Ride is the second time Academy Award winner Helen Hunt (As Good As It Gets, The Sessions) has directed herself behind the camera. Following her portrayl of Bethany Hamilton’s mother in Soul Surfer, this is Hunt’s second time exhibiting surf skills. Ride is a beautifully unconventional love story between a mother and son. The script […]
American family films have become a billion dollar business, much like all the other genre films coming out of Hollywood. I remember when family films like Little Rascals, Hocus Pocus or Trading Mom, didn’t need millions for special effects, they were about values and inspiring a young generation. Paper Planes seems to have those movies
There isn’t anything universally profound about 5 Flights Up, we accept Keaton and Freeman as husband and wife for over 40 years because they are both actors we are so familiar with. The script does well to also ignore the difference in skin color because it’s a moot point and certainly not what this story
Misery Loves Comedy is a clever title, it turns out, because in this revue of comedians’ entry into that world—what came before—and what has happened since does reveal some of the highlights—successes and failures—that drew them like moths to a fire. Sometimes it was that they suddenly realized they could be funny and that they
Just when I thought Al Pacino was down for the count, he reunites with Christopher Plummer, The Insider co-star, coincidentally his last great film role. Danny Collins and the indie film Manglehorn have proved to be somewhat of a revival for the 74-year old actor. His performance here as a washed up one hit wonder
Following in the footsteps of “Philomena” or “Erin Brockovich”, “Woman in Gold” delivers a powerful story about injustice that dates all the way back to the Nazi’s. “The past is asking something of the present”. Based on the incredible true story, Helen Mirren returns to fill the role of the bossy tight lipped female as
I am typically not a fan of abstract or overly qwerky films that seem only to exist to be unusual and different. However, Kumiko, The Treasure Hunter by the Zellner Brothers is something I couldn’t get out of my head after seeing it. It’s based on the craziest true story I have heard in a
For the second weekend in a row, a female lead film topped the American box office. Insurgent, the sequel to the box office hit Divergent, picks up right where it left off. Adding a host of new characters including Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (Snowpiercer, The Help) and Oscar nominee Naomi Watts (Birdman, The Impossible), the
The first thought in my head is that writer/director David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn is better than his last SXSW film, Joe. Al Pacino also gives one of his best performances in a long while; I would have to go all the way back to Insomnia to find a time when I enjoyed him this much.
The Irish film ’71 likely owes its large platform release to Angelina Jolie, whose Unbroken made Jack O’Connell an almost instant household name. With a significantly smaller budget and a first time feature film director, ’71 packs a more powerful punch than you might expect. Connell, however, is once again fighting for his life,