The unimaginable horror of school shootings has been the subject of several searing cinematic works to date, so anytime a filmmaker steps into the terrifying fray, it seems imperative that they’re aware of what others have done before them. Tim McCann’s White Rabbit appears to begin rather naively in that respect. As the young director…
“Are we clear? Are we clear?” . . . “Crystal.” — Tom Cruise and Jack Nicholson in “A Few Good Men” Based on the book by Lawrence Wright, director Alex Gibney (“The Armstrong Lie”) has delivered another hard-hitting documentary in Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, an exposé of the abuses of the…
If a scathing review isn’t enough to steer a viewer away from watching tripe like Diamond Heist (or “Magic Boys,” depending on what Google search results tell you), then perhaps the very idea of Michael Madsen (“Loosies”) as a former Chippendale dancer will act as the clearest warning. Seriously. Just picture Michael Madsen. Then picture…
Probably one of the more eagerly awaited sequels in recent memory, Avengers: Age Of Ultron crafted by Marvel Studios/Disney and directed by Joss Whedon, makes a decent entry into the second-film-of-the-franchise market, but does not supersede the original in acting, writing or humor (so one can forget the “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Superman II” and…
“Not in the hands of boys, but in their eyes shall shine the holy glimmers of good-byes” — Wilfred Owen, “Anthem for Doomed Youth” In 1915, Australian and New Zealand (Anzac) soldiers formed part of the expedition that set out to capture the Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey in order to open the Dardanelles to the…
During World War II, the Nazis plundered an estimated 750,000 artworks from European countries including priceless paintings by Van Gogh, Degas, Vermeer, and Michelangelo. Though many paintings and other significant cultural artifacts were recovered by the “Monuments Men,” many were destroyed or auctioned off at extremely low prices. Today, there are well over 100,000 items…
Keishi Ohtomo’s new film, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, is the final in the live-action trilogy based on Nobuhiro Watsuki’s best selling manga series. In it, Shishio (Tatsuya Fujiwara, “The Secret World of Arrietty”) is on a mission of chaos and so he sets sail in his terrifying ironclad battleship to bring down the Meiji…
