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 […]
Comedies go in cycles, and every now and then, an outrageous gross-out comedy surfaces and tries to match the success of past winners like The Hangover or just about every Farrelly Brothers entry. We’re the Millers was one of last year’s funniest films, and it managed to keep the laughs coming at a tremendous pace. […]
A couple with an infant daughter find their idyllic suburban world shattered when a fraternity unexpectedly moves in next door in Neighbors. Mac and Kelly Radner (Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne) are happily going about their business as first-time parents, obsessing over their young daughter. They’re just managing to keep it all in razor-sharp balance […]
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 […]
Marvel‘s venerable web-slinger returns to protect the city from Electro, the Green Goblin and OsCorp in The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I grew up with what’s called “Retro Spider-Man” — an animated series that originally ran from 1967 to 1970. Even with its occasionally outrageous plots and rather low-quality animation, every kid in the neighborhood was a huge […]
A homeless loner turns to vigilante revenge when his parents’ killer gets an early release from prison in Blue Ruin. There’s something not quite right about Dwight Evans (Macon Blair). This is not your typical lost soul of society. He breaks into homes to take baths and enjoy some cable TV before returning to solitary afternoons […]
A former British prisoner of war struggles to find peace of mind after finding the love of his life in The Railway Man. Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) is obsessed with all things train related. He knows every timetable, every route and every type of locomotive. One day in the 1960s, while traveling in a dining […]
A vampire, disillusioned by the monotony of an endless existence, finds solace in the arms of his estranged partner in Only Lovers Left Alive. To live forever. It’s a universal dream of nearly every human to have walked the Earth. Vampires, by virtue of their undead immortality, no longer need to concern themselves with such […]
Artificial intelligence has been a source of fear in the movies ever since some human being imagined a plot in which a smart computer might not like its subservience to humanity. There are many examples of this theme, notably 2001: A Space Odyssey, Star Trek: The Motion Picture and WarGames. Despite all of the modern […]
A rural town’s faith is put to the test when one of their own returns from the hospital with an extraordinary tale in Heaven Is for Real. In 2003, four-year-old Colton Burpo (Connor Corum) is rushed into surgery for a burst appendix. His parents, local Christian minister Todd (Greg Kinnear) and Sonja (Kelly Reilly), agonize […]