It may sound like an exotic corporate safari, but no…these are the three films I recommend most you not leave off of your holiday watch list. The Lobster is one of the most unique, downright bizarre films you are likely to ever see. In a dystopian society where being single is a capital crime, The Lobster lays out … Continue reading
Category Archives: Now Playing Review
Girl on the Train a rough commute
NOPE – It’s never a good sign when you finish watching a film and you ask yourself “What was the point?” Oscar-winning screenwriter Aaron Sorkin says he likes on-screen arguments where both sides are right. So, then, is the opposite equally effective? Arguments where all sides are wrong and lack any moral clarity whatsoever? Not so … Continue reading
Suicide Squad dies on the vine
NOPE – Few films can live up to the hype and buzz generated by a year-long blitz of online trailers, teasers, and marketing grenades. Stars Wars: The Force Awakens an example of a film that actually did. Suicide Squad? Well, let’s just say that all of those reports and rumors of studio panic and buyer’s remorse have now been … Continue reading
Tarantino gets away with bloody murder
NOPE – The bad news is I spent a nice chunk of money to take my brother-in-law and two youngest sons to a matinée of Quentin Tarantino’s Christmas gift to society,The Hateful Eight. The good news is I can now firmly say I am cutting ties with the once innovative, provocative filmmaker, and will not waste … Continue reading
The Force Awakens indeed
YEP YEP – A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…an adventure began that has gone on to capture our collective imagination like no other. Star Wars: The Force Awakens arrived this past week with more fanfare than any film in history. Not surprisingly, the box office receipts have rewarded it big time; as this, … Continue reading
Fassbender, Sorkin, and Boyle get Steve Jobs right
INSPIRED – “Is this a strategy or a problem?” a reporter asks Apple icon Steve Jobs moments before he is set to step on stage to launch the NeXT Cube, his now infamous computer that was introduced long before it was ready to actually function. And that was the genius of Jobs. He always understood that … Continue reading
Spectre wanders but worth the wait
YEP – Bond is back – and that’s always a good thing. This is a franchise that never ceases to rally my entire family to the local cineplex. By the looks of the box office receipts, we are not alone. Daniel Craig has now starred in four James Bond pictures. I didn’t care for the first … Continue reading
Bridge of Spies lacks thrills and lays flat
NOPE – Early on in Bridge of Spies I was taken with the attention to detail, production value, and elaborate set pieces that director Steven Spielberg and his creative team produced to bring 1957 New York and Germany (East & West) to the screen. This film spared no expense. Once that initial impression wore off, I found myself … Continue reading
Benicio takes no prisoners in Sicario
YEP YEP – Benicio Del Toro has reached that elite club of dynamic actors working in films today whose work precedes him on such a high level that we expect something special with each effort. Along with fellow Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Cate Blanchett and Javier Bardem, Del Toro’s mere screen presence now demands our attention … Continue reading
The Martian a celebration of intellect and collaboration
INSPIRED – How great to see director Ridley Scott return to form with the best film released thus far in 2015, The Martian. He gave us Blade Runner and Gladiator, Black Hawk Down and Thelma and Louise. But the past 15 years have been pretty lean for the 77-year-old 3-time Oscar nominee. His last three pictures, Exodus: Gods and Kings, The Counselor, and Prometheus made their money … Continue reading
Lars Beckerman 