Category: 3/4
-
Fury [2014] ★★★
It hurts to watch “Fury”…literally. I have never seen a more visceral film about WWII; I can’t count how many times I winced or moved while watching the picture. But that’s what makes it so good. Director David Ayer (the underrated “End of Watch”), and his actors outdid themselves to bring this gripping story to the screen, and…
-
Frank [2014] ★★★
Unleashed imagination is a hell of a rare thing to find at the movies these days. “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, sure, but then what? Try “Frank”, an offbeat comedy loosely based on the story of Frank Sidebottom, a Brit comic who enjoyed some underground success in the late 1980s and early 1990s by wearing a fake…
-
The Judge [2014]
Director David Dobkin shows ambition for days in “The Judge”. That the movie is co-written by the gifted Nick Schenck (“Gran Torino”) is reason enough to recommend it. That the movie features two of the year’s best performances from Robert Downey, Jr. and Robert Duvall raises the bar another notch. So hold on tight. “The Judge” is a completely absorbing…
-
The Maze Runner [2014] ★★★
Here’s something I never expected to say at this point in the movie season but the first installment of James Dashner’s futuristic series is exciting and entertaining to watch. The book was published in 2009 and instantly became a New York Times best-seller. It’s certainly easy to see why now: In adapting Dashner’s novel, director Wes Ball has…
-
The Cat And The Canary [1927] ★★★
The mother of all haunted house movies. A movie that inspired so many remakes and quite possibly a few Scooby Doo episodes. Plot involves relatives of a millionaire who gather in his spooky mansion on the 20th anniversary of his death for the reading of his will. Then someone…wait for it…dies! German Expressionist director Paul Leni…
-
Begin Again [2014] ★★★
Summer brings out the big guns in Hollywood with blockbusters ready to crush any movie that values simplicity and sincere emotion. Well, don’t let summer squash “Begin Again”, the new musical drama from writer-director John Carney, who did such a fine job with “Once” a few years ago (and won an Oscar as a result). “Begin Again” may…
-
The Hundred-Foot Journey [2014] ★★★
When a film about food has a solid cast led by the amazing Helen Mirren, you can’t go far wrong, which is exactly the case with Steven Knight’s adaptation of Richard C. Morais’ successful book. And who better to direct this delightful piece than Lasse Hallstrom, the man responsible for such films as “Chocolat”, “The…
-
Guardians Of The Galaxy [2014] ★★★
If every summer blockbuster or comic-book movie were as unexpectedly entertaining as Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy”, I’d greet the upcoming summer flicks with a lot more enthusiasm…but there aren’t many writer-directors as witty as James Gunn. Indeed, it’s the writing that sets his film apart from the crowd, in harmony with perfect casting, first-rate visual…
-
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes [2014] ★★★
Summer season takes an unexpected turn with “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”, a spectacular follow up to the 2011 hit starring Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke and directed by Matt Reeves. I couldn’t be more surprised to be honest. After 7 movies and Tim Burton’s crappy remake, the series has been milked hard, it’s…
-
22 Jump Street [2014] ★★★
On my way to see this movie I kept saying to myself, “I hope they don’t ruin it!”. I feared that we might have seen all the funniest bits in the first movie; fortunately, I was wrong. The first “Jump Street” only offers a glimpse of what both Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum have to…
-
The Fault In Our Stars [2014] ★★★
Say what you will about “The Fault In Our Stars”, the big screen adaptation of John Green’s best selling novel about two cancer patients who fall in love, but director Josh Boone and his screenwriters have crafted a sincere and totally irresistible tale that makes the familiar seem bittersweet and heart-stoppingly new. It’s rare to…
-
How To Train Your Dragon 2 [2014] ★★★
I expect family audiences to turn this sequel to 2010’s surprise animated hit into a certified smash. And I’d be pleased. Four years have turned “How To Train Your Dragon” into a DVD babysitter with kids enjoying multiple viewings of Hiccup and his pet dragon Toothless. But I have to admit: I approached this sequel…
-
Edge Of Tomorrow [2014] ★★★
Think of “Groundhog Day” morphing from comedy to Science-Fiction and you’ll get an idea of the amazing stuff waiting for you in “Edge Of Tomorrow”, an incredibly entertaining summer movie from director Doug Liman that is potent enough to make us stop ID’ing him as “that guy from The Bourne Identity”. A terrific Tom Cruise…
-
Chef [2014] ★★★
“Chef”, featuring all humans all the time, is the kind of comedy you root for even when you know it has nowhere else to go. It’s refreshing to see writer/director Jon Favreau go back to his indie roots, following a series of big Hollywood blockbusters like “Iron Man” and “Cowboys & Aliens”. He also plays…
-
Joe [2014] ★★★
“Joe” is quite simply Nicolas Cage’s best movie in years. It’s a reminder of what a good actor he can be and that’s something we haven’t seen onscreen in a very long time. Director David Gordon Green returns to his indie roots after a series of Hollywood disappointments (“Your Highness”, “The Sitter”) with an intriguing…
-
The Armstrong Lie [2013] ★★★
You won’t know what hit you after watching “The Armstrong Lie”. This power punch to the gut is one of the best documentaries you’ll ever see about the controversial cyclist. Armstrong has been duking it out all of his 43-year-old life with labels: Cancer survivor, Tour de France winner, liar, cheater, dope addict…you name it.…
-
Casse-Tête Chinois [2013] ★★★
I’ve been a sucker for french comedies for a while now; perhaps it’s because I haven’t practiced my french in a long time, or maybe it’s because they make so many good movies. Either way, I enjoyed Cedric Klapisch’s (“L’auberge Espagnole”) new movie a lot. It’s a commercial, crowd-pleasing piece of work with engaging performances…
-
Heritages [2014] ★★★
For writer/director Philippe Aractingi, devising a film that follows his decision to leave his home country for yet another time during the 2006 war couldn’t have been easy. And if “Heritages” is less than perfect, it’s still pretty powerful. The fact that it’s a personal journey featuring his entire family makes it all the more…
-
The Invisible Woman [2013] ★★★
Charles Dickens was an English writer and one of the most famous novelists of the Victorian period. But what you probably didn’t know is that he was deeply unhappy in his home life, which lead to a love affair with a much younger woman. The film itself, energetically directed by the amazing Ralph Fiennes (who…
-
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues [2013] ★★★
I’m a bit biased when it comes to Ron Burgundy and his Channel 4 news team. But can you blame me? The first movie was a super hit back in 2004 and it made an even bigger star out of Will Ferrell. A decade later and Ferrell is still the go-to guy if you want…
Let's Talk About Movies 