MOVIE REVIEW: War for the Planet of the Apes

A significant shift in attention and investment has occurred in this series. Our hearts and allegiances swayed from rooting for the madness of our own mankind to the superior traits of humanity exhibited by Caesar and his ape brethren. A transformation of empathy like that is downright miraculous. War for the Planet of Apes is a full-bodied epic of glory and pain that matches and then exceeds the moving importance and heart this rebooted franchise has established in two previous knockout films.

2017, 5 STARS, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanJune 27, 2017ShowPlace ICON X at Roosevelt Collections2017, 2017 Summer Movies, Planet of the Apes, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, War for the Planet of the Apes, Best of 2017, Andy Serkis, Caesar, Pixar, Toby Kebbell, Woody Harrelson, Ty Olsson, Terry Notary, Karin Konoval, Amiah Miller, Steve Zahn, Spartacus, Jurassic World, Michael Giacchino, Jerry Goldsmith, Lost, Matt Reeves, John Williams, Mark Bomback, Michael Bay, Transformers, The Batman, The Lord of the Rings, Gollum, Toy Story, Star Wars, The Godfather trilogy, Christopher Nolan, Peter Jackson, Special Achievement Oscar, Special Achievement Academy Award, Academy Award, Academy Award hopeful, film review, movie review, movie commentary, film commentary, life lessons, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Star Wars trilogy, Movie trilogies, trilogies, superior sequels, sequels, reboot, remake, Reimagining, Donald Shanahan, Don ShanahanComment

MOVIE REVIEW: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2

With all honesty, this writer has never been a fan of "The Hunger Games." Dystopian worlds and brassy films about them are always fascinating, but kids-killing-kids-for-sport isn't a cup of tea fitting of endorsement. It is easy to be intrigued but admittedly hard to be entertained by such a thing. With the profit-milking complete from "Part 1" last November, "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2" ties together its loose ends with reasonable quality. To this critic, the series has always come down to your tolerance of overwrought melodrama, your acceptance of illogical hang-ups, and your stomach for grim fictionalized massacre with a high body count being pushed on kids. It's hard to be a fan of that bleakness.

2015, 3 STARS, MOVIE REVIEWDon ShanahanNovember 18, 2015AMC River East 21The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1, The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, Francis Lawrence, Liam Hemsworth, Josh Hutcherson, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone, Stef Dawson, Willow Shields, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Julianne Moore, Mockingjay, Suzanne Collins, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Katniss Everdeen, Gale Hawthorne, Peeta Mallark, Natalie Dormer, Mahershala Ali, President Snow, Stanley Tuci, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Haymitch Abernathy, Ellie Trinket, I Am Legend, Peter Jackson, Movie trilogies, Movie franchise, life lessons from film, life lessons from movies, life lessons from films, movie review, movie commentary, film review, film commentary, 2015, 2015 Holiday Movies, 2015 Holiday Movie Preview, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, Every Movie Has a LessonComment

ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW: The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies

With the arrival of "The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies," we have made it to the payoff. This big story gets its ending, its tidy bow, and its cherry-on-top. Even if you think the movie studio was milking you for three movie tickets over three years out of a book that probably could have fit into a single film, you now get to see your patience rewarded and your virtue justified. You will realize it was worth it. You will feel like you stuck around to see "Superman" save the world, you survived the walk down those basement stairs in "Psycho," and you partied with the Ewoks and spirit Jedis in "Star Wars."

2014, ADVANCE MOVIE REVIEW, MOVIE REVIEW, 4 STARSDon ShanahanDecember 8, 2014The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit, The Hobbit: There and Back Again, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Peter Jackson, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, Evangeline Lilly, Orlando Bloom, Movie trilogies, Guillermo del Toro, Smaug, Benedict Cumberbatch, J.R.R. Tolkien, Luke Evans, Gandalf the Grey, Ian McKellan, Lee Pace, Cate Blanchett, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Manu Bennett, WETA Digital, WETA Workshop, Performance capture, Oscar hopefuls, Oscar nominations, Oscar winners, Howard Shore, io9, Fantasy films, Fantasy genre, Every Movie Has a Lesson, Don Shanahan, Donald Shanahan, movie commentary, Movie review, film commentary, film review, film music, life lessons from films, life lessons from movies, life lessons from film, Film music, Cinematography, movie reviewComment

EDITORIAL: The 15 films to watch for the 2015 Oscars

Once one awards season ends, another one begins! The winners from last night's 86th Academy Awards can bask in the glow of immortality for a while. Meanwhile, business in Hollywood will quickly shift and move on to the 87th Academy Awards that will happen in February or March of 2015. Here are 15 films to watch for the 2015 Oscars.