Take Kings as how a foreigner sees our plights, troubles, and history. Ergüven has talent but comes across as tone deaf when trying for tribute out of this script that she’s been sitting on since 2011. What should be a spike through the heart gets washed away by the time a sunny Motown cover song tries to become a palette-cleansing “everything’s fine” coda and exhale moment in the end credits. Even as pure dramatization, Kings is an irresponsibly aimless one.
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Frees’s voiceover goal is to change Donald’s mind about math, to ruffle his feathers of antiquated ideas, false concepts, superstitions, confusion, and general bungling (all revealed in pseudo-analog-Inside Out fashion). Whether the knowledge of these “boundless treasures of science” stick in his bird brain remains to be seen. Spirited and pristinely stylish animation, dancing shapes, and moveable manipulatives fill the screen backed by music from Buddy Baker, a veteran of 26 Disney films of the era.
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The post-credits cameo of the big bad Thanos in The Avengers set into motion an even greater arc of ambition that catapulted two more phases, twelve more films, and dozens of new major players since. Now at the ten-year mark of this endeavor, all of the patience, enthusiasm, and success pays off with Avengers: Infinity War. Thriving with a symmetry of captivating gravitas and heroic thrill on many levels, this saga’s newest peak is an expanse of scorched earth that stings, shocks, lingers, and satisfies.
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The intensity of the torrid on-screen affair in Disobedience is as strong as the rhetoric of oppression that simmers under the surface of the characters and the community they occupy. Sebastián Lelio’s follow-up to his Academy Award-winning foreign language film A Fantastic Woman teems with deeply stirring passion. Performed to a level of high commitment by Rachel Weisz and Rachel McAdams, the film repeatedly demonstrates that one of the best ways to build passion in a film is to present the implicit unspoken in a manor to outweigh explicit expression.
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Their expansion plan was very sharp and forgoes the thirst to hack and slay mindlessly like most current horror offerings. The shrewd focus of Ghost Stories is scarce on spectacle and firmly rooted in sinister nuance. The over-caffeinated and desensitized segment of genre fans might call it boring, while the veterans who remember effective minimalism will be squeezed by the twisted nerve leading to solid suspense.
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These narrative and aesthetic combinations make for a dynamic and sincere film from first-time writers and directors Liang Xuan and Zhang Chun. Big Fish & Begonia is an excellent place for teens to soak in some much-needed empathy against the more mindless American animated offerings. Give them an experience to absorb resonating truths on the powers of faith and love told from a different yet timeless light. They might just be better people for it.
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The weapon of choice of Joe, the gruff contract killer of You Were Never Really Here played by Joaquin Phoenix, is an industrial ball peen hammer from his trusty local hardware store in New York. The film matches the qualities of this repurposed tool as an armament. The instrument and the art prefer the mauling nature of cold steel. Frozen by disturbing memories, the blunt object that is Lynne Ramsay’s award-winning potboiler is far more hulking than a quick death by bullet.
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In light of Mark Zuckerberg's testimonies before Congress this past week, Mike Crowley, the excellent YouTube video creator of his You'll Probably Agree channel, hit me up with the idea of looking back at David Fincher's The Social Network. Fincher's film has evolved from a tell-all biopic of sorts to a cautionary tale with an impact that is still growing. Mike and I think the film holds up and we went the social media route to record a video chat of our conversation.
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Fashioning itself as a coming-of-age dramedy, Krystal scratches out frank dialogue emoting on behalf of overly honest hearts. It banks on mixing sentiment built on pleasantries laced with profanity. All kinds of abrupt dysfunction and daffy discombobulation try to be endearing entanglements for entertainment, but the result is a really uneven piece of batty humor and grating romance
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I may not be a full-on gearhead, but I do love a great car in a film! Car leasing company OSV has created an interesting and engaging infographic detailing the 10 most memorable cars to have graced the silver screen in the last 50 years. From Steve McQueen’s Mustang GT390 in Bullitt to Vin Diesel’s Dodge Charger from The Fast and The Furious, these are mean machines that really stand out from the crowd.
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On behalf of The Wilmette Theatre, I owe a big thank you to Wilmette Life, The Chicago Tribune, and freelance Pioneer Press reporter Dan Dorfman for the kind and positive coverage of our ongoing "Kids Klassics" series! We had our first screening of five covering Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Enjoy the news story and some pictures from the event.
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The dignified art form of cinema may not need a dumb and dazzling film like Rampage, but what escapist audiences do seek out and need are larger-than-life stars. There will always be an ass-kicking place for brawny men like Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson on the silver screen. The former WWE superstar has become the center square of any year’s blockbuster Bingo card. The fully-formed persona that is Dwayne Johnson is always a welcome treat
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