Ron Wilkinson Johnny Depp as an updated Baron Munchausen. Even in the middle of watching this hugely entertaining Johnny Depp slapstick-a-thon the viewer finds him/herself wondering if the great actor’s best days are behind him. The edginess is mostly gone and in its place are double the cleverness and four times the action, production and special effects.
Jennifer Aniston does something completely different in this potboiler of a psychodrama and succeeds marvelously. From the opening shot of Jennifer Aniston in Daniel Barnz’ simmering psycho-drama you know you are not watching “Friends” anymore. Aniston is made up to the hilt with the best prosthetics since Steve Carell’s nose in “Foxcatcher” and when it
Not as violent as the title would imply, this is a sterling essay in inner strength. The story is set in New York City in 1981, in what we are told is the most violent year in the city’s history. Before we go any further, it should be noted that J.C. Chandor’s wonderfully transporting story
James Bond grows a brain but the audience is not buying it. Although “Blackhat” is a fun romp into a fantasy world of explicitly bloody, violent international espionage, director Michael Mann (written by Morgan Davis Foehl) has created a work of sound and fury that signifies nothing. The film gets off to a good start
Although the book paints a better picture of Chris Kyle as a man, this is one RPG of a war story. Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort is an entertaining combination of war movie and biopic. The book by the subject, Chris Kyle (co-written with Scott McEwen and James Defelice), contains a much better description of
Put the time-travel gibberish into the background and the result is a great, gritty Aussie noir flick not to be missed. The Spierig brothers reunite with Ethan Hawke for their first feature in five years and it is a fascinating film. The screenplay is based on the science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein
Ignore the stoner humor and hackneyed clichés and appreciate the mood and setting of this most neo of the neo-noirs. Those who have read any of Thomas Pynchon’s intractable tails must have been amazed that Paul Thomas Anderson would take on the hazardous task of transforming his 2009 novel into a movie. Continuing Pynchon’s ongoing
A rich performance with the pathos and drama of a new age of technology set within the hardships of war. Benedict Cumberbatch pounds out a fantastic performance as one of the greatest nerds of all time, Alan Turing, the inventor of one of the first digital computers. Although the computer itself, built in the legendary
An oft told story is given stirring insight through first rate performances and production Bennett Miller’s pot-boiling drama, “ripped from the headlines,” is a powerful and poignant essay of human frailty. There will be few viewers who, after seeing his remarkable portrayal of a doomed scion of the du Pont fortune, will not acknowledge Steve
Walk on the bland side in a comic book of biblical proportions The good thing about Ridley Scott’s latest special effects lollapalooza is going into it you know exactly what to expect. The story, rough as it is, is taken from the Bible so there are no spoilers to be had. From the opening battle