Within a few minutes of watching The Father, you may get the sense that this is a dialogue-intense film that seems to bear a resemblance to a stage play. This perception is enhanced by the closed space in which the action occurs — a suitable, lived-in apartment of an educated man with décor that includes…
Based “mostly” on a true story (in other words, fictional), Stephen Frears’ (“Florence Foster Jenkins”) Victoria and Abdul is an ode to the warmth of simple friendship and the wonders of British colonialism. Based on the book by Shrabani Basu with a screenplay by Lee Hall (“War Horse”), it is an engaging film about the…
Once upon a time, back in the Light Ages of Hollywood genre filmmaking (aka the 80s), the ancient fantasy picture was a thing of popular beauty. They weren’t all classics, but the memorable likes of “Conan the Barbarian,” “The Beastmaster,” “Willow,” “The Princess Bride,” “Legend,” “The Neverending Story,” “Dragonslayer,” “The Last Unicorn,” and “The Dark…
Violence is at an all time high (along with some boobs) in the latest trailer for Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Sabotage (which obviously explains the trailer being redbanded). His team of elite agents routinely put the hurt on drug cartels but sometimes the tables get turned. One by one his team is targeted for execution, causing distrust…
It’s only because I have brother-love for Arnold Schwarzenegger that I’m giving his latest, Sabotage, any attention. In it he leads a band of highly trained DEA agents — the last resort kind — that deliver justice to those too powerful to be taken down by ordinary means. After a particularly nasty raid against a…
Joe Wright should win the award for most courageous director of the year. The majority of Anna Karenina is filmed in a theater with all of the sets built on and around a main stage including a skating rink, a grassy field, a snowy train station, and even a horse race. It is not claustrophobic,…
