Israeli director Hany Abu-Assad might have missed more romance survivor films than he should, before undertaking The Mountain Between Us. There’s a lot of good work in the middle of this film, particularly thanks to Oscar winner Winslet (Steve Jobs, The Dressmaker) and Idris Elba (The Dark Tower, Beasts of No Nation). The remote isolation […]
No matter what Stephen Frears delivers, it’s always going to be different ingredients on the same menu. Previous collaborations, “Philomena” and “Mrs. Henderson Presents”, suggest that Dame Judi Dench is heading towards an 8th Oscar nomination, and her third under Frears direction. Of course, this isn’t the first time Dench has played a Queen or
I know this looks like a movie about tennis or gender equality. It’s both and neither at the same time. Battle of the Sexes has recent Oscar winner Stone very much in the lead, and Carell, once again teaming with his Little Miss Sunshine directors for another oddball supporting performance. Like the best movies seemingly
Brad (Stiller) is having a very bad time as he and his son Troy (Abrams) go visiting university prospects. It brings to Brad’s mind his own college days, his beloved mentor, and four close buddies. As he reminisces, he becomes more and more agitated, comparing himself and his life to his imaginings about his friends’
Mark Webb wades into his second touchy-feely film of the year. “Gifted” proved to be an above average family drama that tugged at the heartstrings with moral superlatives. “The Only Living Boy in New York” includes every morally corrupt relational situation you could find on a daytime soap opera. Television actor turned movie star Callum
Steven Soderbergh returns with “Oceans 7-Eleven”, putting old favorites and new faces into an original script by fictitious writer Rebecca Blunt (post film, you’ll point all fingers at Soderbergh). Regardless of who wrote it, it’s very clever, very charming and has all the things we love about Soderbergh’s work in an entirely new setting: The
Director Oliver Hirschbiegel (The Invasion, Downfall) once again tackles historical subject matter during WWII. This time he projects unsung war hero Georg Elser, who single-handedly tried to assassinate Adolf Hitler, to the big screen. 13 Minutes spends little time with the actual event, but introduces Elser to the world in dramatic fashion. Likely to be
Christopher Nolan is one of the most praise worthy filmmakers alive. His films challenge the audience beyond simple enjoyment, despite the fact, most are blockbusters. He is also the rare writer/director pleasing the majority of critics and mainstream audiences alike. It’s also worth mentioning his projects always make a profit. That being said, “Dunkirk”, his
There was a recent National Geographic Channel program called “Hell on Earth: The Fall of Syria and the Rise of Isis”, which reconstructed events in the Middle East that led up to the terrorist organization’s establishment in the area, which I reviewed earlier (https://drdonnasfilmreviews.blogspot.com/2017/06/hell-on-earth-fall-of-syria-and-rise-of.html?m=0). This documentary is a report of subsequent events that have occurred
The best news about the third Spider-Man reboot (now in the hands of Marvel, still a product of Sony like the previous five installments), is they forgo the origin story. No spider bite, no dead uncle, we’ve been origin story’d to death with these reboots. Director Jon Watts (“Natural Selection”, “Cop Car”) takes a cue