Steven Spielberg’s musical remake “West Side Story” leads the pack, offering a modern update on the tarnished Oscar-winning best picture of 1961. Full disclosure: Spielberg’s “West Side Story” was my and likely other non-Broadway fans’ entry point into the material. Having never experienced the Broadway show, nor the original film, or even heard a single […]
Do we really need another film about NASA’s extraordinary first journey to the moon? It turns out we do. However, the inventive Oscar-winning director behind Whiplash and La La Land delivers something unexpected with First Man. Damian Chazelle’s glimpse into the life and mind of Neil Armstrong is an intimate look at loss and suffering.
Director of 27 Dresses Michael Mayer doesn’t seem to have much of a clue how to adapt Anton Chekhov’s play. He’s in good company, as other versions have also disappointed. Despite the lack of inspired direction, the actors rise to the occasion of melodrama, especially Oscar nominee Bening (Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool). The
Another moderately predictable formula this awards season; transformative performance showcased in a by the numbers genre film. What genre you might ask, the white man wanting to make it big genre. Gold, inspired by a true story (but then aren’t they all these days) has similarities to The Wolf of Wall Street and a bit
Woody Allen might make a new film every single year, typically you have two bad ones before you get to the reoccurring third-good one. After two forgettable features with Emma Stone, Café Society shows a step forward and outside the 80-year-old directors comfort zone. Perhaps Bruce Willis helped fuel that by getting himself fired from
What begins with a riveting opening scene, Anesthesia quickly begins to mirror recent ensemble drama Men, Women & Children by Jason Reitman.
The second novel to be adapted from Oscar nominated writer Gillian Flynn, Dark Places initially had a lot going for it after the success of Gone Girl. Flynn however did not pen the screenplay for this one, instead writer/director Gilles Paquet-Brenner (Sarah’s Key) took up that responsibility. Even with a terrific cast, Dark Places lacks
