No recent film has generated so much buzz, or controversy, as Clint Eastwood’s paean to today’s military soldier, American Sniper. Based on the book written by its subject, Chris Kyle, Eastwood’s movie does a nice job of representing why someone […]
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A Most Violent Year (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
I don’t know what J. C. Chandor’s impetus was to make A Most Violent Year — it’s not one of those movie ideas that instantly grabs one’s attention — but the result is an engrossing study of a couple (Oscar Isaac, […]
Continue reading »Taken 3 (2014) ☆ ☆
No one expected the adventures of Bryan Mills to endure into two movies, much less three. But French writer-producer Luc Besson’s vision of a rugged, confident, middle-aged man with a particular set of skills not only made Taken (2008) a huge […]
Continue reading »Cake (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
Although Jennifer Aniston is one of the most recognized television and movie stars in the world, she is still trying to persuade people she can act. That should not be necessary considering her wide range of parts since “Friends” concluded, […]
Continue reading »Blackhat (2015) ☆ 1/2
Blackhat is a timely exploration of terrifying cyber-terrorism, headed by a rising star and directed by a veteran known for crisp action and slick style. Why then is it such a disappointing movie? Because of Morgan Davis Foehl’s pedestrian script, which […]
Continue reading »Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb (2014) ☆ ☆
The Night at the Museum trilogy which this episode caps has never been one of great import. Young audiences should appreciate the notion of historical figures and skeletons of dinosaurs coming to life in a museum after hours, but the primary […]
Continue reading »Into the Woods (2014) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I didn’t know what to expect from Rob Marshall’s new musical Into the Woods; I was not familiar with the play at all, to the point that I had no idea it conglomerated some of Grimm’s fairy tales into a […]
Continue reading »Selma (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
The big flap regarding Selma was its failure to secure a slew of Oscar nominations, which it was expected to do. Selma is certainly the type of film — an historical drama addressing race relations, focusing on one particular historical personage — […]
Continue reading »Foxcatcher (2014) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I had seen the preview for this months ago, then learned that Steve Carell was in it. Where was he, I wondered, for I did not recognize him. Carell underwent a couple of hours a day in the makeup chair […]
Continue reading »The Imitation Game (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
The Imitation Game chronicles the history of how the British were able, finally, to decode the legendary “Enigma” coding machine during World War II. This story has been told before, in Enigma (2001), which was rather dull and confusing. This tale is […]
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