Tag: cinema

REVIEW: James Franco’s Acting, Directing Is On Point In ‘the Disaster Artist’

If commentaries and special behind the scenes features show anything, it’s that the process of making a movie can be a story in itself. That’s even true for what’s been dubbed by some as the worst movie ever made, “The Room.”

“The Disaster Artist” tells that very story. The movie opens in the late 90s from the perspective of Greg Sestero (Dave Franco), a young actor trying to find a way to get his big break. During one of his acting classes, Greg meets Tommy Wiseau (James Franco), an odd man who seems to have no fear when it comes to performing. Greg, impressed by how Tommy is fearless in his acting, decides to strike up a friendship. After the two becomes friends, Greg soon learns that Tommy is mysteriously rich.

As a result of Tommy’s wealth, the two are able to move to Hollywood to try and get into the film industry. However, the effort becomes fruitless after a while. As a result, Tommy decides to just make a movie on his own with Greg as one of the top actors. Because Tommy has seemingly no experience or talent in writing, directing and acting, though, the filmmaking process doesn’t exactly go smoothly.

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REVIEW: ‘Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri’ Powered By Strong Script, Acting

“Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” is listed as a comedy and the trailers definitely promote that aspect of the picture. However, there’s more going on in this movie than just humor.

As it’s title suggests, the film centers around three billboards near a rural town that call out the municipality’s chief of police for not solving a case. The person who ordered and paid for the signage is Mildred (Francess McDormand), a woman whose daughter was raped and murdered. At the film’s start, it’s been seven months since the murder and there have been no arrests and no leads in the case.

In response, Mildred takes aim at Chief Willoughby (Woody Harrelson), for what she sees as incompetence and a lack of effort on behalf of the Police Department toward her daughter’s case. The response from the community starts to turn the small town of Ebbing upside down and in the process reveals numerous things about its inhabitants.

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REVIEW: ‘Coco’ Works Thanks To Heartfelt Story About Family, Memorable Music

When it comes to musicals, Pixar has usually left the genre to its counterpart Disney Animation Studios. With its latest endeavor, though, Pixar has taken a page out of the Mouse House’s playbook, creating a musical experience with “Coco.”

Keep in mind, “Coco” isn’t a traditional animated musical. However, it’s a movie very much about music and includes numerous songs.

The movie’s protagonist is Miguel (Anthony Gonzalez), a boy who dreams of becoming a singer and guitarist like his idol, Ernesto de la Cruz (Benjamin Bratt). His family, though, is completely against music and musicians of any sort, finding it to be a curse on their family that began generations ago.

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REVIEW: ‘Justice League’ Never Rises Above Average

If “Justice League” had come out roughly 10 to 15 years ago, it may be considered a better super hero film.

However, with the existence of the Marvel series, the Nolan “Batman” films and even attempts such as what FOX has done with “Logan” and “Deadpool,” “Justice League” largely pales in comparison.

For a bit of a refresher, “Justice League” comes after the events of “Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice.” Superman is now dead and as a result, Batman (Ben Affleck) begins noticing an uptick in strange creatures causing havoc. It’s soon discovered that these creatures are appearing because of Steppenwolf, an ancient alien with conquest on his mind.

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REVIEW: Inconsistent Tone Derails ‘Orient Express’

Kenneth Branagh directs and stars in this most recent adaptation of the 1934 Agatha Christie novel.

The film opens with the story’s protagonist, Hercule Poirot (Branagh) investigating a mystery in Jerusalem. After Poirot solves the mystery in quick, convincing fashion, he’s invited to ride on the luxurious Orient Express by his friend Buoc (Tom Bateman) to get a break from all the detective work.

While on board, Poirot meets a number of characters on the fully booked Orient Express, including a sneaky business man named Edward Ratchett (Johnny Depp). After a night where the train is halted because of a blocked railroad, Poirot discovers that Ratchett has been murdered. As a result, Poirot must now solve the murder and uncover clues about Ratchett and the other passengers.

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REVIEW: ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ Rocks!

It’s no secret, I wasn’t really a fan of the first two “Thor” movies. That’s not the case with the latest installment, though, as “Thor: Ragnarok” fires on all cylinders.

“Ragnarok” begins with the titular character Thor (Chris Hemsworth) searching for the mystical Infinity Stones and defeating monsters that have been rising up across the galaxy lately. The reason for the monsters returning is that Thor’s father is no longer in control of his homeland Asgard. Instead, it’s Thor’s brother Loki (Tom Hiddlleston) who took charge of the land.

After Thor calls out Loki for what he’s done, the two agree to find their father Odin (Anthony Hopkins). Unfortunately, Odin dies shortly after the two brothers find him. Making matters worse, Odin’s death allows his daughter Hela (Cate Blanchett) to escape an ancient prison and seek the throne of Asgard for herself.

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Halloween Horror Fest 2017: Honoring Wes Craven

The horror genre has lived on largely thanks to innovation. Whenever something started to get stale, new directors stepped in to offer something different.

Director Wes Craven (Aug. 2, 1939-Aug. 30, 2015) was one of them. This aspect was most notable in 1984, when his picture “A Nightmare on Elm Street” came out and threw in a new twist on the newly formed slasher sub-genre.

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REVIEW: While Flawed In Areas, ‘Only The Brave’ Is Largely An Endearing Tale Of Heroism

Many dramatizations of heroic actions follow a certain pattern and “Only the Brave” is no different. However, this flick does contain some great features that put it above others.

The film tells the tale of a group of elite firefighters called the Granite Mountain Hotshots. As the movie describes early on, Hotshots are normally federal level firefighting units. However, because the Granite Mountain crew lived in an area prone to wildfires, they were able to become the first municipal unit to get the Hotshot title.

Leading the crew of Hotshots is Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin), who’s the classic tough but fair supervisor. This is very true with the newest recruit Brendan (Miles Teller), a recovering drug addict who’s trying to turn his life around and gets a chance to do so by Marsh. As the movie goes along, it explores the Hotshots earning their title and facing extremely dangerous wildfires in the process.

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REVIEW: Despite A Lack Of R-Rated Slasher Moments, ‘Happy Death Day’ Is Still Plenty Of Fun

Did the film “Groundhog Day” start a genre? With films like “Edge of Tomorrow” and now “Happy Death Day,” it’s starting to seem so.

The latter was just released this past weekend and follows the story of Theresa (Jessica Rothe), who goes by the nickname Tree. A college student and a sorority member, Tree is a very much a partier and enjoys living life rather promiscuously.

Her life comes to a screeching halt, though, when she’s murdered on campus on the night of her birthday. However, instead of dying, Tree wakes up on the morning of her birthday and relives it all over until she’s once again murdered. After waking up again on that same morning, it becomes apparent to her that she’s reliving the same day and sets out to solve her own murder.

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Halloween Horror Fest 2017: Honoring George A. Romero

The concept of zombies existed long before 1968.

The first known film related to zombies was actually released in 1932, which was “White Zombie.” However, the zombies at that time were more related to magic and voodoo and it wasn’t until the late 60s that the modern zombie movie was created.

It was all thanks to George A. Romero (Feb. 4, 1940-July 16, 2017) who came along and thrust the genre in a whole new direction with the film “Night of the Living Dead.” Romero’s indie film, which introduced the concept of a plague that turns people into flesh eating zombies, didn’t just create a new idea for filmmakers to use, though.

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