A middle-aged couple (Kathryn Hahn, Paul Giamatti) in New York City is trying to get pregnant through several expensive procedures; the chance of using a donor egg opens new possibilities. The director’s first film in eleven years (after The Savages) is sweet, realistic and amusing as it penetrates the heartbreak of wanting children but not … Continue reading Private Life
THE LIFE, LOVE AND GENIUS OF BRIAN WILSON. The kind of biography where the writers found something interesting in their subject’s life and focuse on that rather than just try to cover everything from beginning to end. We follow Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame during two critical periods – the 1960s when he had … Continue reading Love & Mercy
ON THE AIR. UNAWARE. There’s an episode of Twilight Zone, the 1980s revival, called ”Special Service” that aired in 1989. Written by J. Michael Straczynski who later created the sci-fi classic Babylon 5, the episode tells the story of a man who discovers that his whole life is a reality show on TV; even his … Continue reading The Truman Show: Before Big Brother
IN 1978, THE U.S. GOVERNMENT WAGED A WAR AGAINST ORGANIZED CRIME. ONE MAN WAS LEFT BEHIND THE LINES. I was just listening to a political debate about Islamic terrorism. One of the participants talked about how intelligence agencies need to do more than just tap phones; they need to put ”boots on the ground” by … Continue reading Donnie Brasco: A Made(Up) Man
THE MISSION IS A MAN. Steven Spielberg has directed several masterpieces over the years, but this one is the most controversial. The general sentiment expressed by snobs is that the first 20 minutes, depicting the invasion of Normandy, are outstanding, but the rest is typical Spielberg mush. It’s as if the fact that those 20 … Continue reading Saving Private Ryan: Spielberg’s Hymn to the Fallen
THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS TIMES CREATED THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS GROUP. The story of how the rap group N.W.A. started was sanctioned by its two most prominent members, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre, who also served as producers. You’ve even got Cube’s son, O’Shea Jackson, Jr., playing Cube. In other words, it comes as not … Continue reading Straight Outta Compton: Lesson of Street Knowledge
WHERE WILL YOU BE? WHO WILL YOU BE WITH? When a series of devastating earthquakes hits California, LAFD rescue pilot Ray Gaines (Dwayne Johnson) team up with his ex-wife (Carla Gugino) to track down their daughter (Alexandra Daddario) in San Francisco. The star and the director of Journey 2 (2012) reunited for another boisterous 3D … Continue reading San Andreas
NO MORE SECRETS. While Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) worries over Gwen’s (Emma Stone) safety now that she knows his secret alias, Spider-Man faces two new enemies. Marc Webb’s attempt to make the greatest blockbuster ever has moments of beauty in its execution, including striking 3D visuals. Unfortunately, many jokes fall flat and the introduction of … Continue reading The Amazing Spider-Man 2
WHERE HER BOOK ENDED, THEIR STORY BEGAN. In the early 1960s, P. L. Travers (Emma Thompson), the author of “Mary Poppins”, finally gives in to Walt Disney’s (Tom Hanks) relentless requests to make a movie out of her book and travels to Los Angeles, fully intent to give the tycoon a hard time… The fact … Continue reading Saving Mr. Banks
THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF SOLOMON NORTHUP. The historian Sue Eakin was born in Louisiana five decades after the end of the Civil War and she specialized in the plantation culture of her home state. In the 1960s, she came across a book that had been largely forgotten. “Twelve Years a Slave” by Solomon Northup … Continue reading 12 Years a Slave: Land of the Unfree
NOTHIN’ BUT A GOOD TIME. In 1987, small-town girl Sherrie Christian (Julianne Hough) arrives in Los Angeles and is hired as a waitress at a classic rock club that’s been targeted by the Mayor and his crazy-conservative wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones)… This adaptation of the jukebox musical was a box-office flop in spite of the fact … Continue reading Rock of Ages
Director David Cronenberg’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed Don DeLillo novel invites us on an icy, claustrophobic journey together with a young billionaire (Robert Pattinson) who’s about to lose everything as riots shake Manhattan. Largely set inside his luxurious stretch limo, it’s a very talky, incongruous experience that takes on increasingly absurd overtones. Worth a … Continue reading Cosmopolis
IN THE GAME OF LIFE, YOU CAN’T LOSE ‘EM ALL. Small-town New Jersey lawyer Mike Flaherty (Paul Giamatti) is in financial trouble and makes a decision that will earn him money in a disingenuous way… but also settles him with a runaway 16-year-old. As in The Station Agent and The Visitor, Tom McCarthy portrays people … Continue reading Win Win
