[8] Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) directs this adaptation of David Ebershoff’s novel, based loosely on the life of Lili Elbe, one of the first people ever to undergo sex reassignment surgery. Eddie Redmayne (The Theory of Everything) is outstanding as, at first, Einar Wegener, and later as Lili. Redmayne’s transformation is a beguiling one, capturing all the seduction and trepidation a life-altering revelation should …
[6] Denzel Washington stars in this Robert Zemeckis (Forrest Gump, Back to the Future) film about an airplane pilot who makes a ‘miracle landing’ after a mid-air collision, saving over a hundred lives from almost certain death. But here’s the rub: he’s an alcoholic, and the lawyers are out to frame him for wrong-doing, armed with a toxicology report and three empty bottles of vodka …
[7] The Place Beyond the Pines, from writer/director Derek Cianfrance (Blue Valentine), is a family epic of sorts. The first third of the film follows a low-life motorcycle showman, played by Ryan Gosling, who turns to crime to try and provide for his baby mama and infant son. I dare say this is the best Ryan Gosling performance yet — you really feel for his …
[7] J.J. Abrams (Lost, Super 8) takes the directing reigns from creator George Lucas and delivers a better film than any of the prequels. Original core cast members join new players in a script co-written by Abrams and Lawrence Kasdan, who penned The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi with Lucas. The story takes place thirty years after the events of Return of …
[7] Writer/director Michael Dougherty (Trick ‘r Treat) returns to holiday horror with Krampus, starring Adam Scott and Toni Collette as the hosts of a Christmas family gathering that goes terribly awry when everyone’s lack of Christmas spirit spurs a visit from the Krampus and his terrifying little minions. If you’re not familiar with the lore, Krampus is the anti-Santa — the opposite of jolly and …
[7] Martin Scorsese remakes Casino, only instead of the Las Vegas gambling backdrop, we now have the shady thievery of Wall Street. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jordan Belfort in this true story of Belfort’s rise to highly successful stock-broker and his fall into federal crimes and drug use. The Wolf of Wall Street is three hours long, but it moves briskly and is never boring. …
[5] Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl star as real-life race car drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda, who became world-famous adversaries in the 1970s. Ron Howard (Apollo 13, Backdraft) directs from a script by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), so I was expecting more of a character drama, but the characters and their interesting relationship are relegated to broad strokes. Most of the film flits …
[7] This documentary tells the story of how two very successful Israeli filmmakers came to Hollywood and shook things up for a while in the ’80s. While neither Menahem Golan nor Yoram Globus are interviewed, their personalities come across in archival footage and an exhaustive array of interviews with people who worked on the films they produced. For the uninitiated, Golan and Globus pretty much …
[7] Emma Bell (Final Destination 5), Shawn Ashmore (X2: X-Men United), and Kevin Zegers (Wrong Turn) star in this claustrophobic thriller about three friends stranded on a ski-lift. Writer/director Adam Green (Hatchet, Holliston) winds the tension nicely, introducing wolves, frostbite, and paranoia to up the ante at regular intervals. The three leads all do well in their fairly juicy roles, especially Emma Bell, whose character …
[7] James Bond returns for the 24th official time in Spectre. Know right away that this is not Skyfall. We were lucky to get a Skyfall — shit like that comes around in a franchise once a decade or two if it survives reinvention. Where Skyfall had the opportunity to mine a little backstory and emotion (thank you, Ms Dench), Spectre is a full-blown return …
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