“By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes” — Macbeth Act 4, Scene 1 Pronouncements telling us that fair is foul, good is bad, and dark is light are what you might expect to hear from the propaganda machine of an ambitious politician or a news organization seeking to sow confusion. In…
A nominal sequel to Mel Gibson’s 1995 epic “Braveheart” sounds thrilling all around — bringing viewers back to Scotland’s bloody medieval war cry against the brute, Edward Longshanks of England. Enter Robert the Bruce. In it, Angus Macfadyen (“The Lost City of Z”) also reprises his role as Scottish freedom fighter, Robert the Bruce. Yes,…
Loosely based on Shakespeare’s “Henry IV: Parts 1 & 2,” and “Henry V,” David Michôd’s (“Animal Kingdom”) epic medieval drama The King lacks the Bard’s poetry and soaring eloquence, yet its intensity, intimacy, and brooding power will keep you captivated throughout its 133-minute run time. Co-written by Michôd and Joel Edgerton (“Boy Erased”), the film…
I don’t even know what to say. Or why to bother. To stare into the void that is Disney’s soul-sucked remake of its cinematic safari The Lion King is to come face to face with a profound and overwhelming sense of meaninglessness. It’s the same movie they released in 1994, only worse in all ways…
The continued effort to update and bring “live-action” realism to their classics (e.g., “Dumbo,” “The Jungle Book,” “Beauty and the Beast,”) continues for Disney with The Lion King. It follows the same premise as the 1994 animated feature (as well as “Kimba the White Lion” from which it was lifted) in which a young lion…
Horror auteur (“The Conjuring”) and box office money maker (“Furious 7”) James Wan takes a somewhat unexpected stab at the superhero genre with Aquaman. Starring the imposing, but beloved, Jason Momoa (“Conan the Barbarian”), scene stealing Amber Heard (“Machete Kills”), and a seasoned Willem Dafoe (“The Florida Project”), Wan’s installment to the successful (albeit it…
Since 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) model has introduced ingenious engineers, Norse gods, space raiders and sorcerers. These superpowered figures appear in films that incorporate elements from World War II movies, space opera, heist films, alien invasions and conspiracy thrillers. With varying levels of dramatic success, the framework of a superhero figure in [insert…
