With Rules Don’t Apply, multi-hyphenate Warren Beatty has directed his first film since 1998’s Bulworth and acts on the big screen for the first time since 2001’s Town & Country. Rules Don’t Apply stars Warren Beatty, Lily Collins, Alden Ehrenreich, Annette Bening, Matthew Broderick, Alec Baldwin, Haley Bennett, Candice Bergen, Dabney Coleman, Steve Coogan, Ed Harris, Taissa Farmiga, Megan Hilty, Oliver Platt and Martin Sheen. Set in 1958, the same year that Beatty arrived on…
"Rules Don’t Apply: A Different Era For Movies"
Allied offers a bit of everything. It offers espionage, a love story, war action, and betrayal. It’s a movie that could easily have been made in 1940s Hollywood following the war. Directed by Robert Zemeckis from a screenplay written by Steven Knight, the World War 2 drama stars Brad Pitt, Marion Cotillard, Jared Harris, Lizzy Caplan, and Matthew Goode. Part of the movie’s opening 20 minutes or so is heavy with subtitles. I won’t lie…
"Allied: A World War 2 Love Story"
Released this past August in limited theaters before gradually expanding, Hell or High Water stars Jeff Bridges, Chris Pine, Ben Foster, and Gil Birmingham. Directed by David Mackenzie from a screenplay by Taylor Sheridan, the film delivers heist thriller that does without all of the shootouts and instead gives us fully-realized characters. Sheridan’s screenplay was featured on the Black List in 2012 so it should come as no surprise then that the Texan thriller should…
"Hell or High Water: A Different Kind of Heist Thriller"
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Arrival is a must-see film but it’s not your typical sci-fi movie-going experience. It’s not Star Wars. It’s not Star Trek. It’s not even Gravity. There’s no other way to explain it other than this is a movie that will make you think. Eric Heisserer adapts the screenplay from Ted Chiang’s short story, “Story of Your Life.” Because Villeneuve was busy shooting Prisoners at the time, he was unable to adapt…
"Arrival: A Thought-Provoking Sci-Film for 2016"
There are not that many films made today that throws one back to the 1980s high school classics written by John Hughes. The Edge of Seventeen is one such film. Kelly Fremon Craig writes and directs this coming-of-age comedy in her directorial debut. Produced by James L. Brooks, the film stars Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, and Hayden Szeto. What Kelly Fremon Craig gives us is an authentic film…
"The Edge of Seventeen: A John Hughes-eque Comedy"
As tickets went on sale for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a new TV spot was dropped. If you look closely at the 5 second mark, you’ll see a figure facing the Death Star. We already know that Darth Vader is making his return in the anthology film. However, looking from this angle alone signals that this very well could see Grand Moff Tarkin make an appearance, too. Peter Cushing, who played Tarkin in…
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story Gets a New TV Spot"
Denial is the true story of Emory professor Deborah Lipstadt’s court battle during 1996-2000 with a Holocaust denier. The film’s release would have been perfect if it had come out closer to Yom HaShoah. Instead, the release comes during the fall batch Jewish holidays. That being said, the September release will leave the film in the minds of the many Oscar voters. The film is based on Lipstadt’s book, Denial: Holocaust History on Trial. Libel…
"Denial: The Holocaust on Trial"
Produced, edited, written and directed by Benjamin Cox, Better Off Single stars Aaron Tveit, Abby Elliott, Lauren Miller Rogen, Kal Penn, Shane McRae, Kelen Coleman, Annaleigh Ashford, with Lewis Black and Chris Elliott. To put it simply, this is a New York City dating comedy and the main focus is Charlie Carroll (Tveit). He’s seeing a therapist. He also just quit his job and broke up with his girlfriend, Angela (Abby Elliott), on the same…
"Better Off Single: A Hallucination-Filled Dating Comedy"
If you are a fan of improv comedy, Don’t Think Twice is a movie that was made for you. Written and Directed by Mike Birbiglia, the writer-director-comedian stars alongside Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs, Kate Micucci, Tami Sagher, and Chris Gethard. The aforementioned actors portray members of an improv group called The Commune, a sit-in for the premiere team or show at any theater across the country. They are all friends as any member of an…
"Don’t Think Twice: An Improv Film for the Ages"
For The Love of Spock honors the life of Leonard Nimoy in a very well-made documentary. Last year, I had the opportunity to talk to Adam Nimoy about the Kickstarter project for a documentary that he was working on. Over a year later and three months later, I just had the opportunity to view For the Love of Spock and it was just absolutely brilliant. The work that Adam put into this film shows how…
"For The Love of Spock: A Son’s Tribute to Leonard Nimoy"