Small Soldiers

"...Directed by: Joe Dante. Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Gregory Smith, Jay Mohr, Phil..."

July 10, 1998 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Riotous comedy mixes live-action and animation for a great result.

"...Directed by: Joe Dante. Starring: Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Timothy..."

Nov. 14, 2003 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

In a World Where ...

Plumbing the depths of Joe Dante's Trailers From Hell

"...here, and I was a film collector, too," says Joe Dante, the man behind the Mogwai of Gremlins, the..."

March 13, 2009 Screens Feature by Marc Savlov

Piranha 3D

Finally, 3-D is being put to its optimum use. Who cares how it holds up as a remake?

"...sense of the word, this second remake of 1978's Joe Dante-directed/Roger Corman-produced Jaws knockoff is ridiculous summertime drive-in fun...."

Aug. 27, 2010 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Tales From the Crypt Presents Demon Knight

Good performances and lots of blood and gore can't save this illogical TV-to-screen story from itself.

"...everything from Roger Corman's A Bucket of Blood to Joe Dante's Gremlins films, in something other than a one-scene..."

Jan. 20, 1995 Movie Review by Joey O'Bryan

Roadracers

"...Highway series seems equally inspired including features directed by Joe Dante (a script by Charlie Haas), John Milius, Mary..."

July 22, 1994 Movie Review by Louis Black

Sleepwalkers

"...Steve himself alongside genre luminaries Clive Barker, Tobe Hooper, Joe Dante, and John Landis. That's the most interesting thing..."

April 17, 1992 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Matinee

This film is a fondly humorous look back at the last gasp of America's innocence, being a kid, and, in particular, monster movies.

"...Directed by: Joe Dante. Starring: John Goodman, Cathy Moriarty, Simon Fenton, Kellie..."

Jan. 29, 1993 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

SXSW Film Review: 'That Guy Dick Miller'

Character actor Dick Miller brings the verve

"...Ever see a Joe Dante movie – maybe Gremlins or Rock ’n’ Roll..."

March 10, 2014 Screens Post by Marjorie Baumgarten

Explorers

"...Directed by: Joe Dante. Starring: Ethan Hawke, River Phoenix, Amanda Peterson, Dick..."

April 25, 2001 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Page Two: Wild & Free

Surveying the SXSW landscape

"...The Best of Trailers From Hell With Joe Dante. I spend a lot of time writing about..."

March 6, 2009 Column by Louis Black

DVDanger: Cult Film Corner

Burying the Ex and Patch Town

"...the Ex, it's the presence behind the camera of Joe Dante...."

Aug. 18, 2015 Screens Post by Richard Whittaker

Holiday Viewing: Gremlins

Classic black comedy has the blues

"...According to commentaries on the film’s Blu-ray, director Joe Dante found himself in career arrears despite well-received B-movie..."

Dec. 8, 2017 Screens Post by Raoul Hernandez

Linklater/Hawke/Black: The Complete Transcript

"...– Billy Joe Shaver, "There Ain't No God In Mexico"..."

March 11, 2016 Screens Feature

Piranha 3DD

Barely a step above a second-tier Troma film, this is one catch you'd do well to throw back.

"...Just so we're absolutely clear going in, I consider Joe Dante's original 1978 Piranha to be one of the..."

June 1, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Family Man

"...heaping helpings of earnest Capra-corn in the later ones. Dante Spinotti's classy cinematography gives the production a nice sheen,..."

Dec. 22, 2000 Movie Review by Marrit Ingman

SXSW 09 Film Lineup Announced

What's all the ruckus? Why, it's the SXSW Film lineup!

"...Alexander the Last Director/Writer: Joe Swanberg A sensual and intimate portrait of a young..."

Feb. 1, 2009 Screens Post by Kimberley Jones

Secondhand Lions

In this unique family film that's also an ode to heroic movies gone by, a boy is sent for the summer to live with his two eccentric uncles in Texas.

"...by: Tim McCanlies. Starring: Robert Duvall, Michael Caine, Haley Joel Osment, Kyra Sedgwick and Nicky Katt. Emotional, nostalgic, and..."

Sept. 19, 2003 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Man With Susan's Plan

"...JL: That was Joe Dante, but you know who else did that? Do..."

June 25, 1999 Screens Feature by Marc Savlov

Summer Sneaks

Apocalypse Whenever: Movies in the Season of Armageddon

"...D: Richard Donner; with Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, Jet Li...."

May 22, 1998 Screens Feature

Beast

Idris Elba versus a lion in this throwback creature feature

"...Demon, and one of my favorites of all time, Joe Dante’s Piranha. So Beast is basically Jaws on safari...."

Aug. 26, 2022 Movie Review by Sarah Jane

Chronicle Recommends: Seasons Beatings

Our top picks for holiday movies with a twist

"...Instead, head straight to Kingston Falls, the setting of Joe Dante’s anti-Capra-corn masterpiece of googly-eyed and transgressive transubstantiation. Front-loaded..."

Dec. 6, 2018 Screens Post by Chronicle Film Staff

The LEGO Ninjago Movie

The LEGO law of diminishing returns

"...with a live-action introduction that’s lifted virtually whole from Joe Dante’s Gremlins, this is the third film entry in..."

Sept. 22, 2017 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

The Wild Life

An animated spin on Robinson Crusoe

"...Looking like mangy feline versions of the gremlins in Joe Dante’s 1984 horror comedy, these demonic kitties make the..."

Sept. 9, 2016 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Page Two: May the Circle Be Unbroken

Exploitation film's family tree

"...Corman graduates: Gale Anne Hurd, James Cameron, Stephanie Rothman, Joe Dante, Allan Arkush...."

Feb. 26, 2016 Column by Louis Black

Lazer Team

The first feature film from Austin's Rooster Teeth gang is a hoot

"...recalls Weird Science, Small Soldiers, and Explorers – minus Joe Dante’s polish. What carries the film through to its..."

Jan. 29, 2016 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Earth to Echo

A trio of suburban kids befriend an alien entity in this Spielberg-influenced family film.

"...of his Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Joe Dante’s Explorers thrown in for good measure...."

July 4, 2014 Movie Review by William Goss

Passion Project

Fantastic Fest and its home base the Alamo Drafthouse have only gotten bigger, but its heart – pure and pulpy – stays the same

"...Wild Angels? Who jump-started the careers of Jack Nicholson, Joe Dante, and John Sayles? Who ran New World Pictures..."

Sept. 24, 2010 Screens Feature by Marc Savlov

Never Coming to a Theatre Near You

Stephen Romano's continuing adventures in fake movies

"...on TrailersFromHell.com, the flagship site of onetime Roger Corman-trailer-cutter Joe Dante), Romano roams far and wide from what's actually..."

Feb. 12, 2010 Screens Feature by Marc Savlov

Aliens in the Attic

A group of kids save their vacation home from extraterrestrials while keeping their clueless elders out of the loop.

"...which borrows heavily from such earlier, better films as Joe Dante's Gremlins and Small Soldiers, and earlier, marginally worse..."

Aug. 7, 2009 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

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