After years of silly 80s teen romantic comedies, this one knocked it out of the park, and not just because of that iconic scene showing John Cusack holding a boom box blaring Phil Collins outside his would-be girlfriend’s bedroom. Cameron Crowe’s story, about a teen bookworm/valedictorian obsessed with creating a perfectly planned future, while being […]
Meryl Streep transforms herself into former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in this biopic about the key moments of Thatcher’s life, from girlhood to becoming the nation’s first female prime minister, during conversations with the ghost of her late husband, Denis. Streep provides a fascinating character study, but that really is all that this film […]
A doctor newly-located to the remote Shetland Islands off the coast of Scotland discovers a ritualistically-mutilated body, setting off a mysterious chain of deadly events tied to ancient Viking folklore. Unfortunately the mildly promising story, Radha Mitchell’s fine acting and travelogue-worthy visuals are ruined by a dull, suspense-averse story in which is the only real […]
This untraditional sci-fi film stars Amy Adams as a renowned linguist helping the government learn why mysterious alien spacecraft have suddenly appeared across the planet, sparking a global crisis. Those expecting a traditional alien invasion sci-fi flick will be DEEPLY disappointed. This is a mindful head trip, exploring thought-provoking themes in the space-time continuum. Like […]
This is a matter-of-fact, three act portrait of Chiron: act one, as a young Miami boy attempting to survive his crack-addicted mother, then, act two, as a teen battling neighborhood bullies as he struggles with his sexual identity. It is heartbreaking as you realize nearly everyone in Chiron’s life has or will fail him, leaving […]
The latest outing by Marvel Comics stars Benedict Cumberbatch as an arrogant, ostentatiously successful neurosurgeon, who, after a career-ending auto accident, lands a new gig as a sorcerer during a life-changing trip to Nepal. The true star of this eye-popping cinematic extravaganza, however, is the Matrix-meets-Inception visual effects, underscored by a clever, funny story and […]
This is THE iconic Halloween horror film, and not just because it has the popular American holiday as its title. Jamie Lee Curtis stars as the likable, good girl teenage babysitter Laurie Strode, whom is terrorized on Halloween night by maniacal serial killer Michael Myers after he escapes from his psychiatric facility and returns to […]
Scott Speedman (Felicity, Underworld) and Liv Tyler (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) star in this home invasion horror film about a young couple arriving at their remote summer vacation home late at night after a wedding, where they are quickly terrorized by a mysterious, mask-wearing trio. Writer/director Bryan Bertino keeps the tension taut, well-paced […]
Vastly better storytelling and a surprisingly good cast of young actresses raises the bar, and the scares, in this prequel to the very average 2014 film, which, in this go ’round, has a fake fortune teller widow and her two daughters inadvertently opening a window into the spirit world when they introduce a Ouija board […]
This sci-fi horror is based on one of the world’s most famous alien abduction stories, the mysterious five day disappearance of logger Travis Walton from the forests of Arizona’s White Mountains on November 5, 1975. Although the story lingers a bit too much on the suspicion by authorities towards Walton’s fellow loggers who said they […]