In Before Dawn “c’est la guerre” constitutes defeatism because, more often than not, war cannot be helped by the grunts in the dirt holding or pushing a line. These young men who are uttering the phrase halfway around the world from their homes and families have learned the futility of their actions. They say it knowing they are trapped in what they thought would be a heroic quest and a patriotic cause.
Read MoreThe first-rate visual effects are what folks are paying to see, and they look sharp and incredible with a quarter-century’s advancements in digital capacity. Even greater, the audio mix is what really pins you back, nailing the personified growl and howl given to these fingers of God. Taken together, the swagger and bluster of Twisters returns us back to that sense of stamina and vigor for enduring all things windy. The exhilaration is there if you can take it.
Read MoreWe feel that tingling levity as Dandelion’s audience and cannot help but be swept away all the same. Dandelion peaks and then teeters on the ramifications of this new union. More songs equals more potential to changes that artistic label from “starving” or “troubled” to “successful.” The bonding brings more sparks, and the increasing clashes of romantic entanglements add the risks of trust, reliance, and commitment.
Read MoreWith that domesticated and relatable-beyond-borders quality, Cottontail is creating a greater journey, one venturing beyond any map charting the route to Akiko’s destined lakeside. Completing one’s final wishes is a quest of closure. You are answering a soul beyond the grave to finish something they could not. Yet, that course has branching paths of unsettled grievances, corrected connection, overdue forgiveness, and fulfilled promises.
Read MoreHowever, at some point, Space Cadet has to realize they are planting this character in a profession that demands high qualifications for a reason. For all the wonder surrounding being an astronaut, it’s a job that has life and death risks and consequences. Real astronauts busted their tails and became experts in their field legitimately. Space Cadet asking us to swallow their narrative with Rex besmirches that revered history and belittles the importance of program to a borderline disrespectful level.
Read MoreThe Secret Art of Human Flight hovers on perilous edges with this premise and its trappings, shot in a claustrophobic Academy ratio. At many moments, there’s humor to be found in a bespectacled Ben getting whipped into airborne shape by Mealworm’s unorthodox methods for doing so. Grant Rosenmeyer and Paul Raci share several scenes of poignant soul-baring talks forming the character reclamation project taking place.
Read MoreUnlike his musclebound beefy action star peers of the 1980s and 90s, what made Axel Foley an entertaining and enduring character for Eddie Murphy was his riffing eloquence with all matters of verbal communication. The fast talker was the best bullshitter in the business. As long as Murphy could resummon that fluent tempo in Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F– that crass, disarming, and profanity-soaked gift of gab– and keep it with some stamina for another lavish action comedy, all that was necessary would be fulfilled. Well, queue the popular wrestling crowd chant, because he’s still got it… and then some!
Read MoreBy golly, there’s something satisfying about watching an expert working in their element at a high level. They could be a laborer doing their job perfectly or an master artist flowing fully and freely within their given medium. At this stratum, to really appreciate what you’re seeing before your eyes, the observer needs to, at the very least, understand the medium and the artist in question. That is compulsory and, it needs to be said, the semi-restrictive provisions to approach Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga: Chapter 1.
Read MoreIf everything and everyone fell into place at the same time, we wouldn’t have a rapturous movie to enjoy, meaning the patience for that chase of schedules is part of the romance genre’s whole appeal. Directed by a returning professional in the department of silver screen love, Richard LaGravense, A Family Affair understands these principles well and bends them to its will and modern sensibilities.
Read MoreTherein lies the real key to unlocking a memorable conversation higher than chit-chat: Mood. Two people– not just one– have to want to talk. One person can have all the wisdom in the world or be a fountain of entertainment, but the other will never know it if genuine curiosity and investment aren’t reciprocated. Daddio doesn’t lose a second introducing a pair of differing dispositions prime for participation and initiative.
Read MoreMidas writer-director TJ Noel-Sullivan, making his feature-length debut after an award-winning early career in shorts, is savvy to realization and has formulated a slick new heist film fit for modern times. Noel-Sullivan also knows that today’s Robin Hoods are not going after miserly members of royalty hoarding all the proverbial gold. The current people of the highest wealth and power control companies, not countries. They are the despised new targets.
Read MoreAmid the ostentatious theatricality of actors making all kinds of noise in The Bikeriders, the other sound the film absolutely nails is the unmistakable deep bass rumble caused the asymmetrical arrangement of firing cylinders in Harley-Davidson engines. One by itself will get your attention. Five rolling together will rattle your windows. A dozen or more churning as a fleet becomes an aural maelstrom. Your selected reaction to that hellacious harmony will be your tinted gateway into Jeff Nichols’ petulant film.
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