THE UNTOLD TRUE STORY THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY. In 2015, Adam McKay successfully depicted the 2008 financial crisis in The Big Short; this is another satirical look at a dark chapter in American political history. The rise of Dick Cheney gets a completely irreverent treatment, with amusingly dim-witted and mean-spirited performances by Sam … Continue reading Vice
HOW MUCH DOES LIFE WEIGH? Director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s first American film begins with complete chaos; pieces of the puzzle are thrown at us and slowly we put it together, realizing what the three main characters (a man in need of a new heart, a former convict who’s found religion, and a woman with a … Continue reading 21 Grams
COMEDY. EXPOSED. It’s unbelievable that so many talents would be willing to work on and off on this collection of raunchy sketches for ten years and come up with so little. The title has nothing to do with the movie itself and there doesn’t seem to be much of a theme, even though Peter Farrelly’s … Continue reading Movie 43
LOVE THY NEIGHBOR. A boy (Jaeden Lieberher) who’s recently moved to Brooklyn with his mom (Melissa McCarthy) befriends a grumpy, alcoholic Vietnam veteran (Bill Murray). A pleasant indie flick that emphasizes the bonds between various people who are struggling in their community, their relationships constantly being tested. Above all this is a chance for Murray … Continue reading St. Vincent
BREAK THE BOUNDARIES OF YOUR WORLD. As Chicago is in danger of replacing one dictatorship with another, Tris and Four (Shailene Woodley, Theo James) prepare to leave the city to see what’s beyond the wall surrounding it. The third film in the Divergent franchise cuts Veronica Roth’s last novel in the series into two movies. A bad … Continue reading Allegiant
ONE CHOICE CAN DESTROY YOU. Tris and Four (Shailene Woodley, Theo James) are on the run from Jeanine Mathews (Kate Winslet), while she is trying to find a Divergent with powers strong enough to open a mysterious box. A new director and writers make sure that this sequel to Divergent (2014) has more action and … Continue reading Insurgent
Director Alejandro González Iñárritu reportedly sat down with the legendary Mike Nichols for dinner to discuss his next project, a comedy that would be shot as one long take. Nichols warned him not to go ahead with this idea since editing has always been a key ingredient in how you make comedy work in … Continue reading Birdman: A Box-Office Lion in Winter
THE ONLY THING MORE INCREDIBLE THAN THE LIFE SHE LED WAS THE SECRET SHE KEPT. This critically lambasted biopic focuses on the last two years of Princess Diana’s life when her royal marriage was over and she was trying to find her place in the world. Still hounded by paparazzi, she allegedly embarked on a … Continue reading Diana
A thorough and moving examination of the bond between mothers and children, exemplified by three stories. We meet a middle-aged woman (Annette Bening) who’s never been able to move past giving up her newborn daughter when she was 14; a career-oriented business lawyer (Naomi Watts) whose life’s about to change; and a woman (Kerry Washington) … Continue reading Mother and Child
Originally shown as a two-part event on the PBS show American Masters, this is Robert B. Weide’s fourth documentary on comedians, a frequently entertaining and engrossing look at one of the hardest working men in showbiz. Over the course of three hours we learn what motivates him, what makes him great and how he works … Continue reading Woody Allen: A Documentary
One of director Woody Allen’s films that are set in Britain, this one following multiple characters and their romantic tribulations. A fortune teller is at the center of it all and we get to ponder the foolishness of thinking that the grass is greener on the other side, illustrated to greatest effect by Josh Brolin’s … Continue reading You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger
NOTHING IS MORE POWERFUL THAN THE HUMAN SPIRIT. I remember being safe at home in my parents’ house that Christmas holiday in 2004 when several tsunamis that had been triggered by a huge earthquake in the Indian Ocean killed over 230,000 people in 14 countries. Since many of the victims were tourists, the disaster affected … Continue reading The Impossible: Swept Away
THE MOST POWERFUL MAN IN THE WORLD. The story of J. Edgar Hoover, the man who built the FBI and remained its top dog for almost 40 years, shows a man who realized early on the need for a more efficient and scientific way to fight crime, but who lost his soul because of a life … Continue reading J. Edgar
