“The Ritual” – Ah, a guys' weekend. When old friends get together for a weekend of fun and mischief, infinite possibilities exist, but many times they involve a ballgame, a destination city or an outdoor adventure. For five 30-somethings – Luke (Rafe Spall), Hutch (Robert James-Collier), Phil (Arsher Ali), Dom (Sam Troughton), and Robert (Paul [...]
“Detroit” – The definition of power: possession of control, authority or influence over others; a controlling group. On July 23, 1967, a group of Detroit policemen raided a private gathering at the Economy Printing Company Building. In a very public display, white police officers forced their way into the facility and grabbed, mishandled and arrested [...]
“Maudie” – “I’ll get a job or something.” – Maud Lewis Maud (Sally Hawkins) is soft spoken, pleasant and kind, and for fun, she spends an occasional evening at a club, enjoying a drink and dancing by herself. One night at the aforementioned club, she soaks up laughter and music but without socializing or speaking [...]
“The Hero” - “Lone Star Barbeque Sauce, the perfect partner for your chicken.”- Lee Hayden “You seem sad.” – Charlotte, speaking to Lee Sam Elliott is enjoying a busy and celebrated television and film career, spanning 48 years and counting. He has starred in very memorable supporting roles over the years, including “Mask” (1985), “Road [...]
“Churchill” – Steven Spielberg’s “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) reverberates in the halls of cinematic history as one of the greatest war films ever made. It effectively pays homage to soldiers - any soldiers – who risk their lives on the battlefield through the personal story of Capt. John Miller (Tom Hanks). Capt. Miller’s journey to [...]
“Wakefield” – “I’m totally bewildered by the situation that I created for myself.” – Howard Wakefield “A short story is the shortest distance between two points. A novel is the scenic route.” – Robert J. Sawyer Howard Wakefield (Bryan Cranston) is a married man who lives in a big, beautiful house nestled in an affluent [...]
“Paris Can Wait” – Cannes is a dream for anyone who loves movies. Well, this coastal city – located in the south of France and just down the road from Nice – is a dream for anyone, whether he or she enjoys movies or not. (Although, who could possibly fall into the latter category, really?) [...]
“The Lovers” – “Cheating and lying aren’t struggles. They’re reasons to break up.” – Patti Callahan Henry Michael (Tracy Letts) and Mary (Debra Winger) have been married for eons. Perhaps many of their years together have been happy, but not recently. Residing in Santa Clarita, California, this 50-something couple share a comfortable suburban home and drive [...]
“The Wall” – What images immediately come to mind when you read the words, “war movie”? Human history unfortunately can provide thousands of examples in which people become mired in mass conflict and attempt to kill one another, and the big screens sometimes masterfully recapture those horrific struggles. For me, three films immediately pop into [...]
Risk – Director Laura Poitras stunned the cinema world in 2014 with her Oscar-winning documentary “Citizenfour”, featuring an exclusive on camera interview with Edward Snowden, the famous whistleblower from the CIA and NSA. Snowden may have been only sitting on his bed in a nondescript Hong Kong hotel room, but over the course of the [...]
