Alex Garland’s Annihilation is a complex puzzle, mixing the extraterrestrial with the most microbial elements of humanity. Its characterization is strong throughout — as its themes are mirrored in its leading lady — but its most promising components come in the form of visual metaphors. They’re scattered strategically throughout the 115-minute science fiction thinker. Where…
And with that, the war on Valentine’s Day is over. It took two films, but finally Christian (Jamie Dornan, “Anthropoid”) shows off the smarts they said made him capable of running a company: Using just one ring rather than many cables to bind his love, Anastasia (Dakota Johnson, “How to Be Single”). Fifty Shades Freed…
“When sky and sea came together like two lips touching, for that’s no small thing, no. To have lived through one solitude to arrive at another, to feel oneself many things and recover wholeness.” — Pablo Neruda As Americans we love the idea of ordinary people rising from obscurity to become heroes celebrated for their…
Mary and the Witch’s Flower, based on the English book “The Little Broomstick” by Mary Stewart, is the first female-led action action fantasy film exploding into theaters in 2018. Originally released in Japan in 2017 this new movie, engineered by some of the directors and animators behind classic cartoon adventures such as “Spirited Away,” “Howl’s…
Those dastardly backwoods are calling again. Based on the well-received 2011 novel by Adam Nevill, David Bruckner’s film, The Ritual, is a competent British-made horror which, after a so-so opening act, gradually mutates into something quite watchable and intense. It starts as a group of old college buddies meet up to plan a reunion trip…
At the end of “Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials,” Thomas (Dylan O’Brien, “Deepwater Horizon”) and his friends have finally found solace in the mountains with a resistance group known as the Right Arm. Teresa (Kaya Scodelario, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) reveals to Thomas she has betrayed them and their newfound…
Since his screenwriting breakthrough with “A Few Good Men,” Aaron Sorkin has crafted himself an illustrious Hollywood career, which includes a nomination for the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for “Moneyball” and a win for the same for “The Social Network” as well as earning multiple Emmy awards for his work on the landmark TV series…
