Category: CPE
-
Fifty Shades of Grey (***) attempts to level the playing field
Fifty Shades of Grey – 2015 Director Sam Taylor-Johnson Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Jennifer Ehle, Eloise Mumford, Victor Rasuk, Luke Grimes, Rita Ora, Max Martini, Callum Keith Rennie, Andrew Airlie, Dylan Neal, Marcia Gay Harden Screenplay Kelly Marcel based on the book by E.L. James After so many words stated both pro and con about the worthiness and value of this romance story disguised as a sex movie,…
-
Oujia (**1/2): You made her play the game and now she’s dead
Ouija – 2014 Director Stiles White Starring Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, Bianca A. Santos, Lin Shaye, Shelley Hennig Screenplay Juliet Snowden and White For an actress that has been in so many Farrelly Brothers films, Lin Shaye is something of a staple in horror. In fact, she is to horror what Leslie Nielsen was to comedy. In this…
-
A Most Violent Year (****1/2) is a good story excellently told
A Most Violent Year – 2014 Written and Directed by J.C. Chandor Starring Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo, Alessandro Nivola, Albert Brooks A Most Violent Year is a fascinatingly simple story that underlines the strength of a man and all the things that contribute and detract from it. Oscar Isaac is Abel Morales, the owner of the small but thriving…
-
Fury (***1/2) Rolls over familiar ground
Fury – 2014 Written and Directed by David Ayer Starring Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña, Jon Bernthal, Jason Isaacs, Scott Eastwood How to get a coward to fight late in the last days before VE Day? This is the question that Fury spends its time trying to answer. Pvt. Norman “Machine” Ellison (Lerman) is a young man with a “conscience” who…
-
The Pyramid (*1/2) Kill the light
The Pyramid – 2014 Director Grégory Levasseur Starring Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O’Hare, James Buckley, Daniel Amerman, Christa Nicola Screenplay Daniel Meersand, Nick Simon I think it’s the part where one guy holds the head of a girl who has been impaled and asks her “Is that better?” This is the moment of truth. Another 89 minutes down the drain. The very next…
-
I Don’t Have A Vote: The 87th Annual Oscars -We fall for gimmicks
The 87th Annual Oscars – We fall for gimmicks! Every year we see a film or two that is the favorite (and one usually wins) the Oscar for best picture, and this year is no different. It is no surprise that the two films popping and whirring most, Birdman and Boyhood are roundly considered to…
-
Boyhood (***1/2): Life doesn’t give you bumpers
Boyhood – 2014 Written and Directed by Richard Linklater Starring Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Marco Pella After having endured almost 3 hours of Richard Linklater’s passion project of 12 or so years, it is hard to come to any sort of conclusion. Was it a triumph of the artistic spirit? Is it a wasted opportunity of…
-
The Theory of Everything (****1/2) is a sweet tale about what love can create
The Theory of Everything – 2014 Director James Marsh Starring Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Charlie Cox, Emily Watson, Simon McBurney, David Thewlis Screenplay by Anthony McCarten based on the book Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Stephen by Jane Wilde Hawking To see The Theory of Everything is to see glimpses of brilliance, and the kind-hearted woman he loves. We…
-
The Imitation Game (***1/2) nice to know how we won
The Imitation Game – 2014 Director Morten Tyldum Starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Charles Dance, Mark Strong, Allen Leech Screenplay by Graham Moore based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Adrew Hodges So many of these films come out that are based on real human events. Problem is, no one has the courage to tell the entire…
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 