Forgotten Gem: Catch Me If You Can is looking for home (*****)
It’s a glamorization, but it is a damn good one.
Brightburn (***) could be great, but isn’t
“The ride we’re given by the plot feels like the New York New York roller coaster ride in Las Vegas when it first came out. Harrowing, herky jerky and it feels like it is not completely safe. Did anyone test the ride ahead of time?”
Pitch Perfect 3 (***1/2) is a well deserved victory tour
Pitch Perfect 3 – 2017 Director Trish Sie Screenplay by Kay Cannon, Mark White Starring Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, Hailee Steinfeld, Brittany Snow, Anna Camp, Hana Mae Lee, Alexis Knapp, John Michael Higgins, Elizabeth Banks, Ester Dean, John Lithgow If you […]
The Hunger Games 4, Mockingjay 2 (***) is grim and joyless
So if you are looking for things to blow up, expectant surprises to pop out or just plain misery to abound, you may like this film. If you want the same thing, but you want your daughter to feel like she can be a hero, better stick to The Force Awakens.
Love and Mercy (****) is the song we’ve been waiting for Wilson to sing
Wilson’s life has been a blessed one, it’s plain to those who have noticed. While not without trials, and a constant challenge of maintaining sanity and sobriety, Wilson has felt the warmth of the sun for some time. That the makers of the biopic should choose Love and Mercy as the title to their enterprise is not by accident. Many consider this a minor song in his catalogue, but it is not. The tenderness and simplicity of the song are on full display here, and they manage to make one realize that if it’s not just the genius that so many people appreciate about him. It’s his kindness and his simple message that love should rule the day. Questions of historical accuracy aside, they nail this basic truth.
The Hunger Games 3: Mockingjay 1 (***)
Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part 1 – 2014 Director Francis Lawrence Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Natalie Dormer, Sam Clafin, Jena Malone Screenplay by Danny Strong, Peter […]
The Lego Movie: Applied to our lives like so much Kragl
The Lego Movie – 2014 Directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller Starring (voices) Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman Screenplay Lord and Miller Where the heck did this film come from? They’ve been releasing Lego movies for years straight to DVD, and for some reason, someone got the extremely bright idea to apply talent to the brand and the […]
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (***1/2) more hunger, more games
The Hunger Games: Catching Fire – 2013 Director Francis Lawrence Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Lenny Kravitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeffrey Wright, Stanley Tucci, Sam Claflin, Jena Malone, Donald Sutherland Screenplay Simon Beaufoy, Michael deBruyn based on […]
Cool Papa E’s Favorite Comedy Films of All Time
Live action comedy films are inexpensive to make but they are incredibly hard to master. It’s a generally accepted axiom that there is no generally accepted axiom as to what […]
Movie 43: Do you like this collection of skits?
Movie 43 – 2013 Directors Steven Brill, Peter Farrelly, Will Graham, Steve Carr, Griffin Dunne, James Duffy, Jonathan van Tulleken, Elizabeth Banks, Patrik Forsberg, Brett Ratner, Rusty Cundieff, James Gunn, Bob […]
People Like Us is not quite like us, but it is getting there.
People Like Us – 2012 Director Alex Kurtzman Starring Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Olivia Wilde, Michelle Pfeiffer, Jon Favreau, Philip Baker Hall, Michael Hall D’Addario, Mark Duplass Screenplay Roberto Orci, Bobby Cohen, Clayton Townshend […]
The Hunger Games does the novel justice
The Hunger Games – 2012 Director Gary Ross Starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Wes Bentley, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Lenny Kravitz, Toby Jones, Paula Malcomson, Willow […]
Man On A Ledge is teetering on the edge of watchability
Man on a Ledge – 2012 Directed by Asger Leth Starring Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Anthony Mackie, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell, Génesis Rodríguez, Edward Burns, Titus Welliver, Kyra Sedgewick, William Sadler Screenplay […]
Our Idiot Brother is a younger, dippier Dude.
Our Idiot Brother – 2011 Directed by Jesse Peretz Starring Paul Rudd, Zooey Deschanel, Emily Mortimer, Elizabeth Banks, Adam Scott, Kathryn Hahn, Rashida Jones, Hugh Dancy, Steve Coogan, T.J. Miller, Shirley […]
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 