Ten years after its theatrical release, the Oscar-nominated Flight still holds up as Denzel Washington turns in one of his best performances. Veteran airline pilot Captain William “Whip” Whitaker (Denzel Washington) crash lands a MD-80 series aircraft and somehow survives the event. It’s a miracle that even made it beyond the departure, what with a storm and all. After that, things went from a sigh of relief to G-d help us all in a matter…
"Flight Holds Up Ten Years Later"Tag: John Goodman
Trouble with the Curve is still a charming baseball movie in watching the film a few months after it marked its tenth anniversary. The film marked the directorial debut for Clint Eastwood’s longtime producing partner, Robert Lorenz. If you want my opinion, the director is in there with a stand-up triple. While the film isn’t Eastwood’s final acting role, it’s one of his last roles on screen and honestly, you couldn’t ask for more. Plus,…
"Trouble with The Curve Still Charms 10 Years Later"
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"
Monsters at Work starts the day after Monstropolis decided to go after laughter rather than power their city by scaring children. A number of Monsters Inc. veterans return including Mike (Billy Crystal) and Sulley (John Goodman). However, we’re introduced to some new monsters including the Monsters, Inc. Facilities Team (MIFT). While Mike and Sulley are series regulars, they’re not particularly the main stars of the series. No, this honor belongs to new Monsters University graduate…
"Monsters at Work: It’s Laughter We’re After"
Always departs from the rest of Steven Spielberg’s 1980s filmography in that the film goes for sentimentality more than anything else. It’s not uncommon for Spielberg to release multiple films in the same year. The summer saw Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. While there is some nice action in the aerial scenes in Always, the two films couldn’t be further apart. Maybe this is why it has taken me until now to watch Always. …
"Always: My Least Favorite Steven Spielberg Film"
Argo tells an incredibly true story of how the CIA used a fake science-fiction film to rescue six American diplomats during the Iran hostage crisis. “This is the best bad idea we have, sir,” Jack O’Donnell (Bryan Cranston) tells C.I.A Director Stansfield Turner (Phillip Baker Hall). “By far.” The best bad idea not only saves six American lives but manages to win an Oscar. A few of them, actually. The fact that the CIA turns…
"Argo: This Is The Best Bad Idea We Have"
The Big Lebowski manages to hold up in viewing on the big screen some twenty years following its initial release in theaters. Avid bowler Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski arrived home one evening only to be assaulted in a case of mistaken identity. It turns out some fools were hired because Bunny, the wife of another Jeffrey Lebowski, owes money to a porn producer. One of them made the awful mistake of crossing The Dude by…
"The Big Lebowski Plays Quite Well At 20 Years"
Atomic Blonde is a Cold War version of James Bond if Agent 007 were a kick-ass female. Based on the Oni Press graphic novel series, The Coldest City, David Leitch directs from a screenplay written by Kurt Johnstad. The action-thriller stars Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Til Schweiger, Eddie Marsan, Sofia Boutella and Toby Jones. MI6 Agent Lorraine Broughton (Theron) is sent to Berlin at the end of the Cold War in 1989 to…
"Atomic Blonde: What if James Bond were a Kick-Ass Female?"
Despite having an all-star talented cast, Once Upon A Time In Venice doesn’t live up to the action comedies that preceded it despite a talented cast. Directed by Mark Cullen from a script co-written with his brother, Rob Cullen, the film stars Bruce Willis, John Goodman, Jason Momoa, Thomas Middleditch, Famke Janssen, Stephanie Sigman, Adam Goldberg, Kal Penn, Christopher McDonald, and Wood Harris. Bruce Willis may be an action star but even his name alone…
"Once Upon A Time In Venice is no Die Hard, pass on it"
Kong: Skull Island takes us back to the Vietnam War era to reboot everyone’s favorite gigantic primate. It may not match the original classic but the fast-paced story holds its own. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) from a screenplay written by Dan Gilroy and Max Borenstein and Derek Connolly with the story by John Gatins, it’s not a movie that makes us wait a while for King Kong in the same way…
"Kong: Skull Island reboots King Kong in great fashion"