American Hustle — Everyone and Their Angle
From feds to family to crooks and politicians, everyone has and angle – or three — in American Hustle, David O. Russell’s new film that…
Nebraska — Journeying into the Savage Heart of Repetition
Simultaneously melancholic and beautiful, Nebraska explores the dangers of trust.
Lone Survivor — Challenging Man’s Faith in Man
The first five minutes of Lone Survivor feels like an advertisement for the Navy. The film opens with the training of Navy SEALS. With each…
Desolation of Smaug — A Giant, Scaly Carrot
Desolation of Smaug will become the most memorable chapter, but this doesn’t make it any more substantial than the first.
Inside Llewyn Davis — Of and About Timelessness
“It’s new and it never gets old,” Llewyn Davis tells the audience twice in the Coen brothers’ emotionaly powerful new film, Inside Llewyn Davis. Set…
Enough Said — Marriage, Divorce, and its Wake
Enough Said honestly depicts the evolution of marriage, divorce, and the aftermath.
Hours — Tragedy in the Aftermath of Tragedy
Paul Walker’s role in Hours is a departure from the most familiar Brian O’Conner that occupies the various Fast-speckled franchise. As Nolan Hayes, he is…
Blackfish — Toeing the Company Line
First and foremost, Blackfish, the 2013 documentary from Gabriela Cowperthwaite, makes me regret visiting Sea World when I was nine years old. More importantly as a documentary, Blackfish…
Saving Mr. Banks — Mary Poppins and the Wonders of Disney
For a bit, Saving Mr. Banks offers a look at artistic integrity in battle with the Hollywood machine. Around 1961, P.L. Travers (Emma Thompson), author…
12 Years a Slave — The Culture of Ownership
As he does in Shame and Hunger, Steve McQueen pulls no punches in 12 Years a Slave, which is one of the reasons it is…