[7] Fritz Lang (Metropolis, M) directs this adaptation of Graham Greene’s novel about a British man (Ray Milland) recently released from an insane asylum who gets caught up in a Nazi attempt to smuggle sensitive information out of England during World War II. Lang brings a lot of style and paranoia to the film, particularly in two strong opening sequences. The first begets a mystery …
[6] Cary Grant and Claude Rains star as British officers whose paths cross time and again on the Eastern front of World War I. The two become friends after Rains saves Grant from Kurdish raiders. Grant then goes on to help Rains move a village to safety and prevent a sneak attack on British troops. The friends part for much of the second act, during …
[6] Kate Winslet and Idris Elba star as survivors of a small plane crash who must brave snowy mountain terrain and try to stay alive long enough to find help. I was in the mood for a survival flick when I settled in for The Mountain Between Us, but the film barely delivers the goods on that mark. No, it’s very much a romance movie. …
[7] A college freshman pledges at his brother’s fraternity, but the hazing rituals trigger post-traumatic stress from an assault and robbery incident that happened the spring before. Ben Schnetzer (from the upcoming Y – The Last Man TV series) plays the lead role, while Nick Jonas plays his brother. Jonas’ character is at first excited to have his brother join him at the frat house, …
[6] Maggie Smith headlines this true story adapted from a stage play by Alan Bennett, about a homeless woman who parks her van in a single, gay man’s driveway and stays for fifteen years. Smith reliably carries the film, but The Lady in the Van misses a lot of opportunities to deepen its characters. A mystery is set up around Smith’s character, but instead of …
[7] Two high school relay racers (Gijs Blom and Ko Zandvliet) develop a same-sex attraction, but one of the boys is afraid to make their relationship public. This Dutch drama/romance features a likable, competent cast and is shot in several beautiful locations around the Netherlands. As a ‘coming out’ story, it doesn’t break the mold in the slightest, but director Mischa Kamp does a fine …
[8] Joaquin Phoenix stars in writer/director Spike Jonze’s sci-fi romance about a divorced man who falls in love with a computer operating system. Her takes place in a not-so-distant future in which society has become increasingly reliant on technology to fulfill our emotional needs. Phoenix’s operating system, named Samantha and voiced by Scarlett Johansson, is constantly evolving. Like a human being, she learns from trial …
[8] A six-year-old girl lives on a small island called “The Bathtub” in Louisiana, where she lives in squalor with her dying, tough-love father until flooding drives them into their makeshift boat to find food and stable shelter. They band together with other survivors and try to avoid government agencies who want them to vacate “The Bathtub” and submit to medical treatment at shelters on …
[7] Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire) directs this family drama/comedy about a widower, played by Matt Damon, who buys a rural home that comes with a rundown zoo. Damon and his two young children help the ragtag team of zoo keepers, led by Scarlett Johansson, to bring the zoo up to code so that it can re-open to the public — and along the …
[7] Visionary director Julie Taymor (Titus, Across the Universe) brings Shakespeare’s The Tempest to the big screen, with the lead role of Prospero played not by a man, as per tradition, but by Helen Mirren. Mirren’s Prospera is raising her daughter (Felicity Jones) on a barren, mystical island where she can practice the magic that got her banished from society. The film opens with Prospera …
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