I don’t usually do horror, but when I do … it’s Guillermo del Toro. Not all directors hit it out of the park for me every time, but del Toro does. While I didn’t?love?Hellboy, it was engaging;?Pacific Rim?and?Pan’s Labyrinth?are exquisitely visualized tales that would make James Cameron blush. And then, there’s?Crimson Peak. Centered around Edith…
With a compelling story, great acting, and fantastic visuals, The Martian is a worthy film to be considered for this year?s Best Picture nomination.
Love the Coopers?isn’t a great film but it has its moments. An ensemble tale revolving around Christmas and the breaking down of the parental relationship within the Cooper family, the film puts the pieces together in a way that provides a few laughs and some serious soul searching. The audience’s appreciation will be directly related…
Based on the British series?MI-5, the feature-length film?MI-5?(or?Spooks: The Greater Good) tells the story of how head Harry Pearce (Peter Firth) works to uncover who is imploding his agency from the inside. After a terrorist (Scorpion’s?Elyes Gabel) escapes, the heat is turned up on MI-5 and Pearce fakes his death to go looking for him….
Upon first glance, Mad Max: Fury Road seems out of place amongst its fellow best picture nominees. There?s no biographical dramatization, no outspoken activist star. There?s not even a subtitle in sight. But there is flame-spewing punk rock guitarist chained to a thirty-foot wall of Marshall amps on the front of a semi.?In other words:…
In the latest Steven Spielberg-directed thriller, Tom Hanks stars as James Donovan, an insurance lawyer who finds himself in Russia?in the middle of a spy swap. Based on the 1957 Cold War friction revolving around Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance) and Gary Powers (Austin Stowell), the film ratchets up in intensity and emotion as it races…
Anyone following the latest round of Presidential endorsements can attest: politics makes strange bedfellows. Apparently, so does filmmaking (think Clint Eastwood/Jim Carrey in The Deadpool, director Leonard Nimoy/Ted Danson, Tom Selleck/Steve Guttenberg in Three Men and a Baby, Wes Anderson and anyone in anything). But such funky pairings aren’t limited to action flicks or rom-coms;…
Hey Andy Davis, Andy Barclay hates you. Okay, maybe ?hates? is a strong word. But you can bet he darned sure envies you. That?s because just like him, your toys come to life, too. But at least yours have the decency to wait until you?re asleep or not around. And you get cool ones: a…
I had a surreal experience in August. I left the theater for?Straight Outta Compton?momentarily, to discuss?Captive?with David Oyelowo… and ended up discussing race, violence, and Jesus Christ with a black man from England. I returned to?Compton?moments later, and found myself wondering what we’ve learned in a hundred and fifty years since the end of the…
Rectify is my new all-time favorite TV drama. You haven?t heard of it? That?s understandable; it is a Sundance TV original series. . . . Lest you think I shift my favorites frequently, the TV drama it displaces as my favorite is Hill Street Blues (which went off the air in 1987).
