I remember being underwhelmed by the first Doctor Strange movie, as well as by Oz the Great and Powerful, Sam Raimi's last feature as a director, which reeked of studio watering-down. So I was more cautious than optimistic when going in to watch what for the sake of brevity we'll call Dr. Strange 2. Happily, the film has undone the… read more!

When I first heard about Drag Me to Hell, Sam Raimi's long-awaited return to his horror roots after years of adequate studio pictures and of course Spider-Man, it was from my friend William Lebeda, who directed the movie's (very fine) title sequence. Bill had sighed back then, claiming that Drag Me to Hell was – because of its PG-13 rating… read more!

Supernatural hogwash about a Southern belle (Cate Blanchett) who's gifted with the ability to predict people's futures and see things that happen elsewhere. When she gets the feeling that a local debutante (Katie Holmes, who wins the prize for most gratuitous topless scene of 2000) has been murdered, all kinds of worms pop out of the can. This whodunnit thriller… read more!

It all sounded so promising: Sam Raimi directing a story that takes place in Oz? A prequel idea that actually seems to make sense - telling the story of how a Kansas carnival magician (James Franco) wound up becoming the Wonderful Wizard? And even though it's a 3-D Disney movie, I would have thought that if anybody could make 3-D… read more!

Has everybody on earth seen this movie already? Good, then I'll be brief: I enjoyed Spider-Man. As comic book movies go, it has wit, strong characters, and some freshness about the age-old archetype of the dual identity crisis. The entire film really rests on Tobey Maguire's ability to create a sympathetic character, and thankfully he delivers (which, in my opinion,… read more!

Spider-Man 2 is a fine sequel to a fine superhero movie, and anybody who enjoyed Spider-Man will find more of the same pleasures here. Taking care to preserve what made the first movie so special - comic book action taking a back seat to character - Spider-Man 2 further evolves the complicated story of guilt-plagued Peter Parker (Tobey Maguire), whose… read more!

The latest entry in Sam Raimi's series of blockbusters about the dorkiest superhero in New York, Spider-Man 3 pretty much works on the same level as its predecessors – no better, no worse. Even as more characters get added and more twists get worked into the story (more on that later), it adheres to Raimi's goal of delivering the quintessential… read more!