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Quentin Tarantino is as self-indulgent as ever with his eighth (or ninth, depending on how you choose to catalog Kill Bill) motion picture, which is both a good and bad thing. His pacing and story structure idiosyncratic, and he has always been a little too impressed with his own cleverness. Fortunately for him, he is a … Continue reading
The fanboys can rest easy: It turns out that every once in a while, you can go home again. Star Wars: The Force Awakens isn’t a perfect movie (none are), but it is a damn good one that delivers the goods. It pay homage to its predecessors, stays true to its source, and opens up … Continue reading
Ron Howard’s latest may strengthen the clichéd argument that “truth is stranger than fiction”, but it also suggests that it is often more boring, too. Howard and screenwriter Charles Leavitt half-heartedly adapt Nathaniel Philbrick’s novel of the same name, itself a fictionalized account of the true story of the ill-fated whaling ship Essex, the inspiration for Herman … Continue reading
Justin Kurzel’s free-handed and visceral adaptation of “the Scottish play” is sure to irritate the hell out of English Lit. majors and Shakespeare purists; it’s also incredibly entertaining, visually stunning, and perfectly drenched in mud, blood, and madness. The story of the ambitious Scottish noble who murders his way to power at the prediction of a … Continue reading
In all fairness to screenwriter Max Landis (Fantastic Four) and director Paul McGuigan (Sherlock), finding a fresh spin on Mary Shelley’s classic novel is no easy feat. On the surface of it, re-jiggering the story as a mildly demented buddy movie is one of the few iterations left; unfortunately, the execution is lack and Victor Frankenstein … Continue reading
Even though the Hunger Games series feels a little tired at this point, it manages to end with a bang — which is a pleasant surprise given the lukewarm dramatics of Mockingjay Part 1. Part 2 is by no means flawless, but it is less uneven and more confidently paced than its ill-conceived first half, a … Continue reading
While Spectre is far from bad, it is likely to frustrate many fans, especially given its unenviable position of following on the heels of the near-perfect Skyfall. The latter flew in the face of expectations and pushed the boundaries of the franchise’s formula while paying homage to its rich history and serving as a mini-reboot. Spectre … Continue reading
Biopics are often tributes to eccentrics with grandiose — and often unusual — obsessions. In the case of The Walk, veteran filmmaker Robert Zemeckis (Back to the Future and Forrest Gump) has found a subject with a curious fixation indeed, and while the movie stumbles a bit early on, it (ahem) never falls. The subject here is Phillipe … Continue reading
Sicario is the moral-grey-zone crime drama for those of us who felt burned by season 2 of True Detective. There are few heroes and even fewer clearly defined villains in this taught, gruesome, and disquieting narco-thriller written by Taylor Sheridan and directed by Denis Villeneuve (Prisoners). Unlike other films that posit the need to go to extremes to win … Continue reading
James “Whitey” Bulger was a real-life bogeyman in Boston during the 1970s and ’80s. A vicious, possible psychotic, and seemingly untouchable criminal kingpin, his name commanded varying degrees of fear and grudging respect among cops and crooks alike. It is ostensibly an ensemble flick, though so much has been made of Johnny Depp’s performance and appearance … Continue reading
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