Javier Bardem

[5] Director Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049, Arrival) takes a stab at delivering Frank Herbert’s dense, complicated science-fiction novel to the big screen. Dune centers around a teenaged royal named Paul Atreides (Call Me By Your Name‘s Timothée Chalamet) whose family is chosen by the galactic emperor to oversee production of the universe’s most valuable substance, the spice melange, on the desert planet Arrakis, nicknamed …

[6] This is a SPOILER REVIEW. Writer/director Darren Aronofsky (Black Swan, Requiem for a Dream) makes a claustrophobic allegory of the Bible’s story of creation, the fall from grace, all the way up through the birth of Jesus and beyond. He does it with Javier Bardem playing God and Jennifer Lawrence playing a hybrid of Mother Earth and the Virgin Mary (or women/mothers in general?) …

[8] It’s so refreshing to watch heroes and villains who are over the age of 40. Skyfall repeatedly suggests that sometimes older is better, and I couldn’t agree more. Daniel Craig’s third turn as James Bond is at least as good as his first, Casino Royale. Javier Bardem makes an excellent villain and we also get to enjoy Judi Dench in a full co-starring role …

[7] Jamie Foxx stars as an L.A. cab driver forced to chauffeur a hitman played by Tom Cruise. Director Michael Mann (Heat, Last of the Mohicans) works from a solid script by Stuart Beattie that balances action and suspense with plenty of great character moments. The film builds nicely, with Foxx’s character instigating a few surprising turns of events. Cruise’s character is the icy, heartless …

[6] Michael Fassbender stars as a lawyer who reaps the whirlwind when he tangles with drug lords in this Ridley Scott film penned by author  Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy’s screenplay will test the patience of many. It contains an abundance of two-person dialogue scenes — one after the other for the entire first half of the film. All the action, tension, and dramatic high points are …