I will be the first to admit the filmmaking on Te Ata (pronounced Tay Ott-Ha )is a bit elementary. It plays like a historical instructional video at times, funded by a church or educational group. The most jarring introduction is the title card of 1906, yet the characters speak modern English dialect. After a slow […]
It would be simpler to blame this dis-interesting film on Tom Cruise (The Mummy), but isn’t not all his fault. It’s true, Cruise’s prolonged stereotype of the “macho guy”, always cast along side the much younger blond, plays into the “been there, already seen it” feeling you get while watching American Made. But Doug Liman
Not only was the terrorist attack in London on April 30th 1980 similar to the events portrayed in the Oscar winning film Argo, but 6 Days presents itself very similarly. Director Toa Fraser lands his first film with major stars, his previous work on film and in television has failed to propel him to the
The Glass Castle doesn’t work well on screen under director Destin Daniel Cretton’s vision for a handful of reasons. The first and foremost is how the narrative manipulates the audience’s emotions and feelings towards the monstrous father figure. While Harrelson (Wilson) and Larson (Kong Skull Island) are astutely cast, the best parts of the film
The life of Maud Lewis was extraordinarily ordinary, riddled with arthritis, spine deformities, the Nova Scotia woman had every reason to be unhappy. Yet, her life was filled with beauty, color and happiness. Irish director Aisling Walsh taps into everything that made Lewis a national sensation and brings an entirely new wave of interest to
It’s hard to imagine a woman in the early 1900’s forging ahead in a man’s world like Gertrude Bell did. Born in 1868 into a family of means, Gertrude Bell early on set her sights on places far from her native England. She was always cheeky, and when she graduated from Oxford, she was sent
You are thinking, not another boxing movie. But this one has a slightly different spin, it’s about the real life inspiration for Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky. If that doesn’t interest you enough, then Chuck, despite its dedicated lead performance – from the forever supporting actor Schreiber, will bore you. Producing and co-writing, this is clearly a
James Gray’s The Lost City of Z is a captivating trek through history, exploring one of the most fascinating mysteries of the 20th Century. It’s not always compelling however, as the source material is grand (I’m told the book is far more suspenseful), despite omitting vital and important facts of Percy Fawcett’s ground breaking expedition.
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
While Aftermath is based on true events of two planes crashing in Germany in 2002, the premise of loved ones dealing with the “aftermath” is universal with any plane crashing. Arnold Schwarzenegger continues trying to mount a comeback after a few failed starts, including Terminator Genisys and the indie zombie flick Maggie. Aftermath, which is