LET THE MYSTERY UNFOLD. After the death of her mother, Clara (Mackenzie Foy) ends up in a magical world where she learns that not everything is what it seems… This 3D reimagining and combination of the 1816 story and the 1892 Petipa/Tchaikovsky ballet looks gorgeous, but the stunning technical details can’t conceal the fact that … Continue reading The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
SHE’S CHASING A DREAM… THEY’RE CHASING HER. When she sees her boyfriend (Aaron Eckhart) get shot by two hitmen (Morgan Freeman, Chris Rock), small-town waitress Betty Sizemore (Renée Zellweger) enters a state of mind where she believes her favorite character on a TV soap is real… One of Neil LaBute’s most lauded films is this … Continue reading Nurse Betty
YOU’RE NEVER TOO OLD TO GET EVEN. After losing their pensions due to corporate restructuring, three New York City retirees (Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Alan Arkin) are toying with the idea of robbing a bank. The original 1979 film had a bunch of older comedians in the leads; the remake cast more prominent Hollywood stars. … Continue reading Going in Style
FEAR CAN HOLD YOU PRISONER. HOPE CAN SET YOU FREE. The top 10 list that Internet Movie Database users have put together over the years is full of great movies. For many years now the number one slot has been occupied by a film that wasn’t a huge hit at the time. It received very … Continue reading Shawshank Redemption: Making the Big House Home
SHE HAS THE POWER. American student Lucy (Scarlett Johansson), who’s living in Taiwan, is tricked into delivering a mysterious briefcase to a mob boss; after being subjected to a drug, her physical and mental capabilities increase in unimaginable ways… In this silly (but popular) sci-fi-actioner, Luc Besson plays around with the old idea that we’re … Continue reading Lucy
FREEDOM IS NOT GIVEN. IT IS OUR RIGHT AT BIRTH. BUT THERE ARE SOME MOMENTS WHEN IT MUST BE TAKEN. In 1839, enslaved Africans take over La Amistad, a Spanish ship heading into American waters, and kill some of the crew; after being caught by the Navy, the Africans end up in court. After making … Continue reading Amistad
REAPPEARING JUNE 10. The members of the Horsemen are still in hiding, but when they’re assigned a new case by the secret society of magicians that they’re now part of, everything changes. I have no idea why anyone would ask for a sequel to a rather anonymous heist thriller in the first place, but here … Continue reading Now You See Me 2
THE WORLD’S LEADERS HAVE ASSEMBLED. SO HAVE THEIR ENEMIES. When world leaders, including U.S. President Benjamin Asher (Aaron Eckhart), gather in London for the funeral of the British prime minister, terrorists attack the city in full force. The director’s first American film is a sequel to Olympus Has Fallen (2013) and it’s just as preposterous. … Continue reading London Has Fallen
ENTER AN AGE UNDREAMED OF. When his father is killed by a warlord (Stephen Lang) who’s looking for pieces of a mask that will bring him unfathomable power, the barbarian Conan (Jason Momoa) goes after the warlord. A 3D reboot of Robert E. Howard’s stories that has nothing to do with the 1980s movies. Marcus … Continue reading Conan the Barbarian
FOR THE GOOD OF ALL MEN, AND THE LOVE OF ONE WOMAN, HE FOUGHT TO UPHOLD JUSTICE BY BREAKING THE LAW. After escaping from a prison in Jerusalem, English nobleman Robin of Locksley (Kevin Costner) returns home to find the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham (Alan Rickman) ruling over his land… One of the biggest box-office … Continue reading Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
TED IS COMING, AGAIN. In order to save his failing marriage to Tami-Lynn (Jessica Barth), Ted agrees to have a baby… but that process forces the teddybear to fight for the right to be a person, not property. It would be the easiest thing in the world to argue why this sequel deserves a lower … Continue reading Ted 2
IN THE HARSHEST PLACE ON EARTH, LOVE FINDS A WAY. Co-produced by the National Geographic Society, this documentary examines up close a year in the lives of a group of emperor penguins in Antarctica. We see them battle fierce winter storms and being hunted by predators but also the process of finding a partner (and … Continue reading March of the Penguins
THE STORY OF A NOBODY WHO SAVED EVERYBODY. In the city of Bricksburg, happy-go-lucky construction worker Emmet Brickowoski meets a woman who believes that he is “the Special”, a person who is ultimately capable of stopping a superweapon. It may have looked like a stupid idea on paper, but the Cloudy With a Chance of … Continue reading The Lego Movie
