Wild Tales is a remarkable film from Argentina showing in six vignettes a range of human emotions and coping techniques in response to stress. In all the tales, emotional press (animal instincts, perhaps, in that beautiful close-ups of animals in the wild are shown during the initial credits) usurps logic and good old problem solving […]
Based on a book that could easily be called graphic written porn, the film adaptation of the bestselling phenomenon dubbed “Mommy Porn” is anything but exciting. Sam Taylor Johnson directs the controversial film, but her touch as an indie filmmaker isn’t felt in this rather boring and underdeveloped franchise. The moment we see this meek
I have concluded that director Richard LaGravenese was a one hit wonder as his only reputable film was Living Out Loud. Since then he has delivered nothing but love story misfires from Hilary Swank in P. S. I Love You to his Twilight rip off Beautiful Creatures. The Last Five Years is an ambitious modern
In an attempt to stay relevant between filming the next installments of their individual franchises, Lilly Collins (The Mortal Instruments) and Claflin (The Hunger Games) remind us all why most people despise romantic comedies. If American rom-coms have cooled or backed off for the meantime, the UK didn’t get the memo. Love, Rosie (although I
The official Belgium entry for the Academy Awards is a barebones effort from film making brothers Jean Pierre and Luc Dardenne. Casting Oscar winner Marion Cotillard (Inception, La Vie en Rose) in the lead obviously brings awareness to the film and Oscar attention to the best actress race. Cotillard is beloved by Hollywood for her
cThe 2014 Oscar race was in need of a frontrunner for best actress, and following the first screening of Still Alice at the Toronto Film Festival, they found it in long overdue Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore (The Hours, Far From Heaven). Originally it seemed Moore’s supporting performance in Map of the Stars would land
Plagued by pre- and post production problems, the latest fantasy book adaptation of Seventh Son, book one of Joseph Delany’s series, “The Last Apprentice”, isn’t the disaster I anticipated. It’s not anything to rush out and see by any means, nor does the IMAX presentation really elevate its mediocre grandeur. However, opening the same week
Writer/director Mike Binder (The Upside of Anger, Reign Over Me) has good intentions with his latest film Black or White. While it’s not exactly what you think it’s about, even the lead character, played by the 2015 comeback kid Kevin Costner, constantly explains why it’s not a color issue. Black or White has its sights
In many ways, Black Sea, the new film from director Kevin Macdonald (How I Live Now, The King of Scotland), follows the rules of technical and cinematic submarine film. However, “Black Se”a is also a modern day heist film that redefines the depths of a thriller. Academy Award nominee Jude Law (Cold Mountain, The Talented
Cannes award winner for best actor Timothy Spall (Harry Potter) is truly deserving of an Oscar nomination for his embedded performance in the biopic of William Turner. From the moment the film opens, the cinematography pulls you into what visually could be a moving painting. Dick Pope always works on director Mike Leigh’s films, but