Darkest Hour and Gary Oldman exhibit tremendous fight to match the vigor of the era. The film builds its mounting prospects of calamity and clashes of dissension with polish and gumption, avoiding many of the dull notes normally saddling most other behind-the-war-room yak-fest. The screenplay shrewdly skips laborious biographical notes and tautly fixates primarily on the two weeks of debate leading up to Operation Dynamo
Read MoreLike all of the failed live-action fairy tale remakes, the two largest missing components are restraint and charm. The timeless stories being attempted by films like "Pan" have no idea how to let a good narrative flow build or a poignant moment breathe before stepping to the next unrelenting set piece. The original written sources of these films have that restraint and quality. Blasts of action and sound have replaced subtle imagery and brevity. "Pan" lacks any and all charm to enamor the audience into what made Barrie's tale lovable and enchanting. Charm is replaced by dissonance and pandering.
Read MoreAfter the traditional summer movie season of blockbusters, the following fall movie season tends to be a lull and a letdown before the next round of event films and the awards contenders fill up the months of November and December. September is normally filled with rejects that weren't big enough for summer and not good enough for the holidays. With Halloween capping October, the darker stuff tends to fill that month. That's been the trend but the climate is shifting like the season. It is with great surprise that this fall movie season, on paper, is shaping up to be truly legitimate.
Read MoreThank you for all of your patience with my long month of August travel for work. Things are slowing down and I'll be catching up soon. Looking ahead, the 2015 fall movie season is just around the corner. My full and complete preview will be coming soon, but here's a calendar and checklist of the upcoming season's releases. Print this, slap it on the fridge, or fill you calendar!
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