Natalie Portman doesn’t just play Jacqueline Kennedy in the biopic “Jackie”, she embodies her. The film is centered on the actions of the former First Lady on the days immediately following the assassination of her husband, President John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963 in Dallas. With such a specific focus, I had similar concerns […]
“The Accountant” is one of the most unique films I’ve seen this year. In describing the “genre-bending thriller”, director Gavin O’Connor (“Warrior”) told Entertainment Weekly, “It’s such an odd movie, man.” One of the integral lines of dialogue featured in the trailer and the film is when a supporting character says “Different scares people.” But […]
On Sunday night, August 30, 2015, Kevin Hart performed in front of 53,000 people at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field, becoming the first comedian to ever play and sell out an NFL stadium. And that night, Universal Pictures filmed the show for Hart’s third big screen concert movie. I was there, on the field, in about […]
“The Birth of a Nation” enters theaters with a great deal of baggage. The historical drama was screened at Sundance in January to rave reviews and purchased by Fox Searchlight for a record-breaking $17.5 million. The studio hoped to have another Best Picture winner on their hands, just three years after “12 Years a Slave” […]
“The Girl on the Train” is not a follow-up to 2014’s “Gone Girl”, as the titles might lead you to believe. And the comparisons don’t end there: both films are based on popular novels. Both stories are disappearance/possible murder mysteries featuring a female at the center of the action (with both actresses giving showcase performances). […]
Rarely does a movie make me cry. On the few occasions it’s happened, it was at the end of the film. “Christine” not only brought me to tears during the climax, but on two other occasions earlier in the movie, as I watched Rebecca Hall give a painfully resonant and hauntingly brilliant performance as 1970s […]
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Edward Joseph Snowden in Oliver Stone’s biopic on the infamous U.S. government contractor who, in 2013, leaked stunning, classified information from the National Security Agency regarding the organization’s monitoring of the personal lives of billions of people across the globe. Last year, Gordon-Levitt played tightrope master Philippe Petit in “The Walk”, […]
Boxing movies, always a popular genre, have been a “main event” in Hollywood over the past few years. The latest on the card, “Hands of Stone”, is a lightweight compared to most fight films. But it does have an element of “class” and tone that provide for a satisfying viewing. This is the story of […]
“Mechanic: Resurrection” is the sequel to 2011’s action/thriller “The Mechanic” (which was a remake of a 1972 film of the same name, starring Charles Bronson). Buried in January, “ME1” only grossed $29 million in the U.S. This sequel opens at the end of August, the dreaded period of the movie year when studios dump films […]
“Hell or High Water” has a very simple premise: a couple of bank-robbing brothers are looking to rob more banks so they can pay-off…the bank – and save the family ranch. A sheriff on the verge of retirement and his longtime partner are out to catch them. Complete with his Texas “True Grit” twang, Jeff […]