Loveable? Playful? Mischievous? Loyal? Sometimes possessive? All pet owners know their darlings are all of these, but in The Secret Life of Pets, they are these and more—adventurous, spiteful, heroic, and really comical. Basic credit should go to the directors (Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney), the writers (Ken Daurio, Brian Lynch, Cinco Paul), Production designer […]
Both Zac Efron (“Dirty Grandpa”, “Neighbors 2”) and Anna Kendrick (“Get a Job”, “Mr. Right”) have firmly secured their status as the worst actors of 2016. This is the third horrible comedy in a row for the celebrities who have destroyed their right to be called actors. From the oh-so-obvious writer/producers of Efron’s “Neighbors” films,
The brilliance of director David Yates final four Harry Potter films are all lost inside his latest epic Legend of Tarzan. Of course it doesn’t help that audiences/critics might feel over saturated with this tale. We just saw the Disney family version of basically the same story – boy raised in the jungle, becomes friends
I will say this for the horror film series, the third installment is smart, scrapping plans for a prequel, in order to cash in on the American election year. Using politics as the main focus in The Purge: Election Year will certainly make an otherwise ordinary sequel more trendy. Writer/director James DeMonaco has stuck with
The BFG seemed to capture children’s interest and attention in the screening I attended, and there was applause at the end. Noises I heard from kids during the film seemed more like they were engaged and involved rather than restless, despite the almost-2-hour production. I got the impression they were following the BFG’s malapropisms as
The new thriller from director Susanna White, not the first choice for the project, has actually turned out pretty good for those with patience. Lost are the art of spy thrillers that focus more on discussion, secrets, back dealing and survival. Our Kind of Traitor has a few simple action scenes in the final act,
Never has a film used farts or farting with such vigor and purpose. “Swiss Army Man” will not appeal to certain audiences, it will repeal and confuse those unwilling or unable to see a deeper meaning. Others who can understand the films twisted, but psychological undertones, layered meanings about friendship and living life to the
Blake Lively’s character repeatedly asks locals what the name of the beach she is surfing is; they won’t tell her, only that it’s a secret beach. It doesn’t take the audience very long to recognize the beach, however, as it’s clearly marked as Imaginary Island. What begins like a lively video advertisement for Roxy swimwear
It’s the first real film tragedy of the year. Director Gary Ross hasn’t made a film since he kicked off the first (and best) “Hunger Games”. Ross, also the director of such modern classics “Seabiscuit” and “Pleasantville”, hits the first stumbling block of his career. It’s almost, very good. “Free State of Jones” has numerous
The second semi-mainstream western of 2016 offers a bit more excitement than Natalie Portman’s Jane Got a Gun. The Duel, comes to us from Kieran Darcy-Smith who is predominately a television director. The western reunites Hunger Game co-stars Woody Harrelson and Liam Hemsworth, in a classic battle of good and evil. From the violent opening