“Divergent”, released exactly a year ago, was based on the first installment of a popular tween/teen book series about a female heroine in a post-apocalyptic world. Similarities were immediately made to “The Hunger Games”, with “Divergent” having copycat concepts and lackluster big screen results in comparison. Interestingly, Lionsgate, which recently bought Summit Entertainment, is now […]
“Jupiter Ascending” is the latest sci-fi/adventure from The Wachowskis. Since their “Matrix” trilogy wrapped-up in 2003, they haven’t had much success. 2008’s “Speed Racer” was forecasted as a summer blockbuster and instead ended-up a complete car-wreck. 2012’s visionary “Cloud Atlas” was interesting, but not the Best Picture contender everyone expected, nor a box office hit […]
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 […]
“Black or White” is inspired by true events and stars Kevin Costner as Elliot, a successful lawyer who works and lives in an affluent areas of Los Angeles. We learn in the opening scenes that his wife has just died in a car accident. The couple had custody of their young, African American granddaughter Eloise […]
Only a few months after the original “Taken” was released in January 2009, star Liam Neeson’s wife, Natasha Richardson, died following a tragic skiing accident. Since then Neeson has starred in more than 20 movies, the majority of which are intense, heart-pounding action movies. He’s said that these films, such as “Clash of the Titans”, […]
Several films in recent years have dealt with the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s disease, but none so effectively and tragically as “Still Alice”. Based on the best-selling novel by Lisa Genova, “Still Alice” stars Julianne Moore plays the title character, a Columbia University professor of linguistics, who, at the age of 50, is diagnosed with […]
“Unbroken” tells the true story of Olympian and WWII veteran Louis Zamperini, who survived a plane crash that put him and two fellow soldiers adrift at sea for 47 days, and then two years in the brutal conditions of Japanese prison camps. All of this was chronicled in author Laura Hillenbrand’s 2010 best-selling book of […]
Tim Burton’s movies are typically set in fantastical worlds, with wacky characters (usually at least one is played by Johnny Depp), a unique story, and tons of makeup, costumes, and bold colors. Many are calling “Big Eyes”, Burton’s latest, the most “normal” movie he’s ever made. And after seeing this dramedy biopic, based on a […]
David Oyelowo gives a career propelling and defiant performance as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in director Ava DuVernay’s “Selma”. From the opening scene, in which King is attempting to tie an ascot with the help of his struggling but supportive wife Coretta (Carmen Ejogo) prior to accepting the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize, to the […]
The adventures of Bilbo Baggins have come to a close with the final installment (or as the poster reads, “The Defining Chapter”) of director Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” prequel trilogy. It’s a series that many believe (though not Warner Bros. execs) should have been condensed into just one film, since J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The […]