Archive | July 2015
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Inside Out 3D
It’s the best-reviewed film of the year, a huge international box office success, and already it’s being pegged to not just receive an Oscar nomination for Best Animated Feature (when the announcements are made in January), but a slot for Best Picture as well. It’s not unprecedented. “Toy Story 3” achieved it in 2010. And […]
“Fantastic Four”…the reboot
Almost August…are you superhero’d out yet? I’m just about there, I think, after “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, “Mad Max: Fury Road”, “Terminator: Genisys”, “Ant-Man” and “Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation” (I realize they’re not all officially superheroes…but just about!) assaulted our senses, in one way or another, for the past three months. But wait…we’re not […]
The Salt of the Earth
There is a narrative line that runs through Wim Wenders’ latest documentary, that is decidedly a bit shaky. Selfish fathers, and abandoned sons–the “work” taking precedence above all. The story does come full circle, which is nice–it’s the getting there that seems a bit unexplored. But you know what? It doesn’t really matter. I don’t believe […]
Minions 3D
I don’t know, doesn’t the fact that this innocuous, by-the-numbers time filler, is going to outgross “Inside Out” worldwide, give you a little bit of pause? Hey, “Minions” is an okay way for a Daddy and his 7-year-old to escape the oppressive heat on a July afternoon, but is this anything other than an expensive […]
Ex Machina
Artificial intelligence, and artificial life, are proving to be huge at the box office this year. “Avengers: Age of Ultron”, “Jurassic World”, “Chappie”, “Terminator: Genisys”–hey, those latter two underperformed domestically, but raked in much more overseas. So, at the very least, there seems to be a 2015 trend in fascination with thinking beasts–and especially thinking […]
“Southpaw” Stance
Jake Gyllenhaal is a very good actor–in fact, he probably deserved much more attention for his starring role in 2014’s “Nightcrawler”. And “Southpaw”, opening wide this coming Friday, July 24th, should be something I’m chomping at the bit for. Considering, for example, that I did some amateur boxing in my teens, and that I’m still […]
Wild Tales
This one is a real blast. It’s the funniest film you’ll ever see, that opens with an achingly serious, revenge crashing of a jet liner full of people. I know…it’s perilously close to a recent real world situation where that actually happened. But this is so skillfully done, and the Argentinian writer/director for “Wild Tales” is not […]
Chappie
“Chappie” is passable entertainment…but that’s all. And I’ve been expecting so much more from director Neil Blomkamp, but he’s failing to deliver. In the summer of 2009, he unleashed his sci-fi hit, “District 9”, and Neil seemed to be headed for great things. It placed #2 on my annual Top Ten list for that year, […]
“Minions” = Millions
I was only mildly entertained by 2010’s “Despicable Me”, however I actually found 2013’s “Despicable Me 2” to be a little bit stronger. But undeniably, the breakout “stars” of both films were the little yellow-skinned, blue-overalled, jibber jabbers–the Minions. And so, what else was Universal Studios to do, but give the diminutive guys their own, […]
While We’re Young
I like Noah Baumbach’s style, and if you haven’t taken a bite out of his resume–you should. He’s been Oscar-nominated (his screenplay for 2005’s “The Squid and the Whale”), and he possesses a keen ear for how New Yorkers talk and think, plus a remarkable instinct for casting characters. I eagerly await next month’s “Mistress […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 