 3, 2011

  Taking the notion of toilet humor literally but incapable of delivering its promised religious satire, The Catechism Cataclysm is more... More >>

• Kawasaki's Rose (Kawasakiho ruze) Review

  published October 27, 2011

  Kawasaki's Rose pivots around a long-suppressed bombshell, yet there's little overblown spectacle to Polish filmmaker Jan Hrebejk's... More >>

• Chalet Girl Review

  published October 20, 2011

  Hot Dog… The Movie and its disreputable ski-comedy ilk might have been a low point in cinema history, but at least their... More >>

• Fireflies in the Garden Review

  published October 13, 2011

  Familial dysfunction takes glib, syrupy form in Fireflies in the Garden, a flashbacky saga of past discord and present-day... More >>

• The Way Review

  published October 6, 2011

  The Way might lack the Chicken Soup for the Soul imprimatur, but writer/director Emilio Estevez's travelogue tale of fathers... More >>

• Connected Review

  published September 29, 2011

  Connected opens with director Tiffany Shlain confessing to cell phone addiction, a focus on herself that's indicative of this... More >>

• Born and Bred Review

  published August 18, 2011

  By valuing the complexity of individuals' stories over superficial competition drama, Born and Bred bucks the unwelcome nonfiction trend... More >>

• Glee: The 3-D Concert Movie Review

  published August 11, 2011

  Following in the live-film footsteps of Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, Glee: The 3D Concert Movie transposes its flash-in-the-pan... More >>

• Gun Hill Road Review

  published August 11, 2011

  Life is a series of constant adjustments to ever-shifting realities in Gun Hill Road, a Brooklyn-set indie about a criminal, Enrique... More >>

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  The Perfect Age of Rock 'N' Roll Review

  published August 4, 2011

  Amy Winehouse's recent death at 27 grants grim topicality to The Perfect Age of Rock 'N' Roll, a hackneyed saga about two... More >>

• Harry Potter and the Last Crusade

  published July 14, 2011

  Bespectacled Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) squares off against amphibian-faced Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in Harry Potter and the... More >>

• African Cats

  published April 21, 2011

  AFRICAN CATS Anthropomorphizing its animal stars to a borderline-dubious degree, Disneynature’s nonfiction African Cats... More >>

• Footprints

  published April 14, 2011

  FOOTPRINTS Grauman’s Chinese Theatre is the epicenter of Old Hollywood glamour as well as an irresistible magnet for those... More >>

• Rio

  published April 14, 2011

  RIO Parrot sex is the narrative impetus of Rio, and yet there’s little spark to this animated tale of a domesticated... More >>

• Born to Be Wild 3-D

  published April 7, 2011

  BORN TO BE WILD 3-D Gigantic form, diminutive content: Born to Be Wild 3-D, presented in expansive IMAX, offers a visually... More >>

• Con Artist

  published March 31, 2011

  CON ARTIST Mark Kostabi was a talented artist and a smug, antagonistic douchebag, both of which made him an art-world celebrity.... More >>

• Hop

  published March 31, 2011

  HOP The Easter Bunny gets an Alvin & the Chipmunks makeover in Hop, director Tim Hill’s second consecutive tale of a furry... More >>

• Limitless

  published March 17, 2011

  LIMITLESS A gleeful celebration of nonstop doping, Limitless offers up a dim "Better Living Through Chemistry" fantasy that... More >>

• Battle: Los Angeles

  published March 10, 2011

  BATTLE: LOS ANGELES The shaky-cam is coming, the shaky-cam is coming! Jonathan Liebesman directs his alien-invasion saga... More >>

• Mars Needs Moms

  published March 10, 2011

  MARS NEEDS MOMS Who said animation should look real? Robert Zemeckis, for one, though as evidenced by Disney's recent closing... More >>

• Rango

  published March 3, 2011

  RANGO A rollicking, surreal and existential kids' Western that worships at the altars of Sergio Leone, Hunter S. Thompson and... More >>

• Beastly

  published March 3, 2011

  BEASTLY A modernized riff on Beauty and the Beast that's as subtle as its protagonist's freaky facial blemishes, Beastly... More >>