Tag Archive | Viola Davis
Fences
It will be touted as progress, if the film adaptation of “Fences” manages to grab a bunch of Academy Awards nominations next month. But I have to state well ahead of that near inevitability, that it’s absolutely not what I was looking for when I supported the #OscarsSoWhite campaign at the ceremony for 2015’s nominees. […]
Suicide Squad IMAX 3D
First things first. I have a question for the rabid comic book fanatics that are so crazed in anticipation for the opening of their latest over-priced blockbuster entry, that they engage in silly ventures like threatening to shut down an aggregate critics website, in order to suppress the negative notices for a violent cartoon fantasy. Primarily…what’s […]
Blackhat
Michael Mann is amongst my favorite film directors, so I’m still trying to grasp why “Blackhat” was such a huge box office bomb. Usually, Mann is able to find just the right mix of commercialism and artistry, to make his work a hit with either the critics, at the ticket line–or both. 2009’s “Public Enemies”, […]
Get on Up
Director Tate Taylor is apparently desperate to stake his reputation upon being associated with shit. In 2011’s “The Help” (Taylor’s whitewash trivialization of a chapter in the 1960’s civil rights movement), perhaps the most infamous scene of the movie involves a pie containing human excrement. Now, in 2014’s “Get On Up”, a mainstream-cleansed biopic about […]
Prisoners
What a disappointment. Especially after starting out so well. Denis Villeneuve’s “Prisoners” has some interesting things to say about human nature and Aaron Guzikowski’s script keeps us guessing throughout. Then they throw it all away to pure commercialism. If only actual cases ended with all the loopholes closed, like the finale of “Prisoners” chooses. Was it […]
The Help
Nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress and twice for Best Supporting Actress at the 84th Annual Academy Awards… “I’ve never met a racist, but I’ve known plenty of them”. This is what I told a friend recently when discussing this past summer’s surprise smash, “The Help”. How […]
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The temptation is almost overwhelming, but I’m going to try to resist. That title…what it lends itself to! There have been so many variations already. And the film hasn’t even opened wide yet. Anyway, it’s been a nice run for director Stephen Daldry. His charming debut, “Billy Elliot”, garnered him his first Academy Award nomination […]
Reviewed by Mark Leonard 