A Most Wanted Man **** Short Take: When a half-Chechen, half-Russian man with terrorist ties turns up in Hamburg with a claim to his father’s ill-gotten gains, German and U.S. intelligence agencies take notice. REEL TAKE: Based on John le Carre’s 2008 best-selling novel by the same name, A MostContinue Reading
22 Jump Street **** Short Take: Our 21 Jump Street loveable lunkheads, officers Schmidt and Jenko, go undercover at college. Reel Take: After seeing The Immigrant and The Rover, both of which are relentlessly grim, I was definitely in the right frame of mind for 22 Jump Street. At pressContinue Reading
Belle ***** Short Take: Virtually perfect historical drama on the life of Dido Elizabeth Belle, an 18th century woman of mixed race who was raised as an English aristocrat. Reel Take: We are not even halfway through 2014 and already I have 3 films that will currently go on myContinue Reading
Captain America: The Winter Soldier **** Short Take: A surprisingly serious minded action flick that recalls the paranoid political thrillers of the 1970s. REEL TAKE: I was not looking forward to seeing Captain America: The Winter Soldier based on the previews but, having seen the first film in the seriesContinue Reading
Divergent ***1/2 Short Take: Overlong Hunger Games knockoff has its good points including a nice turn from Kate Winslet as the principal villainess. Reel Take: Yet another installment in the Young Adult book trilogy to film version saga has a few things going for it. It’s clearly designed as aContinue Reading
The Great Beauty (La Grande Bellezza) ***1/2 Short Take: An exquisitely filmed but overlong and very confusing look back at an Italian writer’s life on the occasion of his 65th birthday. Reel Take: There’s lots of Oscar buzz surrounding La Grande Bellezza (The Great Beauty) as the entry to beatContinue Reading
August: Osage County **** Short Take: A dysfunctional family reunites and ignites. REEL TAKE: If you think your family has problems, you’ll feel much better, by comparison, after watching August: Osage County. Actor, screenwriter and playwright, Tracy Letts, is no stranger to the ugly underbelly of life (Killer Joe). SoContinue Reading
American Hustle ****1/2 Short Take: A smart, entertaining con job with a glossy 70’s veneer and solid gold soundtrack. REEL TAKE: Fresh off the shining success of Silver Linings Playbook, David O. Russell delivers another goodie that’s bound to warm critic’s hearts and deliver box office gold (lamé that is!).Continue Reading
12 Years a Slave ***** Short Take: The fact-based story of Solomon Northrup, a free black man living in upstate New York in 1841, who was duped by a business proposition and sold into slavery. REEL TAKE: Based on the writings of Solomon Northrup, 12 Years a Slave tells Northrup’sContinue Reading
