Joel and Ethan Coen’s latest doesn’t hides its themes: it opens on a shot of a cross and follows a Hollywood fixer’s Sisyphean task to keep a bustling film studio in check as it churns out movies that are arguably worthwhile. (more…)
Reviews
BROOKLYN Review: Coming To America
The movie Brooklyn, based on the book by Colm Tóibín and adapted here by fellow novelist Nick Hornby, is a rarity: a totally straight-faced tale free of irony and modern trappings. (more…)
BLACK MASS Review: Dastardly Depp
Never entirely comfortable as a heartthrob, Johnny Depp always seemed to gravitate toward the weirdos, whether it was as a goth Scissorhands or a disappointing Wonka. And while the last few years of his career have devolved into an endless parade of funny-hat-wearing characters that are a deep as a puddle (the Mad Hatter being the most shrill), there was always a flicker of that slight madness that made him a star. (more…)
THE BIG SHORT Review: Caustic Comedy
“I’m standing in front of a burning house and I’m offering you fire insurance on it.” That’s how trader Jared Vennett (Ryan Gosling) describes the titular transaction at the heart of The Big Short, a dramedy based on the build up to the 2008 financial crisis. (more…)
13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLIDERS OF BENGHAZI Review – Bombastic Bayhem
It’s easy to get mad at Michael Bay’s latest slice of processed American cheese, especially as the movie (based on the Benghazi attacks of 2012) lands at a time calculated to do the most damage to Democrats during an election year . Yet it’s harder to overlook Bay’s increasing command of his craft, even as the story and dialogue falter. (more…)
THE REVENANT Review: Leo’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
If Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t win his Best Actor Oscar for The Revenant then I doubt there’s any extremes left for him to go to. His performance in the film – a kind of Passion Play depicting one man’s suffering and hardships – is brutal and immersive, as is the movie surrounding him. (more…)
THE HATEFUL EIGHT Review: A Bloody Blast
The Hateful Eight is peak Tarantino – a talky 3-hour beast of a movie shot and presented in an obscure format (70mm film) that features all the grandiose monologues and crazy violence we’ve come to expect from the modern master. (more…)
CAROL Review: Coldly Ravishing
Carol seems to unfold in slow motion at times, bathed in the Christmas lights of 1950s New York City. Like its lead characters, the movie is stunningly beautiful yet calculating, allowing genuine emotion to burst forth occasionally from its immaculately conceived veneer. (more…)
Review: TRUMBO Gets Blacklisted
A man fighting bravely against injustice and ignorance, standing up for the common people and socialist values. The story of screenwriter Dalton Trumbo and the red scare that gripped Hollywood post-WWII couldn’t be more timely right now. (more…)
STEVE JOBS Review: Flawed Genius
Brash, bold and brilliant – the descriptors apply as much to Steve Jobs the man as they do to Steve Jobs the movie. Both have their faults too, ones that are hardwired into their DNA that prove inescapable and intertwined with their genius. (more…)
Glen On Film 