Hollywood screenwriter Dalton Trumbo once said, “The only kind of love worth having is the kind that goes on living and laughing and fighting and loving.” As a new biopic showcases, Trumbo loved to write, and he fought for his First Amendment rights for the freedom to express himself while holding beliefs that weren’t shared […]
“Mississippi Grind” is a solid and engaging drama about the extreme highs and lows of the world of gambling. This low-budget indie more effectively portrays this culture (just how quickly you can make money – and how destructive it can be when you lose it) than both Mark Wahlberg’s recent remake of “The Gambler” and […]
“Straight Outta Compton” is a biopic that chronicles the highs and lows in the careers of rappers Dr. Dre, Eazy-E and Ice Cube, who together formed the legendary ghetto rap group N.W.A. back in the late 80s. And while I can’t write what N.W.A. stands for, I can state that this is a solid and […]
As the son of loving husband and father Clark W. Griswold (who, in the previous “Vacation” movies, may have looked like he did everything wrong, but actually did everything right), Ed Helms is the grown-up version of Rusty in this modern version of “Vacation”, which is just as zany and uneven as the original. Jonathan […]
After seeing 2010’s “Despicable Me” the first of several times, I knew that supervillain turned Superdad Gru’s little yellow assistants, the Minions, were destined to star in their own movie. Five years later, “Minions” puts the title characters front and center. Unfortunately, the film falls short on the fun meter. “Minions” is a prequel to […]
In 1993, four little words, an iconic John Williams score and some mind-blowing visuals changed cinema forever, as the late Richard Attenborough welcomed us to Jurassic Park. Now, 22 years later, original director Steven Spielberg hands the reigns of the “dinos on the loose” franchise over to Colin Trevorrow for “Jurassic World”, which covers similar […]
“Pitch Perfect” only made $65 million back in 2012, but a cult “Girl Power” following along with the growth in popularity of stars Anna Kendrick and Rebel Wilson helped convince Universal that they were A Ca-ready for “Pitch Perfect 2”. Elizabeth Banks, who reprises her role as A Cappella competition co-commentator Gail, also directs this […]
“Furious 7” is not nearly as much fun as 2013’s “Fast & Furious 6”. And star Vin Diesel’s prediction of a Best Picture Oscar win will not be coming true. However, it’s still good enough, and a fitting farewell to the late Paul Walker. This seventh edition in the blockbuster franchise is surprisingly serious, with […]
“McFarland, USA” is the latest “Based on a True Story” sports drama from the studio king of the genre, Disney. This time, the Mouse House employees had to go all the way back to 1987 to find their latest inspirational, underdog story. And, after using baseball, football, basketball, hockey, horse racing, golf, bobsledding, and even […]
Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”) is nominated again this year in the Best Actress category for her raw and consistently believable performance as Sandra, a wife and mother of two, fighting to keep her job in the Belgian drama “Two Days, One Night”. That’s all the time Sandra has to find […]