In her latest effort to finally win that coveted Oscar, Annette Bening, four-time Academy Award nominee, gives both a familiar performance, but one of her most subdued. From the life and experience of writer/director Mike Mills, 20th Century Women explores eccentricities within family as he did with his Oscar winning film Beginners (2010). This script […]
Following his 2014 indie St. Vincent, writer/director Theodore Melfi delivers one of 2016’s most heartwarming and rousing true stories. If Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) does snag her second Oscar nomination, along with presumed nominees from Fences, Moonlight and Queen of Katwe, the Academy might take credit for the diversity reversal,
Both James Franco (Spring Breakers) and Bryan Cranston (The Infiltrator) watched their recent film projects tank financially and critically. They combine their misfortune for a raunchy summer comedy, tweaked to grab that holiday traffic. While prestigious awards films are platforming in cinemas, Why Him offers toilet humor for audiences seeking antidotal laughs or a modern
From the directors of Blades of Glory comes one of 2016’s worst films. As if the holiday noise wasn’t bad enough, Office Christmas Party, manages to out curse and travel beyond the boiling point of stupidity compared with competing holiday flicks Why Him and Bad Santa 2. If you have seen one Bateman/Aniston collaboration, you
It’s Oscar season, all those gripping and emotional true stories hitting theaters, rescuing viewers from a summer of sequels. However, we must keep in mind that not all ticket buyers want to be enlightened, some don’t want to leave the multiplex with warm hearts, which is why the sequel to the 2003 raunchy comedy exists.
I think kids will really take to this animation with simple messages that will be meaningful to them, delivered in eye-catching, colorful visual effects. The message is basically pitting “look on the bright side of life” against “look out; they’re out to get you.” And further, that true happiness is inside all of us; it’s
Rainbow Time, written, directed, produced and starring Linas Phillips, is a mess in picturing a dysfunctional family using measures that serve to increase problems rather than solve them. Shonzi (Phillips)—because his name is Shaun and he loves Fonzi—is a sex-obsessed young man with no social skills and a ton of rage. He had a
I can’t remember a time that I have enjoyed Oscar nominee Eddie Murphy (Dreamgirls) on screen this much. Mr. Church is an unconventional story, not about the family you are born with, but the family you choose (or often the one that chooses you). It’s a bittersweet drama that maintains a bit of mystery and
It’s been six years since Oscar winning actress Renee Zellweger’s last film. It’s been 12 years since Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Zellweger’s attempt at a comeback begins with breathing life back into a character that doesn’t seem to have a place in this new decade. Despite rumors of a change in appearance, Zellweger
“You won’t know, until you get there, that you are ok.” That’s the most prolific phrase from a script by James C. Strouse (Grace is Gone) that can be applied to whatever the audience might be dealing with when they watch his new film. Comedian turned serious actor John Krasinski (13 Hours, Away We Go)