Category: 2015

Rock the Kasbah review

Director:
Barry Levinson
Cast:
Bill Murray
Bruce Willis
Leem Lubany
Kate Hudson
Rated: R

“Rock the Kasbah” tells the story of Richie Lanz (Murray), a music talent manager who has fallen on hard times. In an attempt to get back on his feet, Lanz travels to Afghanistan for a USO show with his singer Ronnie played by Zooey Deschanel.

Things take an immediate downturn in the country, though, when his act practically abandons him. To get things back on track, Lanz seeks out talent for an Afghanistan TV series titled “Afghan Star.”

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Jem and the Holograms review

Director:
Jon M. Chu
Cast:
Aubrey Peeples
Ryan Guzman
Juliette Lewis
Stefanie Scott
Rated: PG

Jerrica (Peeples) is a young girl living with her aunt, sister Kimber (Scott) and two cousins Shana (Perrineau) and Aja (Kiyoko). While Jerrica is shy, she does have great musical talent and one day, under the disguise of Jem, records herself playing an original song.

After Kimber uploads the Jem video to Youtube, Jerrica’s alter ego becomes a sensation in the music industry. But the situation gets complicated when she has to start dealing with Erica Raymond (Lewis), the head of a huge music label.

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Bridge of Spies review

Director:
Steven Spielberg
Cast:
Tom Hanks
Mark Rylance
Domenick Lombardozzi
Rated: PG-13

Tom Hanks is insurance lawyer James B. Donovan in “Bridge of Spies,” a film which takes place in the late 1950s when the Cold War started to intensify. Donovan is a family person and is for most purposes, an every-man. This changes when U.S. agents arrest a suspected Soviet spy named Rudolf Abel (Rylance) and request Donovan to defend the operative in court to show that the country provides fair justice.

While a bit reluctant, Donovan decides to take up the case which subsequently presents challenges for his day to day life. For example he gets firsthand experience with the Red Scare and begins conversing with officials from agencies such as the CIA.

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The Last Witch Hunter review

Director:
Breck Eisner
Cast:
Vin Diesel
Rose Leslie
Elijah Wood
Michael Caine
Rated: PG-13

Vin Diesel is Kaulder (though it sounds more like Colder), a witch hunter working for a branch of the Church called the Axe and Cross.

After killing the Witch Queen hundreds of years ago, Kaulder was cursed with immortality. He’s used this ability to keep the world safe, but things start to get dangerous when rumors of the Witch Queen’s return begin to come out.

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Halloween Horror Fest 2015: The mess that was the ‘Texas Chainsaw’ franchise

To those who’ve followed my work, it’s no secret that I love “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” I find it to be one of the best horror films ever made thanks to its style, detail, setting and more. I also admire its sequel for being a legitimate attempt at a horror-comedy which focused more on humor than downright scares.

Following the original two, though, the series took a complete nose dive with two more films that may or may not have been sequels to the original. Now, with all fairness, there was a reboot in 2003, and for all its faults, I think the 03 film comes close to at least trying to recapture the original film. I don’t consider it a horror classic and still think it pales in comparison to the original, but it’s an OK horror picture.

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Crimson Peak review

Director:
Guillermo del Toro
Cast:
Mia Wasikowska
Jessica Chastain
Tom Hiddleston
Charlie Hunnam
Rated: R

In “Crimson Peak,” Mia Wasikowska plays Edith Cushing, a young woman who is whisked away to the U.K. after meeting and falling in love with a man (Hiddleston) just after a family tragedy.

As she begins living with her new husband, Thomas, and his sister Lucille (Chastain) at their gothic mansion, she begins seeing frightening and disturbing things that make her start to question her decision.

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Goosebumps review

Director:
Rob Letterman
Cast:
Jack Black
Dylan Minnette
Odeya Rush
Ryan Lee
Amy Ryan
Jillian Bell
Rated: PG

“Goosebumps” is a film inspired by the childrens’ books written by R.L. Stine. The film is, in a way, in the same vein as “Wes Craven’s New Nightmare,” since R.L. Stine (Black) is actually a character who has to face his own creations.

The movie follows Zach (Minnette), a teen moving to a new city because of his mother getting a new job. As he gets settled into his new home, he meets Hannah (Rush), a teen living next door whom he befriends. He comes to find out, though, that her father actually is Stine. Stine right away comes off as frightening and things go from bad to worse when it’s discovered that his novels can come to life when they open.

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REVIEW: ‘Pan’

Director:
Joe Wright
Cast:
Hugh Jackman
Levi Miller
Garrett Hedlund
Rooney Mara
Rated: PG

In the latest adaption of the story featuring a boy who never grows up, Levi Miller is tasked with playing the legendary character Peter Pan. In “Pan,” Peter starts off his journey growing up in an orphanage with less than stellar conditions making up his surroundings.

It all changes, though, when he is whisked away by a group of pirates who are kidnapping orphans.

The pirates, who operate massive flying ships, bring Peter to Neverland and that’s where he comes to meet Blackbeard (Jackman), the leader of the bandits who is using kidnapped orphans to dig for the precious commodity, crystallized fairy dust. Peter decides to get away from the whole situation and does so with the help of a young man named Hook (Hedlund).

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The Walk review

Director:
Robert Zemeckis
Cast:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Ben Kingsley
Charlotte Le Bon
Cesar Domboy
James Badge Dale
Rated: PG

“The Walk” follows the true story of French high wire artist Philippe Petit (Gordon-Levitt) who attempted a crossing between the twin towers of the World Trade Center in the 1970s. The film begins with Petit’s childhood and explores how he discovered his passion for wire walking, when he realized his dream of walking across the iconic New York City buildings and what he needed to do in order to make it all happen.

Along the way, the movie introduces accomplices to Petit who assist in sneaking their way through the then under construction towers and setting up the high rise wires.

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Sicario review

Director:
Denis Villeneuve
Cast:
Emily Blunt
Benicio Del Toro
Josh Brolin
Victor Garber
Rated: R

“Sicario” is directed by Denis Villeneuve, who helmed my favorite picture of 2013 “Prisoners.” The director returns for another dark film with “Sicario,” which follows an FBI agent named Kate Macer (Blunt) who joins up with an elite government task force to fight the drug war on the southern U.S. border.

Kate quickly finds out that the team, led by agent Matt Graver (Brolin) and an expert hired by the government named Alejandro (Del Toro) don’t exactly operate within all the boundaries of the law.

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