[8] Christopher Nolan (Inception, Memento) co-writes and directs this emotional sci-fi adventure about a farmer (Matthew McConaughey) who leaves his family during the last generation of human life on Earth, hoping to find a new planet for the species to call home. With the help of a secret rag-tag team of NASA scientists, he makes a two-year voyage to Saturn where a wormhole makes the …
[7] In this film based on a true story, Brad Pitt stars as Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane, who introduced computer analysis of player statistics into recruitment strategy and forever changed the way baseball is played. Jonah Hill plays the shy, young economist who pitches the recruitment strategy to Beane. Both men were nominated for Oscars for their performances here. The film centers squarely …
[4] Cam Gigandet (Easy A, Twilight) stars as a playboy whose penis detaches and manifests as its own person (Nick Thune). I’m all for absurd concepts and sex comedies, but Bad Johnson plays it too safe and formulaic to leave much of an impression. Once Gigandet’s character and his penis squabble and call it splits, the film falls into standard rom-com territory with Gigandet trying …
[7] Steve James (Hoop Dreams) directs this documentary about the life and career of Roger Ebert, arguably the most famous and most well-loved film critic who ever lived. Life Itself begins near the end of Roger’s life, after cancer has taken his lower jaw and new growths are discovered in his spine. Before we learn too much about his prognosis, James leads us through Roger’s …
[8] James Gunn (Slither) co-writes and directs one of the best Marvel movies ever. The plot is simple, nothing new or groundbreaking. Good guys gotta stop bad guys from literally destroying the world. Been there, done that, right? And like most Marvel movies, the bad guys are pretty generic and forgettable. And there are, like, what? Three or four bad guys here? Anyway, it doesn’t …
[9] South Korean director Bong Joon-ho (Mother, The Host) directs this tale of class warfare set in an ice-age Armageddon wherein the last few living humans reside aboard a technologically advanced train that constantly circumnavigates the globe. Chris Evans (Captain America himself) stars as the working class hero who rises up against the train’s cold-hearted aristocracy, leading a revolt from the train’s back end slave …
[9] In this sequel from director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In), the virus introduced in the previous film has obliterated more than 99% of the human population worldwide. In San Francisco, there is a small colony of humans focused on repairing a hydroelectric dam in the Red Woods so they can have electricity and possibly reconnect with other survivors. But its in the Red …
[7] The first two-thirds of this franchise reboot (a second after the 2001 Tim Burton clunker) are surprisingly good. I was expecting to see computer-generated monkeys go nuts for two hours (all of which is saved for the less interesting final act), but before then you get James Franco playing Dr Frankenstein and struggling with responsibility for his creation, a hyper-intelligent orphaned chimp named Caesar …
[7] It’s the future and an alien race has just about taken over all of Europe and Asia. Tom Cruise enters this scenario as a cowardly military spokesperson forced into the front lines of combat by a shit-if-I-care general (Brendan Gleeson). During his first big battle with the aliens (who look like Rastafarian tumbleweeds), Cruise’s character dies… and wakes up a day earlier, but with …
[6] The title of this movie refers to the chances of survival for its main character, Adam (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Adam’s life and all his relationships are turned upside down when he learns he has cancer. I’m glad the movie is more about the relationships and less about the prognosis, though the film doesn’t shy away the realities of cancer. Some characters and certain relationships don’t …
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