Each year I set aside time to highlight what I think are the best performances of the past movie year. In keeping with the upcoming Oscars I have adopted their format and for the next several days I’ll be sharing my favorite performances for each of the four acting categories. Ladies first so I’m starting … Continue reading
REVIEW: “The Shape of Water”
No one can deny Guillermo del Toro’s willingness to utilize every trick in the cinematic playbook to create a magnificent visual experience. He has built worlds through several genres including dark fantasy, gothic horror, superhero, and even creature features. Yet despite his keen eye, vivid imagination, and a consistent backing from critics, “Pan’s Labyrinth” is … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”
Playwright turned screenwriter Martin McDonagh is three movies into his feature film career – “In Bruges”, “Seven Psychopaths” and his latest “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri”. While each film has their differences they also also have their similarities. All three are black comedy crime pictures and each prominently feature McDonagh’s brash writing style. You can … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Molly’s Game”
Jessica Chastain already had one knockout 2017 performance under her belt with the World War 2 drama “The Zookeeper’s Wife”. Now you can make it two with her latest film, the biographical crime drama “Molly’s Game”. It’s an adaptation of the 2014 memoir of Molly Bloom, once an Olympic hopeful in freestyle skiing but later … Continue reading
Random Thoughts: 2018 Golden Globes
It’s hard to believe the Golden Globes have (once again) come and gone and the Oscars are right around the corner. As always there were funny moments, some not so funny moments, some surprises, and some disappointments. As usual I have a few random thoughts I cant help but share. So here we go… There … Continue reading
REVIEW: “Darkest Hour” (2017)
Lest anyone be confused (and I highly doubt they will be) this is not a review of the atrocious doomsday alien invasion thriller from 2011. Instead this is director Joe Wright’s biographical wartime drama based on Winston Churchill’s early days as England’s Prime Minister. Quite a difference, right? In early May of 1940 Hitler’s army … Continue reading