Darin Miller

Articles by Darin Miller

'Riddick' Review: Vin Diesel, Low-Fi Effects, Power Space Franchise

We last saw the escaped convict Riddick (Vin Diesel with cat eyes) enthroned before an army of planet-hopping Necromongers. Having killed the Necromonger Lord Marshall, Riddick became their leader–per their “keep what you kill” code of governance. That was in 2004.

'Riddick' Review: Vin Diesel, Low-Fi Effects, Power Space Franchise

'Planes' Review: Patriotic Touch Adds Class to Simple Sky Saga

Having successfully conquered the world of NASCAR with the hit Cars, Disney has taken to the sky. The latest installment into the Universe of Cars is Planes, an international underdog story. Dusty (voiced by Dane Cook) is a young crop duster

'Planes' Review: Patriotic Touch Adds Class to Simple Sky Saga

'R.I.P.D' Review: Buddy Cop Comedy Chases Cliches, Sorry CGI Effects

R.I.P.D. has the ingredients of a blockbuster: Robert Schwentke of Red directs the Men in Black-style buddy cop comic adaptation, starring Jeff Bridges as a rugged law man not unlike Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. Ryan Reynolds is theoretically the weakest

'R.I.P.D' Review: Buddy Cop Comedy Chases Cliches, Sorry CGI Effects

'Epic' Review: Bug Out on This Larger-Than-Life Adventure

The 17-year periodical cicadas are supposed to be bad this year, leaving their shells on trees and keeping people awake at night with their singing. So it’s fitting that Epic too arrives in 2013. Epic, a wheeling, action-filled tale based

'Epic' Review: Bug Out on This Larger-Than-Life Adventure

Warner Bros. Celebrates 90 Years of Sights, Sound

In 2012, Paramount and Universal Studios both celebrated their 100-year anniversaries. So it might seem a bit odd, and rather opportunistic, that Warner Bros. decided to celebrate their 90th this year. The studio’s reasoning is good, though: The decade that

Warner Bros. Celebrates 90 Years of Sights, Sound

'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' Review: Bloody, Forgettable Fun

In Freedom, author Jonathan Franzen compares pop music hits to chicklets: their flavor is easily accessible, and when you’re through with them, you spit them out and move onto something else. He might say the same about the MTV-Paramount-MGM collaboration Hansel

'Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters' Review: Bloody, Forgettable Fun

'Pitch Perfect' Review: Like 'Glee' Sans Politics

A year after “Bridesmaids” became a female comedy sensation Anna Kendrick and a comic cast of ladies are poised to do it again. Kendrick, sassy and delightful, is the sarcastic but adorable star of “Pitch Perfect,” a PG-13 ensemble comedy

'Pitch Perfect' Review: Like 'Glee' Sans Politics

'Hit and Run' Review: Road Trip Comedy Crashes and Burns

Everything wrong with “Hit and Run” can be summed up in a moment when Dax Shepard’s character tells his girlfriend Annie (Kristen Bell) why he chose the name Charles Bronson for his alias in the witness protection program. Charles’ father

'Hit and Run' Review: Road Trip Comedy Crashes and Burns

'Chronicle' Review: Superhero Saga for the Facebook Generation

Millennials are obsessed with capturing their lives online. Facebook, YouTube, Twitter. Most people are boring enough that their compulsive documentation is really unnecessary. The story of “Chronicle” is the exception. Loner Andrew Detmer (Dane DeHaan), his cousin Matt Garetty (Alex

Conservative Filmmakers Need Your Vote Today

Two conservative directors are gunning for recognition online today, and they need your help. Filmmakers Mark Judge and Paul Moon, with their documentary film project “The Story of Whittaker Chambers,” are currently competing for “Project of the Week” recognition at

'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' Review: A Classic Brilliantly Told

Today’s spy movies are generally populated with agents who use gadgetry, kung fu and sexual prowess to destroy their megalomaniacal foes. Bullets sometimes help. Not so in John le Carré’s “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” novel, or Tomas Alfredson’s cinematic adaptation.

'Machine Gun Preacher' Review: Gerard Butler is Remarkable

In July, South Sudan officially ended its decades-long struggle for independence from Sudan, the northern region controlled by Arab Muslims who tried for years to force Islam on the mostly Christian south. While the war is officially over, another battle

'Dolphin Tale' Review: PC Story Still Family-Friendly, Inspiring

The producers of “The Blind Side” are back with another true story family feature. “Dolphin Tale” is inspired by Winter, a dolphin that swims with a prosthetic tail and serves as encouragement for handicapped people of all ages. —– The

'Attack the Block' Review: Refreshing, Original War of the Worlds

Imperfect alien invasions have plagued 2011. From the U.S. military in “Battle: LA” to America’s gunslingers in “Cowboys and Aliens,” this year’s human heroes have packed heat and won the war, but the explosion-heavy battles were not incredibly inventive. In

'Fright Night' Review: Leaves You Thirsty for More

The 1985 “Fright Night” was a make-up artist’s dream, less a nightmare horror than a bloody comedy. Its sequel was excessively serious and silly in all the wrong places. The 2011 reboot gets back to the good stuff. Anton Yelchin

'Devil's Double' Review: Monstrous Uday Hussein Brought Back to Vivid Life

Generally when a film is “based on a true story” the question is, “how much did the filmmakers embellish actual events?” For “The Devil’s Double” it’s, “how much did they censor them?” “The Devil’s Double” is director Lee Tamahori‘s adaptation

'Sarah's Key' Review: Moving Take on Little-Known Holocaust Event

The words “Never forget” are inscribed in a Paris memorial honoring the victims of the “so-called ‘government of the French state’” during World War II. The memorial rests on the spot of the government’s most notorious act of villainy, the