An honorable look back at the olden, golden days of the studio system, when most movies were filmed on backlots and actors had strict contracts with particular companies. It touches upon numerous elements of the era, from manufactured romances between young talents to the rise of Communism in the film industry.
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Review: The Finest Hours
It’s likely that a History Channel documentary relying on vintage photos and talking-head interviews of those involved with the 1952 rescue would have been more emotionally stirring than this production.
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Review: Ride Along 2
Ice Cube and Kevin Hart again work well together, although this time there are limitations – while I’ve been praising Hart in one mediocre movie after another, this is the first time that his shtick finally starts to wear thin.
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Review: The Big Short
The script’s great swatches of humor, and superlative performances by the entire cast (including Steve Carell and Christian Bale as two of the outsiders who saw the crisis coming and sought to profit from the banking industry’s greed and stupidity), the film lays out the case in layman’s terms.
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Review: Star Wars: The Force Awakens
The original stars haven’t lost a beat with their characterizations, while the newcomers prove to be an irresistible lot. The casting of a woman and a black man in the central roles doesn’t feel like forced political correctness but a natural progression, and the characters are two of the richest yet seen in the Star Wars universe.
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Review: In the Heart of the Sea
IN THE HEART OF THE SEA *1/2 DIRECTED BY Ron Howard STARS Chris Hemsworth, Benjamin Walker As much an introspective character study as an exciting racing flick, 2013’s Rush examined […]
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Review: Trumbo
Trumbo is alternately poignant, amusing, infuriating and always thought-provoking.
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Review: The Good Dinosaur
Pixar pictures have always been for adults as much as for children, yet this one marks the first time that grown-ups have been left out of the mix, with the studio fashioning a film designed to play only to the small fry.
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Review: The Peanuts Movie
The crispness of these visuals is matched by the smartness of the script, which includes all the relevant touchstones (the baseball mound, the Red Baron, the adults’ unintelligible gibberish, “It was a dark and stormy night”) while adding some delightful shout-outs to the franchise’s storied history.
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Review: Room
Room should not be missed, and for all the unease it stirs, it’s ultimately a powerful tale of that indestructible love that can exist between mother and child.
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Review: Spectre
A perfectly engaging 120 or so minutes is then run into the ground for a wince-inducing final half-hour of unfortunate developments.
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Savannah Film Festival Review: Legend
At no point do the film’s special effects, allowing Tom Hardy to play both roles, interfere. Very quickly, within the first minute or two, you become completely immune to Hardy being on screen as both identical twin Kray brothers at the same time.