Archive | December 2015
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2015 Theatre in Review
I made it. It was looking bleak for a while, but I managed to get to the theatre a quartet of occasions this year. You see, that’s my annual goal…four. Pretty modest, I think, especially considering my younger days when I would visit a dozen, or more. But I turned 50 this past October, and […]
Shaun the Sheep Movie
It’s a wonderful animated family film that deserves so much more attention. Dumped into this past August’s summer release schedule, “Shaun the Sheep Movie” did modest box office numbers here in the States (performance was much stronger overseas). But if you’ll allow me to paint the picture of my cozy family room, a crackling fireplace, […]
Straight Outta Compton
Before it surrenders to some schmaltz by film’s end, F. Gary Gray’s “Straight Outta Compton” is a damn powerhouse. Its racial politics are so incredibly timely and disturbing. Not much has changed since the 1992 L.A. riots, it would appear. Of course, almost everyone carries a camera now, so we keep hoping that makes the […]
Amy
I never knew much about, or listened much to, Amy Winehouse’s music. Not because she wasn’t a talent, because after watching the fine documentary “Amy”, the tragic singer obviously was. If anything, it was due to the fact that by the time I began to hear about her on a regular basis, Ms. Winehouse had […]
The Diary of a Teenage Girl
It’s one of the year’s best films. “The Diary of a Teenage Girl” is daring, honest, and (coming from a 50-year-old that remembers a good part of the 1970’s decade) amazingly authentic. Bel Powley is fantastic as 15-year-old aspiring cartoonist, Minnie Goetze, and Kristen Wiig is so incredible as her mother, Charlotte–that I didn’t realize […]
The Man from U.N.C.L.E.
It’s terrific. Really. I’ve heard it labeled “fizzy”, and that’s pretty damn accurate. It seems impossible that I haven’t seen “Spectre” yet (rectified soon, I hope), but I feel like I’ve witnessed a James Bond vehicle anyway. Think 1971’s “Diamonds Are Forever”, but a whole lot more fun. Plus, I now believe Henry Cavill is the perfect […]
Bridge of Spies
It’s become achingly apparent to me, that most critics and audiences believe that Steven Spielberg never makes a misstep–and that sentiment would be dead wrong. For past offenses, I’ll point to 1991’s charmless “Hook” and 2004’s execrable “The Terminal”. Both works have their share of fervent supporters. Of course, Tom Hanks was the star of that […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 