Nicholas Sparks, who has probably put more words to paper than William Shakespeare (although none as memorable) has graced us with his yearly obligatory salute to misogyny, perfect abs and beautiful white people with problems we WISH we could have in his latest tearjerker, The Longest Ride. Sparks, the creator of such books/films as “The…
Pierre Morel certainly knows a thing or two about molding celebrated thespians into B-movie action heroes, having previously kicked off Liam Neeson’s twilight transformation into a growly ass-kicker with the first “Taken” flick, but not everyone can make the transition so smoothly. Sean Penn seems an even unlikelier B-pic headliner than Neeson once was, considering…
As a recap to bring readers up to speed: As “Divergent” came to a close, Tris Prior (Shailene Woodley, “The Spectacular Now”) and her friends were embroiled in a violent battle as the once-balanced faction system came crashing down around them. Caught up in a simulation ordered by Erudite leader Jeanine Matthews (Kate Winslet, “Carnage”),…
Granted we’ve all enjoyed our fair share of them, but it is still a nice change of pace to watch a Hollywood film that isn’t one of those big budget, high-stakes films with product placements, massive CGI explosions and recycled plots. Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman is a tour-de-force western on the opposite side of…
In my opinion, both the book and the movie versions of “Fifty Shades of Grey” (originally “Master of the Universe,” a “Twilight” fan fiction penned by Snowqueens Icedragon, who has since adopted the pen name E.L. James) have generated far more attention, money, and drama than they’re worth. While I have not read the book,…
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…
The tragic decay of a brilliant woman’s mind is given a gentle, poignant examination in Still Alice, a deeply moving and beautifully minimalized drama that sweetly takes the high road and finds in its protagonist’s struggle room for love and courage. Adapted from the novel by Lisa Genova and directed by Richard Glatzer and Wash…
