THE WALK Review — A Thin Line Between Love and Hate
I have a serious love/hate relationship with The Walk. On the one hand, the last half hour is the most brilliant use of CGI and IMAX capabilities I’ve ever seen. On the other hand, the first hour-and-a-half is saccharine sweet and ridiculous, which does not do the subject even a modicum of justice. But when all is said and…
THE MARTIAN Review — Out of This World
Yay for science! If only my high school teachers could have made it this thrilling, this provocative, this crucial to my very existence, I might have been out curing cancer today, instead of writing this film review. Even though the special effects are fine, the acting is as good as you would expect, and Ridley…
THE INTERN Review — Having It All at Any Age
As a once hip Baby Boomer who has had to reluctantly acknowledge that things ain’t the way they used to be, never will be again, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, I’m a big fan of media that helps people like me cope in the workplace. I’m talking about TV shows like Younger, books like…
BLACK MASS Review — Deep Dark Depp Returns
I remember a few years back when Federal agents discovered that the harmless-looking old guy living in plain sight in a Santa Monica apartment was actually a savage murderer, head of Boston’s vicious Winter Hill Gang, and directly responsible for at least 19 brutal killings. If Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart, Out of the Furnace) can’t make a decent film…
EVEREST Review — Over the Top Insanity
What kind of self-obsessed insanity induces people to forsake their loved ones and suffer the most extreme physical torture, just for bragging rights about climbing the world’s highest mountain? When that’s the foremost impression you get from a film, you know there’s something wrong with Simon Beaufoy’s and William Nicholson’s script, as well as Baltasar Kormákur’s directing.…
At Home In Hollywood is at Home in Ireland Via the Irish Retreat
Those of you who follow me here will note a number of features lately on fascinating lifestyle and design in Ireland. While I’ve traditionally focused on life At Home In Hollywood, I need to get out of this place every now and then, as we all do. Especially when the temperatures are in the three digits, we’re…
PAWN SACRIFICE Review — Well Played
Critic Colleague: Who knew Toby Maguire could act? Me: Who knew chess could be so riveting? Finally, an excellent film to end the long August/September draught. Toby Maguire’s labor of love, Pawn Sacrifice, is the best surprise of the year so far. I wasn’t expecting much of this Bobby Fisher story. I mean, how exciting…
Sam Heughan, Jamie from Outlander, Sets Fall Fashion Trend
Just in case you want to wear a little piece of Jamie Fraser close to your heart (and who doesn’t?) Sam Heughan, who plays the russet-haired Scottish hunk in Starz’ TV adaptation of the bestselling Outlander book series, has inadvertently set a hot new fashion trend. It’s the simply forged Celtic brooch, perfect for keeping the loosely woven scarf or…
PROPHET'S PREY Review — Exposing Polygamy's Dark Underbelly
You could say I’ve been what most people would consider shockingly intimate with polygamists. I’ve visited the Hildale/Short Creek/Colorado City area where polygamist families suffered great losses during the recent floods, and I’ve played a part in helping kids escape from that bizarre lifestyle. So when I say that filmmaker Amy Berg’s latest documentary, Prophet’s…
STEVE JOBS — THE MAN IN THE MACHINE Review
Writer/director/producer Alex Gibney is one of the most talented documentarians of our time, with great films under his belt like Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Taxi to the Dark Side, We Steal Secrets: The Story Of Wikileaks, The Armstrong Lie and recently, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, for which he is still getting flack…
