Hateful is apt; this film is often repulsive, too. I understand why Quentin Tarantino is worshipped in film circles, but I have never been a huge fan of his. On the other hand, I did like Django Unchained, so I don’t […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Joy (2015) ☆ ☆
David O. Russell’s films often defy easy description, and Joy is no exception. It is a comedic biographical drama, although it is largely fictional. It posits that family connections are meaningfully important even when family members sue each other or cannot […]
Continue reading »Creed (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆
Like The Force Awakens, Creed is the seventh entry in a franchise that stretches back to the 1970s. Actually, the Rocky saga is one year older, having begun in 1976. And while this may sound like blasphemy considering how beloved the Star Wars adventures have […]
Continue reading »Star Wars, Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆ 1/2
Like most movie fans I too have been looking forward to the new Star Wars adventure, though perhaps less optimistically than most. For me only IV and V — A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back — are really good. And two out of […]
Continue reading »The Good Dinosaur (2015) ☆ ☆ 1/2
What if sixty-five million years ago the dinosaurs were not wiped out by a colossal asteroid strike? According to this Disney-Pixar tale, the Earth would now be dominated by dinos who farm and ranch. If the concept is a little […]
Continue reading »Krampus (2015) ☆ 1/2
Every holiday has a dark side and Christmas is no exception. German and Austrian legends hold that “Krampus” lurks about, ready to punish naughty children. Now there is a film about this particular Grinch, and while it has some areas […]
Continue reading »Secret in Their Eyes (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆
This is a Hollywood adaptation of a 2009 Argentinian film with the same title (+ The). The earlier film is a masterpiece which won the Best Foreign Film Oscar; the ending still haunts me to this day. Now Billy Ray […]
Continue reading »Spotlight (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
I had no idea what Spotlight was about until a few weeks ago, when I finally caught a preview for it, and saw what would appear to be a well-meaning but obvious crusade film against pedophile priests. Boy did I misread […]
Continue reading »Victor Frankenstein (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆
Remakes or re-imaginings of the classic Universal monster movies have not gone well in recent years, and Victor Frankenstein looked to me like a bomb ready to burst. Imagine my surprise when, seeing it anyway, I found it to be sharp, […]
Continue reading »The Peanuts Movie (2015) ☆ ☆ 1/2
I have always had mixed feelings about the Peanuts gang, and this movie has done nothing to change that. The bottom line is that if you loved the comic strip, or the television specials, you will enjoy this new version, […]
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