“Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam, be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home” — John Howard Payne The Smothers Brothers they are not. Brothers Eli (John C. Reilly, “Kong: Skull Island”) and Charlie (Joaquin Phoenix, “You Were Never Really Here”) Sisters, known to all as the Sisters Brothers, are deadly…
With Venom it’s Tom Hardy’s turn to get in on the comic book movie craze. In it, he takes a turn as Eddie Brock (please forget when Topher Grace had a turn in “Spider-Man 3”), a down on his luck journalist. But as luck would have it, his weakened mental state makes him a perfect…
In Una, the powerful screen adaptation of David Harrower’s play “Blackbird” about the sexual abuse of a thirteen-year-old girl, Australian director Benedict Andrews does what has become increasingly uncommon in modern cinema — he makes us think. While it may be uncomfortable to look outside of the reassuring categories of victim and victimizer, Andrews asks…
A fairly long time ago, in a land not very far away (Hollywood, to be exact), the creator of a billion dollar movie and merchandising empire parceled off this gold mine to another group of moguls (Walt Disney Studios), yet still holds an almost mythic-like control over much of the material. In other words, the…
As interesting as the Star Wars franchise has been (and continues to be), it can’t seem to shake old tropes. Take for instance the Death Star. It appears in all but the first two films (someone fact check me, please) and, although under a new name, even appears as in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens.”…
There are three distinct musical features in the Jason Bourne franchise. The most obvious is Moby’s “Extreme Ways,” played over the credits of each film in various versions. There is also the fast, pulsing rhythm of John Powell’s score, a musical heartbeat to the dizzying action on screen. And there is a mournful refrain that…
“The Bourne Legacy” wasn’t that bad (and it is getting a purported sequel), but it’s still a welcomed breathe of fresh air to see Matt Damon back in action in the upcoming action thriller, Jason Bourne. This time around, however, it seems Bourne has gathered his memories, but is now coming back ‘home,’ with the…
