Romantic comedies have become so old-hat that a new one, Playing it Cool, seeks to parody the genre while delivering precisely what it is parodying. It’s a fine line to keep when self-parody is involved, and this film sometimes strays […]
Continue reading »Category: Recent Releases
Furious Seven (2015) ☆ ☆ 1/2
Some film series are planned right from the get-go, especially when based upon literary sources (Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.). Others naturally evolve when audience interest exceeds prediction (James Bond, Batman, etc.). Still others defy the odds, such […]
Continue reading »The Age of Adaline (2015) ☆ ☆ 1/2
This is a gimmick film that plays with the notion of aging, as did The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. In this case, due to extraordinary circumstances, a woman named Adaline Bowman (Blake Lively) never ages after her 29th year, […]
Continue reading »The Water Diviner (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆
Historical dramas like these are the type that win awards, and The Water Diviner already has, having won (in a tie) Australia’s Best Film AACTA. It is the directorial debut of actor Russell Crowe, and it spotlights an important episode […]
Continue reading »Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) ☆ ☆
The second all-star Avengers adventure is decidedly less effective than the first one, though they share many of the same characteristics. Most interestingly to me, this is the third 2015 movie to explore sentient Artificial Intelligence, and the only one which […]
Continue reading »Wild Tales (2014) ☆ ☆ ☆
I finally caught up with Argentina’s entry in last year’s Foreign Film Oscar race. It’s a collection of six unlinked short films that mostly deal with revenge and fury, often in comedic terms. It is, as its title suggests, a […]
Continue reading »Ex Machina (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆
Robots and Artificial Intelligence are hot subjects in science fiction these days, blending cool technology with the fear that such progress will, perhaps rapidly, replace humanity as the dominant life form on Earth. Both Chappie and Ex Machina explore aspects of […]
Continue reading »Danny Collins (2015) ☆ ☆ ☆
Play casting director for a moment; would you cast Al Pacino as an aging Neil Diamond-like pop star going through a late-life crisis? Pacino certainly would not have been my first choice — and yet he pulls it off, rather […]
Continue reading »Child 44 (2015) ☆ ☆
Serial killer stories have become passé at this point, though the best of them, on the big screen and on television as well, can still be highly effective. Child 44 looks for a compelling variance on the subject by detailing a […]
Continue reading »Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015) ☆ 1/2
Silly, stupid comedies are not my thing, yet I’m always hopeful that the next one I see will be smart and clever. Alas, Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 did not elevate its game to the level of cleverness that I had […]
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