It’s a busy summer for films about the Israeli Mossad because Spider in the Web is the third such film to be released in just over a month. For the second time in a month, another thriller gets released in the vein of John le Carré. Moreover, it’s the second of the trio to feature Ben Kingsley. While The Red Sea Diving Resort had Kingsley portray a superior in a supporting role, he’s front and…
"Spider in the Web: A John le Carré-esque Thriller"Category: Movie Reviews
Official Secrets tells the incredible true story behind the bravery of Katharine Gun and why she leaked a memo in hopes of averting an illegal war. The film may is certainly a thriller even though it plays like a drama during some points. Paul Hepker and Mark Kilian give their score some suspenseful moments every now and then. It always helps to heighten the emotional stakes. No moment is more suspenseful than the time when…
"Official Secrets: Katharine Gun is a Hero"
A zealous movie fan in The Fanatic strongly insists that he isn’t a stalker even as he does the things that nobody could possibly imagine. By any term of the definition, Moose (John Travolta) is a stalker. He’s more of a “stan,” a term that combines both stalker and fan. Moose certainly denies this but the facts are facts. The target of Moose’s obsession is none other than action hero Hunter Dunbar (Devon Sawa). Moose…
"The Fanatic: Fan Insists He’s Not A Stalker"
Hot Air falls quite a bit short of its maximum potential in the political climate for satire especially with having a focus on conservative talk radio. Lionel Macomb (Steve Coogan) is the host of Fired Up. He’s had this job for 20 years. Don’t get me wrong–the comic actor brings the right persona required for the job. The important thing here for the film is that we’re able to buy into Coogan as a right-wing…
"Hot Air Falls Short Of Its Potential As Satire"
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles explores the roots and legacy behind the fan favorite musical turned movie, Fiddler on the Roof. The documentary is the first in-depth look at the musical. It isn’t the first time that somebody has explored the musical’s legacy. One of the film’s subject, Alisa Solomon, wrote Wonder of Wonders: A Cultural History of Fiddler on the Roof. The book was first published October 2013, nearly a year before the 50th…
"Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles"
Quentin Tarantino’s revisionist war film, Inglourious Basterds, has one of the best cinematic endings of all time while the film holds up ten years later. What I am sorry to report is that this is a film that could also take place in 2019. It’s not so much because of conditions in Europe but how things presently are in the United States. Much of today’s anti-Semitism is being enabled by the man presently holding office…
"Inglourious Basterds: Revisionist Film Marks 10 Years"
I don’t know what we as a society did to deserve a Has Fallen trilogy but Angel Has Fallen certainly isn’t going to raise the bar. Aaron Eckhart does not return as President Benjamin Asher. There’s not a single mention of him in the film. In any event, Morgan Freeman’s Allan Trumbull is now the president. Serving as Trumbull’s Vice President is Martin Kirby (Tim Blake Nelson). Gerard Butler also reprises his role as everyone’s…
"Angel Has Fallen: Somehow, We Got A Trilogy"
Camp Wedding infuses our society’s obsession with social media and smartphone technology by placing it within a horror movie. If the bride and groom had done their research beforehand, Camp Pocumtuck wouldn’t play host to their wedding. Not when a young girl drowned after being struck by lightning in 1985. Nor with the fact that several women were burned for being witches and the camp also served as the location of a Native American massacre. …
"Camp Wedding Examines Social Media Obsession"
After celebrating the biggest day of her life, one bride soon finds herself fighting for exactly that in horror comedy Ready Or Not. Families that play Hide and Seek together stay together. Probably. Maybe. Okay, I really don’t know. Now that I have your attention, let’s get on with the show. Anyway, the gist of Ready Or Not is that Grace (Samara Weaving) joins Alex Le Domas (Mark O’Brien) in marriage. We only cut to…
"Ready Or Not: A F*cked Up Rich Family"
American Factory follows what happened when a Chinese billionaire hires 2,000 blue-collar Americans in a previously closed GM factory. Filmmakers Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert spent three years on this film. Their efforts to capture Fuyao Glass America’s new plant are worth it in the end. After all, nobody could have predicted the plant re-opening when General Motors closed the doors in 2008. While 2,400 would lost their jobs in 2008, some 2,000 would get…
"American Factory Puts Americans Back To Work"