Flight Holds Up Ten Years Later

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"

Coast: Coming-Of-Age Film Is Driven By Music

A young music lover falls for a rock singer in Coast and finds herself having to make one of the biggest decisions of her life. Abby (Fatima Ptacek) lives in an agricultural California town along the coast where her generation is at odds with those who came before. Making matters worse for her at the moment is that her parents are getting a divorce. As such, connection is something that’s hard to come by. You…

"Coast: Coming-Of-Age Film Is Driven By Music"

Thunder Force: Good Takes On Evil in Chicago

Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer star as a pair of mismatched superheroes in Thunder Force, the newest Netflix original. A comic book panel style montage sets the scene for what’s happening in the film. In March 1983, a massive explosion of interstellar cosmic-rays hit Earth. This led to select humans undergoing a genetic transformation. Unfortunately, the powers were only unlocked in those people predisposed to be a sociopath. Because mutants and meta-humans were already taken…

"Thunder Force: Good Takes On Evil in Chicago"

The Big Short Marks 5 Years Since Wide Release

The Big Short, featuring a star-studded cast, explores the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis while weaving together humor and drama. The housing collapse led to one of the worst recessions in American history.  According to the film’s post-script, some $5 trillion was lost in pensions, real estate value, 401k, savings, and bonds.  Eight million people lost their jobs with six million losing their homes in the United States. If not for The Other Guys,…

"The Big Short Marks 5 Years Since Wide Release"

The Fighter Puts On A Masterclass in Acting

The performances from Christian Bale, Melissa Leo, and Amy Adams in The Fighter are the very definition of a masterclass in acting. Micky Ward (Mark Wahlberg) is a welterweight boxer.  Ward is managed by his mother, Alice Ward-Eklund (Melissa Leo), and trained by older half-brother Dicky Ecklund (Christian Bale).  As far as his boxing career goes, Micky isn’t at a great point when he first meet him.  He’s the person that you defeat while you’re…

"The Fighter Puts On A Masterclass in Acting"

Unlovable tackles Sex, Love Addiction

In a year that has seen quite a number of films tackle the subject of addiction, Unlovable goes in a different route than one might expect: humor. Sex and love is never quite enough for Joy (Charlene deGuzman) no matter how hard she tries to fill this hole.  This is the thing about addiction–even when you think you have enough, there’s a need for more.  The film starts out with Joy penning her suicide letter…

"Unlovable tackles Sex, Love Addiction"

Equalizer 2: More Equalizing

It’s surprising that Equalizer 2 is the first sequel in which Denzel Washington revisits any of his previous roles.  The fact that this hasn’t happened already is astonishing in its own right. It bares noting that I went into the sequel’s screening without having watched the original 2014 film.  Let me tell you from the get go, I don’t recommend seeing sequels without their predecessor.  It won’t be the first time nor will it be…

"Equalizer 2: More Equalizing"