This mystery, based upon Patricia Highsmith’s book of the same name, reminded me of the movie made from another of her books, The Talented Mr. Ripley. Indeed, the pedigree behind this new movie includes Max Minghella, son of director Anthony […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Fury (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
Movies set in confined spaces — submarines, rocket capsules, and in this case, tanks — must necessarily define that space and use it visually to enhance their stories. The greater detail they can provide, the more the audience can identify […]
Continue reading »Dracula Untold (2014) ☆ ☆
I thought the preview looked terrible so I was not looking forward to the newest interpretation of the Dracula legend. Thankfully, the film is better than its preview suggests. It still isn’t what I would judge as “good,” but it […]
Continue reading »My Old Lady (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
Regular readers of my comments will recognize a familiar refrain when I complain that too many modern movies — especially action adventures — have a failing when they depict actions without consequences. Sure, movies are fantasy, but realistic consequences always […]
Continue reading »The Maze Runner (2014) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Yet another science-fiction oriented young adult series debuts from 20th Century-Fox, the studio that has specialized in science-fiction epics since the 1960s. This one has amnesiac young men trying to survive in a glade surrounded by a huge stone maze. […]
Continue reading »The Equalizer (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
It used to be that some television series (and later TV movies as remakes) were derived from hit films. That still occurs, but more often now movies originate on the small screen, then migrate to the big screen as big […]
Continue reading »The Last of Robin Hood (2014) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Upon hearing that Kevin Kline was going to portray Errol Flynn in a new movie, I was dubious, but I shouldn’t have been. Kline is and has always been a very good actor whose movie roles haven’t always matched the […]
Continue reading »The Hundred-Foot Journey (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
This is a well-made, classy movie that should make foodies drool and which hopes to inspire its viewers to treat everyone with respect. It’s “hook” is the food angle — specifically its story of how an Indian family establishes a […]
Continue reading »The Giver (2014) ☆ ☆
Utopian / dystopian societal films are extremely difficult to make well, evidently, because there are so few great examples out there. The Giver has a lot of merit going for it, especially in the first half, but then it, too, breaks […]
Continue reading »When the Game Stands Tall (2014) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Not all sports stories are inspirational but most of them are, or try to be, and some of the best have messages or statements about life that transcend their sporting tales. When the Game Stands Tall attempts to be one of […]
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