(R) Dir. Kevin Costner The first in Costner’s planned four-part Western saga is a massive prologue that fails as a standalone film, but might be the start of a tremendous culmination (2.5 / 5.0) The ‘Western’ – as a genre – has twice had its heyday: during the ‘Golden era’ of the 40s and […]
Each year, The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) provides a platform for the fall and winter debuting films eager to become awards contenders. It’s also a swell of unpurchased smaller films looking for distribution. In its 48th year, TIFF is one of the largest film festivals in the world. It showcases well over 200 films
Wander Darkly is an apt title in that viewing it is like wandering darkly throughout the course of the film. I have some inkling of what writer/director Tara Miele is trying to do, but it just doesn’t work—at least not for me. The constant flashes back and forth between reality and memory became tiresome for me in
Within three minutes of the first frame, the word Avenger is used. 21 Bridges is the first film Black Panther himself Chadwick Boseman has led since putting on the spandex. The directors of Avengers Endgame, Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, are also producers on the film. Brian Kirk makes his directorial film debut after a long
“American Woman” opens with a scene from the recent past of a mother who had her daughter so young that she becomes more of a best friend to her daughter than a mother. You might think you can size up Jake Scott’s latest film by that first act, but “American Woman” evolves into something else entirely.
James Gray’s The Lost City of Z is a captivating trek through history, exploring one of the most fascinating mysteries of the 20th Century. It’s not always compelling however, as the source material is grand (I’m told the book is far more suspenseful), despite omitting vital and important facts of Percy Fawcett’s ground breaking expedition.
Oscar winning writer and producer Ben Affleck’s fourth time behind the camera doesn’t produce anything new cinematically, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a nice ride. As mob and gangster films go, Live By Night, adapted from a Denis Lehane novel, is pretty standard. It has a lot in common with graphic novel Road to
Oscar nominated director John Madden’s career has taken interesting twists and turns since Shakespeare in Love won best picture in 1999. He is unpredictable in the projects he chooses like The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and his first time working with a relatively new Jessica Chastain in The Debt. Miss Sloane is a rare and
Tom Hiddleston is having a bad year, as he continues to venture farther away from the comic book universe and into the independent cinema world. It started with his disastrous turn as Hank Williams in I Saw the Light. Now High Rise proves another obscure failure on his resume. Hiddletson isn’t alone, Irons has seen
Bradley Cooper starred in one of the biggest films last year, could have taken any project he wanted, but the four time Oscar nominated actor/producer lands in a cooking film. For something so specific, there sure are a lot of motion pictures circulating around chefs and food.