Posts tagged Jupiter Ascending
MOVIE REVIEW: Mad Max: Fury Road
MOVIE REVIEW: Mad Max: Fury Road

For this writer, "Mad Max: Fury Road" is a daunting challenge for this website's definition of mindless action as a movie genre.  Mindless action has its range from the trash of Michael Bay to the treasure of the "Fast and Furious" franchise. However, what separates the trash from the treasure is quality and impact.  The quality speaks to the action and the impact speaks to the story being sewn along the way, even if it's secondary.  The really good mindless action movies offer just enough heft of a compelling story to make the action matter and resonate beyond just superficial coolness.  As incredible in stunt work and thrills as "Mad Max: Fury Road" is, it is missing too much of that heft to matter beyond being really cool to watch.

Read More
2015, 3 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanMad Max, Mad Max: Fury Road, Tom Hardy, Nicholas Hoult, Charlize Theron, George Miller, Jupiter Ascending, post-apocalyptic movies, Namibia, Rose Huntington-Whiteley, Junkie XL, Colin Gibson, Ridley Scott, Prometheus, Margarent Sixel, Guy Norris, John Seale, Wasteland, Comic-Con, Linda Hamilton, Sigourney Weaver, Max Rockatansky, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lessons, life lessons from film, movie commentary, film commentary, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, 2015 Summer Movies Comments
MOVIE REVIEW: Jupiter Ascending
MOVIE REVIEW: Jupiter Ascending

"Jupiter Ascending" is an utter mess of missed opportunity and misguided world-building.  Just as with a majority of science fiction movies, the visual panache is present in astounding detail.  That, once again, is the easy part.  Unfortunately, none of it (and I mean none of it), is created with purpose or direction that becomes compelling and stirring to you as the audience.  None of its creative ingredients work to earn your investment, acceptance, attention, or even your basic comprehension.  

Read More
1 STAR, 2015, MOVIE REVIEW, SPECIALDon ShanahanJupiter Ascending, Star Wars, Science Fiction, Avatar, The Wachowskis, Larry Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, The Matrix, Speed Racer, Cloud Atlas, Mythos, Channing Tatum, Mila Kunis, Eddie Redmayne, Sean Bean, Donald Shanahan, Don Shanahan, Every Movie Has a Lesson, movie review, film review, movie commentary, film commentary, life lessons from film, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lessons, That 70's Show, That 70's Show Curse, Topher Grace, Oz the Great and Powerful, Black Swan, Foxcatcher, 21 Jump Street, Tangled, John Toll, Michael Giacchino, JackassComment
COLUMN: 2015 Winter Movie Preview
COLUMN: 2015 Winter Movie Preview

It has to be said every year, but the slowest season of the box office year are the months of January and February.  It's a dumping grounds for studios in slow months of cold weather and foot traffic at the multiplexes.  These are movies that aren't good enough for awards qualification and the holiday audiences of December or for the chipper personality of spring.  It's cold, slow, and drop off from awards frenzy.

Read More
2015, Column, EditorialDon ShanahanWinter Movie Preview, 2015 Winter Movies, 2015 Winter Movie Preview, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, Leviathan, A Most Violent Year, Taken 3, Selma, Blackhat, The Wedding Ringer, Paddington, Spare Parts, Still Alice, American Sniper, Mordecai, The Boy Next Door, Strange Magic, Black Sea, Red Army, Wild Card, Jason Statham, Mark Wahlberg, Liam Neeson, Jupiter Ascending, Sevent Son, Seventh Son, Shaun the Sheep Movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Fifty Shades of Gray, Kingsman: The Secret Service, The Last 5 Years, The Last Five Years, Hot Tub Time Machine 2, MacFarland USA, Lazarus, Wild Tales, Focus, Maps to the Stars, Little BoyComment
EDITORIAL: My 15 most anticipated films of 2015
EDITORIAL: My 15 most anticipated films of 2015

During the shift from December to January, I enjoy retracing what I reviewed and enjoyed from the previous year, but the trailers and previews for next year's films are starting to make an impact.  I can't help but look ahead.  Every year, I wrote an "Most Anticipated List."   2015 looks wildly loaded with must-see films.  Let's make a new list for a new year.  Here are my 15 most anticipated films of this new year.  Enjoy!

Read More
2015, Column, Editorial, SPECIALDon ShanahanJupiter Ascending, The Peanuts Movie, In the Heart of the Sea, The Revenant, The Hateful Eight, Tomorrowland, The Jungle Book, Jon Favreau, Brad Bird, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ron Howard, Quentin Tarantino, The Fantastic Four, Ant-Man, Marvel Films, Furious 7, Paul Walker, Pixar, Inside Out, Mission: Impossible 5, Jurassic World, Spectre, Skyfall, James Bond, The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Guardians of the Galaxy, Star Wars, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, J.J. AbramsComment