Film in review – “Nightcrawler”
Louis Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is not a nice guy. We first meet him being caught by a night watchman stealing some construction..
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Film in review – “Before I Go To Sleep”
Christine (Nicole Kidman) wakes up every day remembering nothing. She wakes up in bed with a man who claims to be her..
Film in review – “Whiplash”
This is an extraordinary movie for music lovers, but even those without the requisite “chops” can still enjoy the sparkling dynamics. Andrew..
Film in review – “Rosewater”
There are a couple bothersome things about this film that get in the way of its working well as a “true story.”..
Film in review – “The Theory of Everything”
The story of Stephen Hawking is a compelling one, and this film does a very credible job of developing it. Of particular..
Film in review – “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part One”
There are negatives at the start. First, this movie does not stand alone. They assume way too much about what the viewers..
Film in review – “Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)”
This is a great movie for theater lovers, and a pretty good one for everybody else. Michael Keaton is superb in the..
Film in review – “Laggies”
They say that today’s 25-year-olds are in a “quarter-life crisis.” They're the new “slackers,” the ones who got an education (maybe), but..
Film in review – “Art and Craft”
As most of us amateur ethicists have come to realize, it’s one thing to break one of the Ten Commandments. But it..
Film in review – “Interstellar”
First of all, dear readers, you have to see this one in the theater. And let the surround-sound rumble your chair and..
Film in review – “Elsa & Fred”
Elsa (Shirley MacLaine) lives in an apartment building in New Orleans where Fred (Christopher Plummer) has just recently moved next door. Fred’s..
Film in review – “The Tale of Princess Kaguya”
The first impression is that this is really a visually stunning film. The artwork is incredible, as if you’re constantly watching some..
Film in review – “Big Hero 6”
This is a cute kids’ movie that my grandchildren will enjoy. Truth is, I did too. Disney really knows how to do..
Film in review – “Good People”
This movie should have worked better than it did. The lead parts are A-list: James Franco and Kate Hudson. Together, as Tom..
Film in review – “Fury”
There have been a number of World War II movies made in the last several years, in no small part because the..
Film in review – “The Equalizer”
At one level, there’s a lot of violence in this film – and most of it is up front and personal –..
Film in review – “Automata”
The two major themes are frequent assumptions in recent movies: the first, that the near future of the Earth is very bleak:..
Film in review – “The Judge”
In the end, it's about fathers and sons. Which means that it's complicated. The judge is Judge Joseph Palmer (Robert Duvall) who's..
Film in review – “The Best of Me”
With a movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel, you expect romance. And in “The Best of Me,” that’s exactly what you..
Film in review – “John Wick”
This premise has been done before and very recently. In “The Equalizer,” Denzel Washington played a former assassin who decides to come..
Film in review – “St. Vincent”
Bill Murray has played this role before: the grouchy, irascible selfish hedonist, the heir apparent to Walter Matthau as the prototypical “Grumpy..
Film in review – “The Book of Life”
All Saints Day, in the Catholic tradition, is when those who are officially declared “saints” by a sitting pope are all honored..
Film in review – “Life’s A Breeze”
A freewheeling Irish family in Dublin, a widowed Grandma who’s pushing 80, Nan (Fionnula Flanagan), adult children who aren’t quite grown up,..
“Life’s a Breeze” – Roundtable interview with Fionnula Flanagan
Dallas, Texas April 25, 2014 Fionnula Flanagan, star of “Life’s A Breeze”& “Tasting Menu,” and Ron Salfen, on behalf of the Presbyterian Outlook ..
Film in review – “Gone Girl”
“Them two deserve each other.” That was the epitaph administered by a fellow moviegoer upon our departing the theater after “Gone Girl.”..