reviewedbymarkleonard
Allied
The “Back to the Future” trilogy, “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?”, “Forrest Gump”…that’s some resume. But then Oscar-winning director Robert Zemeckis steered his career towards motion-capture animated features, for the first decade of this century. Upon returning to live action films–his box office dominance of the 1980s and 1990s suffered a bit. 2012’s “Flight” DID end […]
31
The thing is…I’m a fan. Of Rob Zombie. As a director, that is. I really know almost nothing about his music. But I tend to like what he’s created as a filmmaker. His instincts are strong, and I appreciate his aesthetic. It’s just that I never LOVE his stuff. He always someone just misses hitting […]
Indignation
They sort of snuck this one in late-summer, and no one paid much attention. A few critics did, and it garnered some solid reviews. James Schamus is an award-winning screenwriter, making his feature debut as a director here. Philip Roth is one of our finest novelists, of course, and “Indignation” is based on his novel […]
Finding Dory
Time for a little catch-up. Expect it all month-long. You see, things I saw weeks ago, took a back seat to Oscar for the first two months of 2017. If “Finding Dory” had actually scored an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, you can be certain that I would’ve reviewed it earlier. It didn’t…and you […]
Hacksaw Ridge
Well, look who’s back. Everyone’s favorite anti-Semitic, abusive, homophobe. Sitting there at the Oscars ceremony, all smug and smiling, happy to be part of the elite crowd again. Mel Gibson has returned. You see, this is why I couldn’t get all that worked up over Casey Affleck’s harassment allegations, that many thought would deny him the […]
KUBRICK @Feature #8: 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey
It’s probably a certainty that a better science fiction film will never be made. Certainly nothing smarter, more iconic, or more enigmatic. Yes, special effects will continue to improve over time. But, even for 1968, the stuff from “2001: A Space Odyssey” holds up remarkably well. The first moonwalk to the monolith is slightly unrealistic […]
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi
Nominated for Best Sound Mixing at the 89th Annual Academy Awards My instincts were strong that I shouldn’t even bother with this one. You know, I really don’t mind being wrong every now and then. But I wasn’t wrong here. Overlong, incoherent, and often amateurish in its approach, Michael Bay’s “13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of […]
Florence Foster Jenkins
Nominated for Best Actress (Meryl Streep) at the 89th Annual Academy Awards Nominated for Best Costume Design at the 89th Annual Academy Awards To borrow from a piece I once did on Tom Cruise: I love Meryl Streep. I hate Meryl Streep. Oh, this has absolutely nothing to do with national politics, or awards show speeches. […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 