Following the success of Divergent, Shailene Woodley, Theo James, Kate Winslet, et al return for Insurgent, the adaptation of the second novel in Veronica Roth’s dystopian YA series. With the heavy lifting of all that exposition taken care of in the first film, Insurgent moves well, provides a few new twists and considerably more action […]
Category: Movie Reviews
Backcountry: Nature Is A Horror!
Fair disclosure: I saw backcountry in September at the Calgary International Film Festival. It played there as a film made by a Canadian crew – including Alberta director Adam MacDonald – and because it was really, really good. My CIFF review follows the jump.
Tweaks Make Cinderella Better Than The Original Toon!
Quick note: Cinderella is amazing in IMAX! Everything about its presentation – incredible sets, mind-blowing (and appropriate) effects and stunning costumes on appealing characters – is just gobsmackingly perfect in IMAX. Then there’s the actual movie – a live action take on Disney’s animated classic, Cinderella, that improves on the story and is told with […]
Run All Night Squanders Its Talented Cast!
Shawn McGuire is a former crime boss who has gone legit. Jimmy Conlon is his former button man who drinks to kill the memory of the faces of those he killed for Shawn. Shawn still keeps him around – takes care of him, really – because of their deep friendship. That all ends when Jimmy […]
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel – A Cozy Visit With Old Friends!
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel was, to say the least, a most unexpected global hit. The idea of a group of English senior citizens moving to Jaipur, India to give themselves a better retirement – although intriguing – was expected to make money as a niche bit of counterprogramming but then people started seeing it […]
Early Review: Kidnapping Mr. Heineken – All Technique, No Heart!
In 1982, five men kidnapped Alfred Heineken, the man who built Heineken into a commercial behemoth. Kidnapping Mr. Heineken is based on the book The Kidnapping of Alfred Heineken by Peter DeVries. It’s mostly a one-note thriller that could use a little humor and a little more depth.
Early Review: Playing It Cool Doesn’t Do That!
Told from the point of view of a screenwriter (Chris Evans) who doesn’t believe in love anymore, Playing It Cool wants to be both hip and a screwball romantic comedy and never quite succeeds at being either – though it’s fun watching it try.
Focus Is Slight Slight-of-Hand!
Heist and caper movies rely on manipulating what we see and hear in such a way that we see and hear everything we need to know without realizing that we’ve done so. In spite of some pacing problems and an occasional overabundance of flash (a tricky balance that writer/directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa don’t […]
The Lazarus Effect: What Could Possibly Go Wrong!
There have been a lot of horror movies that were set in medicine. Few have achieved the kind of off-kilter weirdness of The Lazarus Effect wherein a group of research scientists who, while trying to find a way to enable first responders to bring a person back from the brink after a more extended period […]
McFarland, USA – Running into the Heart of America!
Yes, it’s a sports movie. And yes, there’s a ‘Big Race.’ But MacFarland USA is not just another sports movie. It’s a story of families – the ones we’re born into; the ones we build around us in our communities, and the ones that expand beyond even that.
The DUFF – If You Don’t Know Who It Is, It’s Probably You!
Bianca is not the most popular girl in her class, but she has two really good friends and if she can’t bring herself to say more than three words in a row to her crush, well, she’s still got her friends. That is, until her neighbor, high school football star Wesley, informs her that she’s […]