Rogue One definitely felt more like a war film than any of the rest of this eight movie franchise with “Wars” in the title. It’s certainly a darker movie, set at a time in the war where the Empire outmatches the Rebels by a long way, so sacrifice is a key theme. For those of […]
Collateral Beauty, directed by David Frankel, is a heartfelt, brilliant drama that delves deep into the very heart of what it means to be human, ignites the imagination and makes you look at the world around you like you’ve never seen it before – or, at least that’s what it was aiming for. Unfortunately, it’s […]
Office Christmas Party is the new shenanigans comedy directed by Will Speck and Josh Gordon (The Switch) and stars frequent collaborators Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston. The title pretty much tells you what you need to know about the plot… or two or three. Clay Vanstone (T.J. Miller) runs the underperforming Chicago branch of the […]
In his day, Howard Hughes was a fascination to the world, because of his business success, aviation prowess and his eccentric and reclusive manner. He has been the study of authors and directors for years. Is a new generation of cinematic viewers ready for more of his story or has his appeal faded with time? During the late ’50s in […]
The Birth of a Nation, written, directed by and starring Nate Parker, is a period drama film based on the true story of a slave rebellion led by Nat Turner in Southampton County, Virginia, in 1831. It offers a brutal, unflinching look at a very dark part of America’s history, but ultimately sells its own […]
Jackie is directed by Pablo Larrain and stars Natalie Portman as a recently widowed Jackie Kennedy who is dealing with the events surrounding her husband, President John F. Kennedy’s assassination. Jackie centers around a reporter (Billy Crudup) coming to Jackie’s new home to get her account of the tragic events. While giving this interview, Jackie manipulates […]
The Man from Laramie, a 1955 western that has received a new Blu-Ray restoration as part of Eureka Entertainment’s The Masters of Cinema series, is about as reliably old-school as you can get from one of the most stable genres of Classic Hollywood – whether or not you’ll like it depends on how much you’re […]
2002’s Punch-Drunk Love has the distinction of being the movie that gave Adam Sandler his first and only dramatic role which was regarded as one of his best movies. It has now been re-released onto Blu-ray as part of the Criterion Collection. Barry Egan (Sandler) is a lonely single man with seven sisters and the […]
Bad Santa 2 is the sequel to the 2003 comedy hit starring Billy Bob Thornton returning as Willie, the alcoholic vulgar Santa for hire, who is once again, plotting to rob his unsuspecting employers blind on Christmas. To briefly recap the first film, Willie is a drinking, sex addicted, potty-mouthed thief who poses as a […]
There is nothing new about making films about the Second World War or the espionage missions that took place during the conflict. The romantic thriller Allied acknowledges this, with its director, the celebrated Robert Zemeckis and writer Steven Knight choosing to make a deliberately old-fashioned film with modern filmmaking technology. Max Vatan (Brad Pitt) is […]
