Tag: cinema

Into the Woods review

Director:
Rob Marshall
Cast:
Anna Kendrick
Daniel Huttlestone
James Corden
Emily Blunt
Tracey Ullman
Meryl Streep
Rated: PG

Based on a Broadway musical of the same name, “Into the Woods” is a crossover of sorts which features characters from the stories of Cinderella (Kendrick), Jack (Huttlestone) and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood (Crawford) and Repunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy). The stories are all brought together by a couple, the Baker (Corden) and the Baker’s Wife (Blunt), who are trying to lift a curse that was set on them by the local Witch (Streep).

To do so, the couple needs to collect items from all of the famous fairy tales. The film tells the story from multiple angles and much of the plot is told through song.

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Big Eyes review

Director:
Tim Burton
Cast:
Amy Adams
Christoph Waltz
Terence Stamp
Rated: PG-13

Tim Burton’s latest outing as a director is a bit different this time around. Instead of being a movie with fantasy elements, Burton’s “Big Eyes” closely follows the true story of Margaret Keane (Adams), an artist whose work was wrongly credited to her husband Walter Keane (Waltz).

The movie shows how the two met, how the false credit was created and how Walter took advantage of it for financial gain. The movie also shows how Margaret eventually took a stand for her own art work.

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Birdman review

Director:
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Cast:
Michael Keaton
Emma Stone
Zach Galifianakis
Naomi Watts
Edward Norton
Rated: R

“Birdman” was once a famous box-office powerhouse at the movie theaters but lately has fallen out of the public’s eyes in this new film from director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

The man who played the superhero Birdman, Riggan (Keaton) has fallen out of the eyes of many, too, as he hasn’t made a hit movie in years. To get himself back on top he decides to direct and star in a play in New York City. Problems arise, though, as he has to deal with his daughter Sam (Stone) who has just gotten out of rehab and an actor (Norton) who does things his way or the highway.

Birdman is a film that has a lot of depth in both its story and characters, and both subjects are thoroughly explored. What makes the film great is that not only are the various characters and their subplots interesting, they also make statements on a number of topics.

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Unbroken review

Director:
Angelina Jolie
Cast:
Jack O;Connell
Domhnall Gleeson
Takamasa Ishihara
Rated: PG-13

“Unbroken” tells the true life story of World War II veteran and Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini (O’Connell). Following his competing at the 1936 Olympics, Zamperini joined the war effort and served as part of a bomber crew. On one of the missions Zamperini’s plane fails and only he and two other members of the crew survive. The three are left to survive in the vast Pacific ocean for weeks upon weeks until they are spotted by the Japanese armed forces.

The film then shows Zamperini’s time in a prisoner of war camp in Japan, where he comes into contact with a strict, brutal guard nicknamed “The Bird” (Ishihara).

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Selma review

Director:
Ava DuVernay
Cast:
David Oyelowo
Carmen Ejogo
Tom Wilkinson
Dylan Baker
Tim Roth
Rated: PG-13

As the title suggests, “Selma” tells the story of Martin Luther King’s (Oyelowo) leadership during the Civil Rights Movement during the march from Selma, Alabama to Montgomery, Alabama. The film starts off by showing why the movement comes to Selma and chronicles all of the events leading to the march through the state.

While the movie is focused on King’s journey in leading the movement, it also gives time to show the reactions of prominent figures such as President Lyndon B. Johnson (Wilkinson) and Alabama Governor George Wallace (Roth), as well as how the entire civil rights movement weighs on King’s family life.

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Night at the Museum Secret of the Tomb review

Director:
Shawn Levy
Cast:
Ben Stiller
Robin Williams
Owen Wilson
Steve Coogan
Ricky Gervais
Rebel Wilson
Dan Stevens
Rated: PG

Ben Stiller returns to the “Museum” franchise for one last adventure, once again reprising the role of Larry Daley. Now an experienced security guard, Larry has aspirations of involving the museum pieces which magically come to life in the educational experience at the exhibit. The problem is that the tablet that allows the museum pieces to come to life is unfortunately losing its power.

To restore the magic at the museum, Larry, his son and exhibits like Teddy Roosevelt (Williams), travel to a museum in London which has the secret of the tablet that can reverse the current trend.

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Does the Academy need a new category for unique performances?

Every year Academy Awards are given to deserving nominees in the best actor, actress, supporting actor and supporting actress categories. Despite some upsets here and undeserving winners there, most of the time, the argument can be made that the Academy gets these categories right.

The problem is, despite having deserving winners and more so deserving nominees, there is still a category of performances that are left out. They are the more unique forms of acting. The ones where the actor can’t necessarily be seen, but the performance can still have a major effect on the audience.

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The Theory of Everything review

Director:
James Marsh
Cast:
Eddie Redmayne
Felicity Jones
David Thewlis
Harry Lloyd
Rated: PG-13

The life and relationship of world famous physicist Stephen Hawking is explored in “The Theory of Everything.”

The film begins with Hawking during his education career and follows through the discovery of his illness and eventually his well known life’s work.

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Exodus Gods and Kings review

Director:
Ridley Scott
Cast:
Christian Bale
Joel Edgerton
Aaron Paul
Ben Kingsley
Isaac Andrews
Rated: PG-13

Director Ridley Scott takes on the epic biblical tale of Moses in “Exodus: Gods and Kings.”

The story stays relatively true to the text, all of the plagues are there as well as the Hebrew slaves. What is a bit different is that Moses is portrayed as much more of an “action hero” type, having the skills of a warrior.

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Wild review

Director:
Jean-Marc Vallee
Cast:
Reese Witherspoon
Laura Dern
Thomas Sadoski
Rated: R

“Wild” follows the true story of Cheryl Strayed, who walked 1,000 miles on what is known as the Pacific Crest Trail and documented it in a book. Reese Witherspoon plays Strayed, who goes on the journey as a way of healing herself following multiple traumatic and tragic events in her life.

As she goes along her journey, Strayed meets a number of different characters and personalities and begins to recover as a person.

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