Film critic turned director Rod Lurie’s latest film “The Outpost” is based on CNN Reporter Jake Tapper’s book by the same name. It opens with quotes from military leaders regarding the unique dangers of this part of Afghanistan, background notes about time and place, title credits, the names of every character on screen, location credits, […]
With most feature films still holding onto hope for a theatrical release, “7500” will likely be the most suspenseful and edge of your couch thriller of 2020. Like most thrillers that find a way to isolate the protagonist and build a story around one or two people, “7500” limits the audience’s view to the cockpit
In the time of Corona, even film critics have to look at movies and entertainment differently. Not only has new content been scarce, but anything that provides a few hours of distraction is likely to find less scrutiny. Netflix is the real winner during the pandemic, with over 15 million new subscribers and “Extraction” being
A perfect allegory for the times. The Hunt is a 20thcentury take on George Orwell’s novel Animal Farm, in which the animals rebel against their masters. Only in this rendition, it’s the “Elite Liberals” against “The Deplorables.” Its plot is not a straightforward telling of a story. It starts out with a group chat on the telephone, then goes backward and
A new year means a new, (bad) Blake Lively film. The former “Gossip Girl” has been churning out at least one rotten flick a year since marrying Ryan Reynolds in 2012. Lively is a leading actress poster child for discardable first-quarter studio movies. The Rhythm Section finds Lively (“A Simple Favor”, “All I See is
The moral ambiguity of “Corpus Christi” is one of it’s most compelling elements. A film I regret missing at TIFF 2019, despite it’s well promoted debut, is among the most provocative of this years International Films submitted for Academy Award consideration. From Poland, Jan Komasa directs the script by 27-year-old first-time feature film screenwriter Mateusz
In Tyler Perry’s latest film A Fall From Grace, there is murder, sex, and family drama, all wrapped up in a crime mystery. Perry tosses aside his iconic Madea costume to deliver his first original film on Netflix. More interesting than the plot is the fact the Atlanta filmmaker shot the film in five days.
You barely have time to get your bearings before Underwater charges full steam ahead with its anxiety inducing deep sea horror. Relative new Director William Eubank and his screenwriters, Brian Duffield (Insurgent) and Adam Cozad (Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit) borrow heavily from institutional horror and science fiction films. Rarely does Underwater showcase original thinking or
In Edward Norton’s sophomore feature as director (his first official writing credit), he takes the audience back to the early 1990s where lite mobster movies were a dime a dozen. The saxophone led original score by Daniel Pemberton (Steve Jobs) transports the viewer back to a different era of filmmaking. The cinematography, editing, and leisurely
There was a time back in the ’90s, where action films had believable plots. You could have a thrill ride like “The River Wild” or “Air Force One” for instance, with brilliant lead performances, gripping action scenes and everything in the story was plausible. Then came the era of special effects, which gave us out of