We are almost half way through 2017, and Churchill (one of two films portraying the iconic Brit) delivers the first potential leading actor awards contender. With a career spanning over four decades of supporting character roles, Brian Cox (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), the ever-villain, gets his big, bombastic leading performance and it’s […]
The Buena Vista Social Club dates back to 1996, when a loosely connected group of veteran musicians were brought together in Havana rather spontaneously to record two albums by African and Cuban musicians. The African musicians did not arrive because of visa problems, but band leader Juan de Marcos Gonzalez was determined to reinstate music
I had all but given up on the Memorial Weekend movies until I saw new thriller Black Butterfly. The trailer didn’t show anything too enticing, it looked like another cat and mouse thriller, set in a remote location, shot on a cheap budget. The first few minutes of the thriller even met my lower expectations,
Breaking up is hard to do, and it’s shown to be so in spades for the couple in The Lovers. Michael and Mary’s marriage is clearly on the rocks—and according to their son has been so for years. They’ve reached a state of dispassionate regard for one another, neither seeming to realize that their partner
Voyeurism is a curious aspect of life that applies to all humans in various amounts. Writer/director Robin Swicord (Jane Austin Book Club) takes that idea and applies it to the suburban household. Wakefield becomes this bizarre, occasionally profound, glimpse into a family that loses its patriarch. Academy Award nominee Cranston preforms almost entirely in seclusion,
Wife of famed Oscar winning director Frances Ford Coppola, Eleanor makes her writing and directorial debut at SXSW with Paris Can Wait. “I got a screenwriting program for my computer. Then I took a directing and acting class,” she casually admitted. The 80-year-old had an experience very similar to what we see happen in the
Richard Gere is on double duty this week, with two new releases. Norman is the better of the two, giving the salt and pepper haired actor his first multilayered role in years. Norman functions like a 90’s Woody Allen, complete with the a frantic, inappropriate and nervous leading character. Gere wouldn’t have been my first
Significantly better than the first one, “Guardians of the Galaxy” is still Marvel’s sitcom, but “Vol. 2” uses emotion in the third act and inserts more dynamic female characters to its benefit. While the plot line still involves saving the universe (something I keep hoping Marvel writers will tire of) the theme of family and
Terry George’s The Promise has suffered a terrible roll out since debuting last year at the Toronto Film Festival. The historical Armenian genocide romantic war drama comes on the heels of another, The Ottoman Lieutenant and a slew of other World War I flicks released this spring. Compounded with Turkish government-sponsored trolls who submitted 4000
Historical films about golf haven’t been the most thrilling cinematic experiences. I remember my boredom with Shia Lebouf in The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005) or worse Jim Caviezel in Bobby Jones: Stroke of Genius (2004). Fictional slapstick golf movies seem to fare better with general audiences. Tommy’s Honour is of the historical variety, in