Director: Aaron Sorkin Starring: Jessica Chastain, Idris Elba, Kevin Costner, Michael Cera, Jeremy Strong, Chris O'Dowd, Bill Camp When Molly Bloom, the eponymous “Poker Princess” of “Molly’s Game” was ready to have her memoir adapted for the screen, she knew exactly whom she wanted to write that translation: Aaron Sorkin. In retrospect, Bloom’s story of … Continue reading Molly’s Game (2017)
Director: Marc Meyers Starring: Ross Lynch, Alex Wolff, Dallas Roberts, Anne Heche As humans, we obsess over understanding the motivations of anomalous people - like the motivations of serial killers, for example. We want to know why Ted Bundy kept select victims’ decapitated heads as mementos, how the Killer Clown achieved orgasm through his murders. The … Continue reading My Friend Dahmer (2017)
Director: S. S. Rajamouli Starring: Prabhas, Rana Daggubati, Anushka Shetty, Sathyaraj, Ramya Krishnan, Nassar "Baahubali 2: The Conclusion," aka "Why Kattapa Killed Baahubali: The Movie," takes us back to the story of Amarendra and his son Mahendra Baahubali, both played by Prabhas in a dual role. While the film's predecessor, "Baahubali: The Beginning," introduces the … Continue reading Baahubali 2: The Conclusion (2017)
Director: Niki Caro Starring: Jessica Chastain, Johan Heldenbergh, Michael McElhatton, Daniel Bruhl The latest installment in Niki Caro’s filmography is what The New York Times calls, “Schindler’s List With Pets,” which is a fairly accurate description. Jessica Chastain stars in and executive produces the war drama (holding a different animal in every scene, so that … Continue reading The Zookeeper’s Wife (2017)
Director: Matt Spicer Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Elizabeth Olsen, O'Shea Jackson, Jr. The term “Instagram stalker” brings to mind a girl huddled over her phone, scrolling through photos of her “Insta-crush” - an image that’s weird, but harmless. Director and co-writer Matt Spicer utterly crushes this image with his first feature film, “Ingrid Goes West.” The comedy-drama … Continue reading Ingrid Goes West (2017)
Director: Woody Harrelson Starring: Woody Harrelson, Owen Wilson, Willie Nelson Harrelson was inspired to write Lost in London by one of the worst nights of his life, which happened in 2002. As he said in the Q & A session immediately following the film, “time plus tragedy equals comedy”, and that’s how the script for Lost in … Continue reading Lost in London (2017)
Director: Martin Scorsese Starring: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Tadanobu Asano, Ciarán Hinds, Liam Neeson The world is not short on stories in which faith is tested. Yet "Silence" is a Scorsese - so naturally, it’s done so well that the movie feels like a brand new story. This specific trial of faith happens for two Jesuit … Continue reading Silence (2016)
Director: Damien Chazelle Starring: Emma Stone, Ryan Gosling, John Legend, Rosemarie DeWitt They don’t make ‘em like this anymore. No, actually - when was the last time anyone saw the Cinemascope logo in opening credits? Since premiering in late August at the Venice Film Festival, La La Land has been receiving unparalleled praise from critics and audiences … Continue reading On Dreams in ‘La La Land’
When young girls look to the media for representations of the female gender in society, they find a variety of limiting roles. The common tract of “women as love interests” is one of the more harmful roles, as it reinforces a particular trope: women need romance to be happy. Too often in movies and television … Continue reading “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is Comedic Gold with a Feminist Agenda
Director: Clint Eastwood Starring: Tom Hanks, Aaron Eckhart, Laura Linney As those who have seen the trailers know, “Sully” tells the story of Captain Chesley Sullenberger and the emergency water landing of US Airways flight 1549 – which has come to be known as The Miracle on the Hudson, due to the fact that all 155 … Continue reading Sully (2016)
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