Annie is a reimagining of the Broadway musical-turned-movie based on the classic comic strip Little Orphan Annie. It’s the story of an orphan who becomes the adopted daughter of an unscrupulous, wealthy man who straightens up and flies right because of her. In the comic strip and musical, the wealthy man was billionaire Daddy Warbucks […]
Tag: Movie Reviews
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies – And Now For The Big Finish!
After a tonally confused beginning and terrific middle episode filled with all kinds of invention, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies brings Peter Jackson’s six-movie Tolkien binge to close with a rousing mid-point finale that both wraps up the story and sets the stage for the Lord of the Rings trilogy quite nicely.
Top Five: Chris Rock Rocks It!
Chris Rock has been in a host of movies – some good, some not so much – but first time, he’s made a film that feels true to the person we’ve come to know from his stand up. Top Five is loud and rude and angry – but it’s also thoughtful, thought-provoking and tender.
Exodus: Gods + Kings = Boring!
As Moses, Christian Bale is no Charlton Heston – and as good a filmmaker as he is, Ridley Scott is no Cecil B. DeMille.
The Hunger Games – Mockingjay Part 1: A Lifeless, Limp Noodle
I won’t lie; I walked into The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 knowing that I would hate it. I liked the first two films well enough, but really don’t like Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) and I’m sorry but I’m sick to death of watching movies that don’t seem to end. I miss the days when movies […]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 – Action, Suspense and Thinking!
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1 could have gone wrong in so many ways that it’s a genuine relief to be able to say it’s infinitely better than the book – at least, so far. It’s smart and thought provoking while having considerably more action that I was expecting. In fact, it’s the best film […]
Dumb and Dumber To Bad!
Dumb and Dumber was a really smart movie about a couple of really stupid people. Dumb and Dumber To is not.
Big Hero 6 – Big Hearted, Huggable Adventure!
It was only a matter of time before Disney tackled an animated Marvel movie. Picking an extremely obscure title allowed the company to set up a unique world and introduce a group of genuinely fun characters. Loss leads to superheroic adventure in Disney’s Big Hero 6. It is one of the best films of the […]
Interstellar Is Stellar Not Interstellar!
Christopher Nolan’s new epic, Interstellar, is a magnificent achievement technically but falls a bit short in terms of story and character development. It’s an intriguing mix of science fact and fiction that attempts to turn a potential end of the world scenario with a phoenix-like rise from the ashes story. It spends a lot of […]
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance): A Fabulous Fiction Rooted In Truth!
Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a brilliant bombastic, bizarre skewering of: superhero movies, egocentric actors, actors’ insecurities, Broadway, Broadway critics, and pretty much all things entertainment. The story of Riggan Thomson’s (Michael Keaton) effort to be taken seriously as an actor/director/playwright after having starred in three superhero movies twenty […]
John Wick: Well Worn Trope in a Fresh World!
Why would we go to see yet another hitman comes out of retirement to wreak vengeance movie? Because it takes the reliable (okay, maybe overused) trope and reinvigorates it with style, a degree of wit and a unique world with unusual details. Also, Keanu Reeves at his best.