One of two asteroid movies in 1998, Deep Impact celebrates its 25th anniversary this week by arriving on 4K Ultra HD for the first time. What follows is my review from the film’s 20th anniversary in 2018: Deep Impact has all the makings of a cinematic masterpiece but falls just a tad bit short of joining the all-time classics. The film starts out with Leo Biederman (Elijah Wood) discovering an unknown object at a party.…
"Deep Impact Marks 25th Anniversary with 4K Ultra HD"Tag: Morgan Freeman
Florence Pugh delivers one of the best performances of her career as Zach Braff’s A Good Person will leave audiences with all the feelings. A Good Person is not an easy film to watch. It deals with injuries, grief, and the trauma that comes with both of them. You can make the argument that there’s something of a happy ending but this two-hour-plus film does not have an easy path in reaching the point. But…
"A Good Person Has All The Feelings"
Based on the true events about Spanish slave ship La Amistad, Amistad marks the 25th anniversary of its theatrical release in 1997. For the second time in a few years, Steven Spielberg followed a summer blockbuster with a serious period picture. Funny enough, both action films were installments of the Jurassic Park franchise. Two stars from The Lost World: Jurassic Park would make their way into this film: Pete Postlethwaite and Arliss Howard as William…
"Amistad Marks 25th Anniversary"
Evan Almighty, a contemporary retelling of Noah’s Ark and the flood, marked the 15th anniversary of its release during the summer. I missed the 15th anniversary of the comedy this past summer so I figured to watch the film after Parashat Noach was read in shuls across the globe. For my non-Jewish readers, a parashat is the weekly Torah reading that Jews read every Shabbos morning in shul. Prior to Shabbos morning services, a portion…
"Evan Almighty: Contemporary Noah’s Ark Comedy at 15 Years"
The late Sidney Poitier gets a revealing documentary in a two-hour film directed by Reginald Hudlin and produced by Oprah Winfrey. Unfortunately I missed getting the opportunity to see Sidney during its Toronto premiere screenings. I had one screening on my schedule but one must listen to their body when it needs sleep. In any event, I finally had the chance to sit down and watch ahead of its release on Apple TV+. Leave it…
"Sidney: A Revealing Documentary of Sidney Poitier"
Even though the 54th Massachusetts lost half of their numbers during the climactic battle, Glory remains one of the best Civil War films. The film mixes both real and fictional people in their efforts to tell the 54th’s story. Col. Robert Gould Shaw (Matthew Broderick) is the 54th’s commanding officer. His letters also help to inform the film’s script. Shaw is joined by friend Major Cabot Forbes (Cary Elwes) in his efforts to command the…
"Glory: One of The Best Civil War Movies"
Over eight years after its theatrical release, The LEGO Movie is a beautifully animated film that remains one of the best films of 2014. This film should have been nominated by the Academy for Best Animated Feature. Unfortunately, the Academy voters will have to live with this–among others–mistake. I love everything about this film from the humor to the music to the casting. What I love about the film is that it’s able to transcend…
"The LEGO Movie: The Best Animated Film of 2014"
The Long Way Home follows the years in the aftermath of the Holocaust in which Jews are displaced and have nowhere else to go. The film starts with a quote from Exodus 13: “When Pharaoh let the people go, G-d did not lead them by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was near…But G-d led the people round by way of the wilderness…” Per the film’s on-screen text, the voices are taken…
"The Long Way Home: From WWII to Israel"
The Shawshank Redemption arrives on 4K Ultra HD for the first time as the film approaches it’s 27th anniversary since its release. Frank Darabont, a screenwriter at the time, made the film his directorial feature debut. Darabont based his script on novella by Stephen King, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption. He would follow it up a few years later with The Green Mile. In doing so, he is one of six filmmakers to see…
"The Shawshank Redemption Arrives on 4K Ultra HD"
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard features solid chemistry between Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson but the sequel offers more of the same. As action movies go, bodyguard Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson) are the last two people you would think of when it comes to a team-up. And yet, here we are watching them go at it…again. It’s funny though. Bryce wanted nothing more than to just go to Italy…
"Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Offers More Of The Same"