An eerily detached loner with a singularly obsessive focus chases after the men who ran off with his car in The Rover. In a dystopian Australia, after a devastating economic upheaval, everyone’s left to fend for themselves for their own daily survival. The collapse turns most of the sparse populace into desperate opportunists or outright bandits. Eric […]
Four young men leave the tough streets of Newark, New Jersey, to create a historic rock sensation in Jersey Boys. They were the biggest rock group in America before another fab four came over from England to rewrite rock history. In 1951, small-time hustler Tommy DeVito (Vincent Piazza) fills an opening in his local band with his golden-voiced […]
A straight-talking, unfiltered New York comedienne’s one-night stand brings an unanticipated focus to her life in Obvious Child. Donna Stern (Jenny Slate) is a take-charge kind of woman, albeit with often dubious effectiveness. Even though her Mom thinks she should be doing more with her 780 SAT score, she prefers the challenge of the local comedy […]
Two middle-aged, wayward prep-school teachers debate the value of their chosen subjects in Words and Pictures. The history of the written word goes back more than 5,000 years. The history of art-based imagery goes back even further. Both have captured the best and worst of humanity throughout our storied existence. Poets, playwrights, painters and psychopaths […]
A bright, logical teenage cancer patient unexpectedly finds her soul mate at a support group in The Fault in Our Stars. Sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster (Shailene Woodley) has struggled with cancer for much of her short life. After nearly dying some years before, she’s now settled into her eventual fate and spends her time tethered to […]
An eighteen-year-old, preparing to take her final vows, must choose between the church and a family connection she never knew in Ida. An orphaned infant girl, delivered to a Polish convent, grew up oblivious to her real identity, heritage and any ties to existing family. Raised by the sisters of the nunnery, her only guiding […]
Two sisters emigrate from Poland to America only to find it less welcoming than they anticipated in The Immigrant. In 1921, Poland was in the final year of a critical war for its own survival against the emerging and expanding Russian Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin. The resulting devastation drove many Poles to flee the country for other […]
An introverted office worker, stuck in a mundane life, meets his twin but quickly learns they’re nothing alike in The Double. There must have been something in the water in Hollywood a while back. In the past year, we’ve seen the release of at least three major doppelganger-based films. Earlier this year, we had Ed Harris […]
High school classmates wrestle with the apprehension, risk and wonder of burgeoning independence in Palo Alto. Very few teens emerge from their high school years without the experience leaving an indelible imprint (good and bad) that they’ll carry with them the rest of their lives. For many, the journey can feel like traversing a minefield, […]
A frustrated top chef loses his way before a food truck leads him back in Chef. Carl Casper (Jon Favreau) sweats every detail as the head of a top kitchen’s staff in a very popular Los Angeles restaurant. The owner is a very successful but risk-averse entrepreneur whom we only know as Riva (Dustin Hoffman). They […]
An obsessive construction manager finds his world unraveling the night before his biggest assignment in Locke. No matter how prepared we try to be, fate — it would seem — often has other plans for us. Ivan Locke (Tom Hardy) is the consummate perfectionist. He’s a high-profile construction manager, overseeing projects that demand his ever-constant vigilance on […]
The mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy officer struggles against social norms to find her own identity in Belle. A curious portrait from 1779 was the inspiration behind the story of Dido Elizabeth Belle (Gugu Mbatha-Raw). When Dido’s mother passes away unexpectedly, word is sent out to her estranged father, Captain Sir John Lindsay (Matthew Goode), an […]