Category: Review

  • Suffragette

    Suffragette

    Winston Churchill said “History is written by the victors” and while this is true, I will add “especially if the victors are white, educated, land-owning men.” Rarely are the mainstream historical accounts told by the victors, should they be women or people of a racial minority. While the story of Suffragette wasn’t entirely historical, I…

  • Batman v Superman

    Batman v Superman

    I swear there was a period in the middle of the movie where no one talked for like 30 minutes. There was just a series of barely-cohesive shots of people looking intensely at things. And maybe that’s a good wrap-up of how you’ll feel watching 2-1/2 hours of Batman and Superman versing various things. Let…

  • Risen

    Risen

    Most Easter seasons of the last decade, Hollywood has given those of the Christian faith a movie or TV special/series with a biblical theme — the more money to make. This year there are actually two, Risen and The Young Messiah. And I suppose you could also count Miracles from Heaven in that group, although…

  • 10 Cloverfield Lane

    10 Cloverfield Lane

    Is Cloverfield 2: The Clovering a true sequel? Is it part of a broader, under-the-radar, Twilight Zone-style anthology from the mind of J.J. Abrams? Is it a character-driven thriller with a monster movie tacked on? The answer to all three questions is a strong “maybe.” But it’s safe to say if you like thrillers you…

  • The Maze Runner

    The Maze Runner

    I pretty quickly decided this wasn’t my type of movie thanks to the trailer – a bunch of teenage boys stuck in some kind of maze getting mauled by sci-fi machines. Written by James Dashner, The Maze Runner is a novel initially published in 2009 and developed into a movie in 2014 by 20th Century…

  • Watch on the Rhine

    Watch on the Rhine

    “In the first week of April 1940 there were few men in the world who could have believed that, in less than three months, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Holland and France would fall to the German invaders. But there were some men, ordinary men, not prophets, who knew this mighty tragedy was on the way. They…

  • Hail, Caesar!

    Hail, Caesar!

    This month’s podcast is all about the Coen Brothers. Hail, Caesar! is the latest offering from the eccentric duo. Join Jon and Tim as they discuss their favorite Coen Bros. movies, the sacredness of film, and the magic of Hollywood past.

  • The Big Short

    The Big Short

    When I was a young engineer (my first career) I worked in rented office space on the second floor above a small brokerage with the usual stock ticker on the wall and people standing and watching if their stocks were going up or down. As I walked past the glass windows on the way to…

  • When Marnie Was There

    When Marnie Was There

    In 2014 the world got a little less interesting with the retirement of one of the greatest directors of the moving picture. Animation’s greatest auteur, Hayao Miyazaki, announced he was stepping down from his visionary and meticulous work at Studio Ghibli. With its final production, 2016 Oscar-nominated When Marnie Was There, Ghibli hit the pause…

  • Gone Girl

    Gone Girl

    If you’re into a psychological thriller of the kind to make Hitchcock happy, then consider Gone Girl for a cold, late winter’s night film. A chill and a thrill. The thrill is in following the character development of characters who are more mysterious (even to themselves) than may meet the eye. Mysteries within mysteries. The…