It is a truth almost universally acknowledged that a protagonist must be at least somehow likeable in order for an audience to spend a movie following them. It should also, by now, be a truth universally acknowledged that Bradley Cooper is an excellent actor (perhaps his three Oscar nominations in that category can move those who still…
It’s pretty hard to lose with a Guillermo del Toro film. The fact that he’s one of my favorite directors notwithstanding, he’s just a Hell of a talented filmmaker by any standards. Does every one of his films resonate with EVERYONE? No, but that’s to be said with pretty much any director. As wonderful as…
Don’t see The Walk. See Man On Wire instead. And if you’ve seen Man On Wire, see it again instead of seeing this completely redundant, ham-fisted, embarrassing (and boring!) re-telling of the same story. The Walk is so bad that it’s not only a stain on Man On Wire, it’s also detrimental to that perfect film, because some people may see The Walk at the expense…
Easily and obviously Ridley Scott’s best film since Black Hawk Down (2001), and instantly joining that film, Gladiator, Thelma and Louise, Blade Runner and Alien as among the best of his 23-film oeuvre, The Martian is big-screen, all-ages, mass-market entertainment at its best. It excels in every department – cinematography, script, VFX, sound, design, editing – but perhaps most of all in casting.…
There is a strong argument to be had that Macbeth is the best play ever written – better than Hamlet, better than King Lear. It’s leaner and cleaner than those plays, with a relentless narrative drive, exceptional characters and an absolute cracker of a plot. It’s a natural for big-screen adaptation, and there have been…
Finally a film that I can say is really solid all around. Sicario is a dark, tense, drama/thriller about the drug war at the U.S. and Mexico border that offers a perspective of that war, and provides a strong narrative story as well. Emily Blunt plays Kate Macer, an idealistic FBI tactical agent that gets…
There’s nothing inherently wrong with Christian film as a concept. When it comes right down to it, it’s simply one more point of view. People make movies with all sorts of perspectives. They could be politically motivated, philosophically motivated, or often financially motivated. So, what’s so bad about somebody making a movie with a spiritual…
You know, it drives me crazy when a movie could be great if it just pushed the envelope a little further. Sadly, Cooties is just such a movie. It looked like so much fun, but just doesn’t go far enough in both the humor AND the gore aspects. The premise is silly enough: Something contaminates…
It’s been way too long since Johnny Depp has actually been in a role that wasn’t a comically overblown weirdo in a unfunny script. I think we’ve had enough pirate shenanigans from him, though vexingly there is yet another Pirates of the Caribbean movie to come, and surely Jonathan Frid of Dark Shadows fame should…
M. Night Shyamalan’s self-funded (five million dollar) mockumentary, The Visit, is a strange brew of humour and creepiness that seems to be intended for the teen market. Shyamalan has said that he recommends the youngest viewer be fourteen or above; I recommend the eldest being seventeen or below. Australian child actors Olivia DeJonge and Ed Oxenbould play…