Archive | April 2015
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Big Eyes
It’s pretty, and it seems very personal for director Tim Burton, but I can’t help but feel that he was the wrong person to bring the story of artist Margaret Keane to the big screen with “Big Eyes”. For one, it doesn’t feel like it’s about Margaret, with a huge amount of screen time being […]
“Avengers: Age of Ultron”…half a billion by Monday?
I have two IMAX 3D tickets for “Avengers: Age of Ultron” for Friday afternoon. My ten-year-old is stoked, and honestly…so am I. Some marginal reviews I’m reading are giving me pause, but it is the “Golden Age” of superhero movies, and I’m glad to be able to bond with my oldest for these adventures. Soon […]
“Tomorrowland” from Brad Bird
If track record proves anything…we may be in for a real treat come Memorial Day weekend. “Tomorrowland” from Disney, starring George Clooney, Hugh Laurie and Britt Robertson, is rumoured to be somewhat based on the futuristic-themed section found at the various Disney parks. But that’s not the information that should be getting you excited…the identity […]
Dracula Untold
Does almost count? It certainly is earnest and honest, this “Dracula Untold”, and it tries like a son-of-a-gun. Ultimately, it falls short, but only after scoring some impressive points in the attempt. What shoots it down in the long run? Brevity, for one, and the lack of an ‘R’ rating for another. A vampire movie […]
Flashback: on 1966’s Ride in the Whirlwind
It’s that time of year again…Happy 78th Birthday to the great Jack Nicholson! It’s beginning to look as if he’ll never work in motion pictures again…five years dormant since 2010’s “How Do You Know”. But most of us can still find something from his 60+ resume that we haven’t yet seen. And for me, this birthday […]
“Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice”…consider me stoked!
Lot of upcoming movie trailers making noise lately. Oh, there’s the “Star Wars” nostalgia, the “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” pip, with Tom Cruise hanging onto the outside of a taking off plane–even a “Fantastic Four” reboot sampling. But am I ridiculously crazy for getting the most excited about the just-leaked trailer for March 2016’s […]
It Follows
This is really some good stuff. Best horror film of the last decade? It’s a contender. And with “The Babadook” getting so much attention just a few months back, it’s nice to see some “new-kids-on-the-block” fright film directors, so meticulously exacting with this disrespected genre. “It Follows” uses some of the many clichéd tropes from […]
“Mad Max” returns in one month!
Who would’ve thunk it? It’s thirty years since the last appearance of “Mad” Max Rockatansky, and boy has the landscape changed for the character’s two most famous creators. Australian-hotshot director/writer of the original trilogy, George Miller, is now 70 and hasn’t directed a film exclusively using “live” actors since 1992’s “Lorenzo’s Oil” (he has helmed […]
“Henry Fool”, “Fay Grim”…and “Ned Rifle”
1998 ended up being a pivotal year in my life, and a good portion of it is still crystal clear in my memory 17 years on. And among the top films I experienced back then, was Hal Hartley’s glorious, infectious, delirious epic, “Henry Fool”. Too pretentious for some…yeah, I can see that. But I was […]
Big Hero 6
Well, I feel a little silly, having spent quite a few weeks picking on “Big Hero 6”, because it’s actually pretty good. I believe I like “Song of the Sea” a little bit better, but it’s at least on a par with “The Boxtrolls” quality-wise. Plus, I definitely found it superior to “How to Train […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 