Michael Bay’s association with film has come to mean a very specific product over the years. The ambitious director has given us movies like “Transformers” 1 through 5, “Bad Boys” 1 and 2, and “Armageddon.” Under Bay’s direction everything is cranked up beyond acceptable levels, overblown and overexaggerated. In many ways Bay reflects what one […]
Why is it the reboots of Spider-Man feel like “they are going to get it right this time” and then we get to the sequel. Perhaps it’s because “Spider-Man: Far From Home” is the third, part-two. Sam Rami’s “Spider-Man 2” with Tobey Maguire (2004), “The Amazing Spider-Man 2” starring Andrew Garfield (2014) and now it’s
It’s pretty impressive what actor turned director Paul Dano (“Little Miss Sunshine,” “There Will Be Blood”) has accomplished in this his directorial debut. He gives Oscar-nominated Carey Mulligan one of her best roles in a script co-written with his partner Zoe Kazan (“The Big Sick”). “Wildlife” is a sobering often difficult film about family, marriage,
If the goal of French filmmaker Jacques Audiard and producer John C. Reilly was to design a western that feels vintage they succeeded. “The Sisters Brothers” is the best and the worst of the modern-day western. Despite Reilly’s enthusiasm for hiring this European for a very Western story, Audiard, known for his slow-moving dramas like Rust & Bone, might not have
Another film I caught last week at the Toronto International Film Festival was Oscar nominated Jake Gyllenhaal’s new film. It seems like every year there is a Gyllenhaal vehicle, that’s supposed put him back in trophy contention. He might get his second nod for Stronger, but compared to his overlooked masterclass performances in “Prisoners” or
Super pigs, rapid fire poo balls with both Tilda Swinton and Jake Gyllenhaal playing cartoon like characters means this must be a Bong Joon-Ho film. The critically acclaimed South Korean director followed up action packed Snowpiercer with another thought provoking original concept. It’s hard not to like this film; it’s funny, cute, slightly twisted but
At the rate Hollywood is turning out space films, there isn’t much left to discover in the genre it seems. Director Daniel Espinosa (“Child 44”) certainly makes a run at it though, reteaming with his “Safe House” star Ryan Reynolds. “Life” is an action thriller, it’s sort of a contagion film mixed with all the
To say that fashion designer Tom Ford has grown as a filmmaker since A Single Man (2009) would be a dangerous understatement. Ford delivers a masterful thriller adapting Austin Wright’s “Tony & Susan” into not just one of the best films of the year, but an infectious presentation of art and noir. Nocturnal Animals is
In just a few short years of bursting on the American film circuit, French-Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee has delivered award worthy pictures with Wild and Dallas Buyers Club. There is something raw about his films that attract actors looking to step out of their comfort zone. Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Southpaw) is an actor who chases roles
This isn’t Vertical Limit nor is this just another mindless disaster movie. Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur (The Deep, 2 Guns) has set out, not only to capture the tragic events of the 1996 climb, but to explore the various types of people who want to risk their lives to survive Everest. What caught my attention