Thanks to the "Harry Potter," "Hunger Games," and "Twilight" series, we have had an over-flooded movie market of young adult novel adaptations with more forgettable failures than winning successes. Because we have reached an oversaturation point, the questions necessary for any new entry looking to get a piece of the pie are: What can you offer that is different and what makes you necessary? Though it tries, "The 5th Wave" cannot answer the bell with convincing responses.
Read MoreActing is more than just great lines and fancy speeches. Some of the best elements of true performance come when the camera is on and no one is saying a word. You won't find a better clinical example of that half of acting than from a 2015 film than in "45 Years" starring newly-minted Academy Award nominee Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay. You will see exactly why she earned her nomination.
Read MoreThe subject of "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi" is the tepidly-reviewed non-fiction book written by Mitchell Zuckoff about what transpired during the September 11-12, 2012 attacks on U.S. government facilities in Libya. Zuckoff's book and the film is told from the point of view of the security contractors that worked for the CIA at that time. The book sought to tell the harrowing story without siding with any politics. Michael Bay's film cannot help itself from taking brotherhood-fueled sides and blow everything up.
Read MoreThe newest collaboration of former "Saturday Night Live" BFFs Amy Poehler and Tina Fey proves that smart people cannot always escape cliche. "Sisters" has an implausible, though energetic concept for the comedy-hungry forty-something crowd. Unfortunately, "Sisters" has no ability to buck predictable formula. Even a go-for-broke, R-rated potty-mouthed jolt from two of our favorite, and normally buttoned-up, comediennes can save this film.
Read MoreRemember that scene in 1988's "Big" where Tom Hanks doesn't "get" the product pitch the so-called expert is feeding to him? That might be you after (or while) watching the animated feature "Anomalisa" from the fertile imagination of Charlie Kaufman. You may feel like Josh Baskin where you have a child's mind trying to wrap your head around an adult idea. You might come out of the film and know a better idea on how to convey human love. Mark this writer down in the Josh Baskin column with a interrupting raised hand.
Read MoreFilmmaker Asif Kapadia captures the bracing and startling rise and fall of the late jazz singer Amy Winehouse in "Amy." Accessing an enormous wealth of old videos from friends and family, self-read letters of lyrics and songwriting, archived phone conversations, backstage footage, media appearances, and unreleased performances, "Amy" weaves a masterful and compelling narrative. It is on the 2016 Oscar short-list for Best Documentary Feature and is available now for home viewing.
Read MoreClosing out 2015, you will find the most argumentative and ballsiest movie of the year hitting wide theatrical release over the Christmas holiday. The real film in question to bear those bold superlatives is "The Big Short." Headlined by a star-studded cast and directed by one of the most unlikely of sources, this legitimate must-see film tip-toes audaciously between biting satire and topical cautionary tale. You won't know whether to be pissed or be entertained and that's a powerful quality to pull off.
Read MoreThe problematic factor for this David O. Russell and his acting muses is the diminishing returns of their final products. Showing a case of beginner's luck, "Silver Linings Playbook" was a crowd-pleasing quirky romance that netted Lawrence an Oscar. Full of promise, "American Hustle" was an overrated and misguided attempt at Scorsese Lite. "Joy" now arrives with a random mix of events that may begin insinuate the 14th century expression of "going to the well once too often" for this group. Like the idiom's definition, Russell and company have taken repeated risks and have now pushed their luck too far.
Read MoreIt is time to go on record and add another label to the colorful list to describe filmmaker Quentin Tarantino: "acquired taste." Even with his recent success, the auteur's excessive and aestheticized indulgences are catching up to him. Each subsequent film of his may be getting more popular, but they are not getting better and "The Hateful Eight" hammers that point home. Swelled to either a 167-minute straight cut or a 187-minute opus complete with overture and intermission, Tarantino's newest film doesn't know when to quit. It just goes and dies, literally and figuratively.
Read MoreAny time a film about a real-life whistleblower steps into view, the central question almost always becomes "Is it really true?" Audiences are commonly kind to a good human interest story of this sort, especially when it is spun into an entertaining drama or comedy. However, they are equally quick to disown one that stretches its claims of truth too far. Knowing that dramatization will always be a prominent ingredient in these types of films "based on a true story," we have to settle for asking "Is it true enough?" Such is the weighty burden of "Concussion," starring Will Smith and directed by Peter Landesman.
Read MoreNo matter where today's "Star Wars" fans come from, all of them want the same thing out of "Star Wars: The Force Awakens." Everyone wants an inspired, entertaining, and compelling fantasy adventure. They want a return of the emotions, wonder, and heartstrings that stirred and inspired their souls when they first encountered these science fiction fantasies. With great pleasure and a nearly pitch perfect blend of innovation and reminiscence, J.J. Abrams promised, and now has delivered, all that anyone could hope for with "Star Wars: The Force Awakens."
Read MoreFollowing his three-trophy Oscar haul for "Birdman" last year, filmmaker Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu returns with an even more expansive cinematic challenge. Inspired by a wild true story, "The Revenant" is an unrelenting survival drama that makes "Cast Away" look like a cute day at the beach. Powered by raw natural beauty and a constant nerve of savage peril, Inarritu's film succeeds with striking artistry and superior craftsmanship in polishing a harsh and rough-hewn legend. Four-time Academy Award nominee Leonardo DiCaprio pushes himself and you over edge after edge in the most challenging performance of his career.
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