Category: The Twenty-First Century
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Spectre [2015] ★★★
It’s quite difficult to top “Skyfall”, one of the best Bond movies ever made, but as a long time fan of the series, I thought “Spectre” was highly entertaining. Its canny blend of ingredients is sure to entertain any audience but I think Bond enthusiasts will relish it most, as it draws on our familiarity…
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The Program [2015] ★★½
The truth was finally revealed in the 2013 documentary “The Armstrong Lie”, in which Lance Armstrong himself opened up about his doping allegations. The documentary was credible and above all, shocking. And by the end, we learned everything there is to know about the fallen idol. That places even greater pressure on the people behind “The Program” to…
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Goosebumps [2015] ★★½
I grew up reading the Goosebumps stories. But I knew from the very first moment that a big screen adaptation could ruin all the fun. Which is why I have to credit director Rob Letterman for knowing what the hell he is doing. At a time when kids are only interested in dystopian love stories, Letterman…
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Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension [2015] ★½
Yes, another “Paranormal Activity” movie (I’m sure you know the drill by now). No, you shouldn’t rush to see it. Yes, it sucks. Need I say more? Rating: 1.5/4
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The Last Witch Hunter [2015] ★
What to say about this lame-brained, terrible attempt to start a witch hunting franchise starring Vin Diesel? I say, screw the damn thing and run the other way. It’s all kinds of sad to see the legendary Michael Caine wasting his talent for the sake of a quick payday. It’s even funnier to see Vin Diesel play Kaulder, a witch hunter…
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Crimson Peak [2015] ★★★
It’s not director Guillermo’s Del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” or the superior “The Devil’s Backbone”, but this stylishly made Gothic tale has enough mystery and suspense to haunt your dreams. The title refers to a haunted house on top of a mountain of blood-red clay. But before that, we meet Edith (Mia Wasikowska), a young woman who falls…
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Sleeping With Other People [2015] ★★½
It’s not the romantic comedy of the year, but “Sleeping With Other People” has enough laughs and charm to keep you interested. The movie opens in 2002, where Jake (Jason Sudeikis) has sex for the first time with Lainey (Alison Brie). They reunite years later at a rehab for sex addicts and decide to become…
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Pan [2015] ★½
Five reasons why “Pan” is a stinker: 1-Joe Wright, who directed such good movies as “Pride and Prejudice” and “Atonement”, put his actors in front of a blank screen and filled the rest digitally. That’s not always a bad thing, but in Pan’s case, the actors, from Levi Miller as Peter to Rooney Mara as…
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The Martian [2015] ★★★
“The Martian” stars Matt Damon, whose name cannot be uttered without thinking of “Saving Private Ryan” and “Good Will Hunting”. Now he’s teaming with Ridley Scott, who’s been desperate for a hit after recent misfires such as”Exodus” and the God-awful “The Counselor”. Damon plays astronaut Mark Watney, a NASA botanist who has been left for dead…
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Legend [2015] ★★★
A fact based story about the Kray brothers, two of the most notorious criminals in British history, starring Tom Hardy in a double performance sounds like Oscar bait. It isn’t. Yet “Legend” pulls the magician’s trick of distraction, offering enough solid entertainment value—with good use of locations, charismatic actors, and moments of shocking violence—to divert attention from its faults. For some…
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Pay The Ghost [2015] ★
A crappy Halloween movie starring Nicolas Cage is the last thing you needed this season. Cage plays a professor who finds himself hopelessly searching for his missing son who was abducted during a Halloween parade by an ugly entity. The real ugly entity is the movie itself, a terrible horror nonsense with worse special effects. Instead of a review, it…
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Me And Earl And The Dying Girl [2015] ★★★½
This is one of my favorite movies of the year: a coming of age story that turns the familiar into something fresh, funny and poignant. It makes you laugh, then breaks your heart. Thomas Mann plays Greg, a shy teen who is trying to survive high school. One day, his mom “forces” him to visit Rachel (Olivia Cooke,…
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Before We Go [2015] ★½
Ripping off the classic movie “Before Sunrise”, “Before We Go” (look there’s even a “before” in the title!) tells the story of two people (Chris Evans, who also directs, and Alice Eve) who meet in Manhattan one night and end up learning a lot about one another. Unlike “Before Sunrise”, this dull, uninspired film has nothing…
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The Walk [2015] ★★★
“The Walk” is a spectacularly entertaining movie, even if you’ve seen the Oscar winning documentary “Man On Wire”, which in turn was based on Philippe Petit’s book “To Reach The Clouds”. If you did catch that terrific documentary a few years ago, you should be familiar with Petit’s story by now, the man who walked between the…
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The Visit [2015] ★★½
After years of making terrible misfires (“Lady in the Water”, “The Happening”, “After Earth” and oh God “The Last Airbender”), it’s so good to finally see the real M. Night Shyamalan back. Well…kind of. His latest effort, “The Visit”, is far from being an original, but it knows how to creep you out. Combining the…
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Sicario [2015] ★★★½
“Sicario” (which means “Hitman” in spanish) is a cannonball of a movie from director Denis Villeneuve, who did such an incredible job with “Incendies” and “Prisoners“. This is a world-class director, at the top of his startlingly creative form. Working from a tense script by Taylor Sheridan, Villeneuve opens his movie with one of the best sequences you’ll…
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Hotel Transylvania 2 [2015] ★★★
This sequel to the 2012 surprise hit put a smile on my face from start to finish. So what if it comes up short in originality and surprise? It’s still hard to resist. Adam Sandler reprises his role as Count Dracula, who is worried that his half-human, half-vampire grandson, Dennis, isn’t showing signs of being a…
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Pawn Sacrifice [2015] ★★★
A chess movie is probably the last thing you needed right now. Snap out it. This is Toby Maguire like you’ve never seen him before, playing chess master Bobby Fischer, who faced Soviet grandmaster Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber) at the 1972 World Chess Championship in Reykjavík, Iceland. The film, directed by Edward Zwirk with a keen…
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The Intern [2015] ★★★
Nancy Meyers makes adorable movies (yes I’m using the term “adorable” to describe movies now). Her latest movie, “The Intern”, is an agreeable piece of entertainment featuring one of the best actors on the planet, Robert De Niro. If the movie were merely a vehicle for his comedic gifts , that would be enough to…
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The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials [2015] ★★
As someone who liked the first “Maze Runner” movie, I was quite disappointed with this 2nd installment. For one, the element of mystery is gone. There’s also less suspense and tons of new characters. I’m sad to report that I couldn’t care for any of them. It’s too bad. Dylan O’Brian, who did a fine…
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