Category: 3.5/4

Excellent!

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 […]

Black Mass [2015] ★★★½

 Maybe you’ve heard the internet buzz about “Black Mass” being Johnny Depp’s comeback movie. Maybe you’ll think so too if you’ve seen “Mortdecai” and/or last year’s horrible “Transcendence“. Despite the gangster theme (Depp has been there before in “Donnie Brasco” and “Public Enemies), “Black Mass” is one terrific […]

Limelight [1952] ★★★½

 I find it quite ironic that this is the last movie I ever saw with my granddad. Ironic because, unlike many Chaplin movies, this one is tragic. Ironic because my granddad passed away a few months later. Looking back at “Limelight”, there’s always a bittersweet feeling. Even when […]

Inside Out [2015] ★★★½

Far too many contemporary animated movies are like fast food, easily digested and just easily forgotten. Then there’s the folks at Pixar, who never fail to impress me. Their latest feature, “Inside Out”, is an amazing achievement, for a variety of reasons. It’s a breathtaking ride into the realm of pure […]

Selma [2014]

“Selma” mesmerized me from start to finish. It is everything a film about a towering figure like Martin Luther King ought to be: majestic and emotional, respectful but not worshipful. It manages to humanize a historical figure without diminishing him in any way, thanks to director Ava DuVernay’s sure hand, a […]

Whiplash [2014] ★★★½

Movies about music are so easy to get wrong. Yet “Whiplash” gets it wittily, thrillingly right. It turns the familiar into something bracingly fresh and funny. It’s intense, clever and brilliantly acted by its two leads, Miles Teller and J.K Simmons who gives the performance of his career. Written and directed […]