A nerdy high school senior decides to apply her ample scholastic skills to a new project — becoming sexually savvy before heading off to college in The To Do List. Brandy Klark (Aubrey Plaza) is everything most parents dream about. She’s smart, dedicated, problem-free and a virgin. She’s even earned the distinction of class valedictorian. What’s […]
William Shakespeare‘s classic comedic play is reimagined by Joss Whedon in the latest version of Much Ado About Nothing. This famous tale has been the inspiration for countless romantic comedies over the years while the main play itself was adapted for the screen in 1993 by Kenneth Branagh. This time around, Joss Whedon of Buffy […]
I love movies that take me someplace that I will never go or introduce a lifestyle that is markedly foreign because I can take that journey from the comfort of a theater seat. Fill the Void is that type of movie because it sets things firmly in an ultra-Orthodox community in Tel Aviv for a […]
A young Hasidic Israeli girl has to balance her dreams and desires against the pressures of her family and faith in Fill the Void. This is the film that represented the country at this year’s Academy Awards for Best Foreign Film — though it didn’t win. The film is written by Rama Burshtein, a native New York […]
Classic books don’t always translate well to classic movies. These adaptations seem to use the parts of the books that suit the filmmaker’s vision and throw away other elements that don’t, whether they’re important in the books or not. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is often regarded as “The Great American Novel.” Over […]
Tobey Maguire as young Nick Carroway leaves behind his midwest home for a shot at fame and fortune in 1920s New York City where he meets the most intriguing person of his life in The Great Gatsby. This is a film I’ve been looking forward to since the first previews appeared. This latest interpretation of the book comes to […]
Family members involved with crime go back much further in the movies than The Godfather. Conflicts between brothers go back even further than that if you take it all the way to Cain and Abel. These subjects are explored in detail in the poorly named My Brother the Devil. The glamour of easy money from […]
Gimmicks or unconventional plot conventions in movies work only as much as they are supported by the story or other major elements. The black-and-white segments of The Wizard of Oz work so well because they truly balance the rest of the story and take place in a different world. Upside Down tries something creative that […]
A soon-to-be father, not sure about his ability to handle parenting suddenly finds that he’s the biological father of 533 children in the French Canadian comedy, Starbuck. David Wozniak (Patrick Huard) is a 40-something screw-up. He can’t seem to do anything right in life. He owes loan sharks $80,000, can’t handle a simple meat delivery […]
It’s dull, flat and extremely predictable almost in an insulting fashion.
Beautiful Creatures is a supernatural story involving two main characters—Lena Duchannes (Alice Englert) and Ethan Wate (Alden Ehrenreich)—who are drawn to one another in more than the typical ways usually associated with love affairs. The supporting cast is top-notch including Jeremy Irons as Lena’s overprotective uncle, Emma Thompson as her mother, Viola Davis as the […]
I was afraid that the success of the Twilight films would lead to a rash of adaptations of other young adult supernatural series to the big screen. Hopefully, Beautiful Creatures will put an end to any plans beyond what’s already in production. This ambitious film with great production values falls flat for a number of […]