Posts in 2015
MOVIE REVIEW: Burnt

Due entirely to his talent and appeal, two hours of Bradley-being-Bradley works and the film will rightly entertain at an acceptable superficial level.  The subject is simple and the the risk is low.  The food is pretty, the ensemble is smooth, and the cliches are pre-made.  While "Burnt" offers a flourish or two to spark a little extra entertainment, it is far from the grass roots personal touch and smaller scale passion that was Favreau's "Chef" a year ago.  "Burnt" is, in essence, more elitist and that requires you to be impressed, but only at a distance.

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MOVIE REVIEW: The Assassin

"The Assassin," directed by Taiwan New Wave director Hou Hsiao-Hsien, is the latest and brightest wuxia film looking to make an international splash.  The film was an official Main Competition selection of the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the awards for Best Director and the Soundtrack Award.  It is making the rounds of the international film festival circuit, including a recent Highlight selection bow at the 51st Chicago International Film Festival, and will represent Taiwan's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards this coming February. 

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MOVIE REVIEW: Room

"Room" is, without a doubt, one of the most resonating and difficult films this writer has ever seen. It is a "welcome to my world" scenario that no one should ever have the unfortunate ability to match with full empathy that comes from shared experience.  For it to transcend that and blossom to enrapture you the way it does is something completely spellbinding.  You will not find a more powerful film experience this year.

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CHECKLIST: 2015 Holiday Movie Calendar

Here is your lineup of upcoming films for the peak Oscar season months of November and December.  Add these to your calendar or print and slip this list on the fridge.  As always, release dates shift all of the time, so be aware.  My full seasonal preview will be coming soon!  Enjoy!

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MOVIE REVIEW: The Middle Distance

51st Chicago International Film Festival special presention

There is a tangible and winsome spirit that emerges through this quick 80-minute journey of "The Middle Distance."  First-time director Patrick Underwood rightly sticks to artistic vision and solid storytelling over cheap tricks and the urge to throw monkey wrenches at everything for the sake of standing out.  A easy story such as this doesn't need overindulgence.

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DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: Motley's Law

51st Chicago International Film Festival special presentation

In this writer's opinion, documentary films are at their strongest when they merge two symbiotic pairs of traits.  A good documentary and its human interest story merges truth with its narrative.  Secondly, a good documentary merges its overarching message with art.  Any of those four ingredients alone are not enough.  In the documentary genre, a narrative without truth defeats its nonfiction purpose and the central message being delivered needs the artistic touch requisite to its chosen medium of cinema.  As long as it can achieve those two mergers, a successful documentary can take any subject and give it proper focus.

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CHICAGO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL: 10 must-see films of the 51st CIFF

Annually, the Chicago International Film Festival houses some of the first opportunities to Oscar contenders and world-class films.  With so many choices, what are the high-profile or can’t-miss films appearing at the year’s festival?  Here are this website’s picks for the top 10 must-see films of the 51st Chicago International Film Festival.

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MOVIE REVIEW: Bridge of Spies

Sewn with care to document an unopened storybook file on little-rememberd, forgotten Cold War heroics and theatrics, "Bridge of Spies" is the kind of historical drama that Steven Spielberg can make in his sleep.  In a way, this is Spielberg's throwback answer to "Argo," three years after Ben Affleck's film swept the top Oscars away from Spielberg's own "Lincoln."  He doesn't need that one-upmanship for his ego.  "Bridge of Spies" is more a reminder that the master is still capable of making a winner with ease.  

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MOVIE REVIEW: Embers

51st Chicago International Film Festival special presentation

With "Embers," we definitely have something to bite into from first-time director Claire Carre.  The film occupies a domestic world after an unseen neurological disaster that caused societal collapse.  People drift aimlessly through urban ruins trying to eek out existence and survival.  Worst of all, the people still alive now are stricken with amnesia and now have the inability to keep short-term memory.  Think "Memento" on a community-sized scale.  

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ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Steve Jobs

"Steve Jobs" chronicles soul-bearing small measures of the real man behind the public persona of genius.  The blood feuds and many glorious shouting matches deliver one narrative bombshell after another.  Using a unique three-act structure, the artistic result is nearly perfect.  Superior to its peers in so many areas of technique and performance, "Steve Jobs" stands boldly as one of the finest films of 2015.  

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MOVIE REVIEW: Sicario

"Sicario" is a raw labyrinth of grit and surprises.  This film is a python of suspense.  Just when you think the film can't squeeze you any tighter, it chokes you even more.  It resets the bar as the best and finest film on drug warfare that Hollywood has ever attempted.  "Sicario" is steely, seedy, scary, and jarring in its underlying social and political commentary to bore that out.  It's the kind of film that will make you never want to visit Mexico or live in Arizona or Texas.  

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ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: Pan

Like 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.

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