By Laurie Coker Rating: A I’ve said in again and again. A perfectly preformed character-driven film trumps most other films. Rich, well-imagined characters are what make What Maisie Knew a beautiful film. While I am familiar with author Henry James, I knew nothing about the movie before seeing it, except that I had seen a… Continue reading Review: What Maisie Knew
Author: Laurie Coker
Review: THE LONE RANGER
By Laurie Coker Rating: C+/B- “Hi-Yo, Silver away!” Leaping on to screens for a long 149 minutes of run time, The Lone Ranger, starring Armie Hammer and Johnny Depp, annoys as much as it unabashedly entertains. For year, in my youth (in reruns and in black and white), The Lone Ranger and Tonto fought crime… Continue reading Review: THE LONE RANGER
Review: DESPICABLE ME 2
By Laurie Coker Rating: B There are simply still not enough kid and adult friendly films out there for my taste. As a grandmother, I am constantly working to find creative and engaging ways to entertain my favorite little people. As my youngest grandchild nears the two and a half year mark, she’s actually getting… Continue reading Review: DESPICABLE ME 2
Review: WHITE HOUSE DOWN
By Laurie Coker Rating: C- After the horribly disappointing Olympus Falling, the idea of seeing White House Down, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Foxx and a host of others, didn’t appeal to me. Along with two super-power headliners, director Roland Emmerich, as he is known to do, overloads his film with explosions, bullets, bad guys and… Continue reading Review: WHITE HOUSE DOWN
Own The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Blu-ray Combo Pack on Tuesday June 25th
By Laurie Coker Rating: B- On opening night of SXSW 2013, I had to choose between the The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, the “big headliner” film at the Paramount and the promise of seeing Steve Carrell, Steve Buscemi, Olivia Wilde and Jim Carey, or an short outing over to a smaller SXSW venue for a screening… Continue reading Own The Incredible Burt Wonderstone Blu-ray Combo Pack on Tuesday June 25th
Review: WORLD WAR Z
By Laurie Coker Rating B+ Admittedly, when I first saw a trailer for Brad Pitt’s new film World War Z, I was skeptical at best, worried this might be Pitt’s equivalent to Water World. Since zombie films don’t top my list, Pitt’s newest movie had at least two strikes against it, before I even entered… Continue reading Review: WORLD WAR Z
News: James Gandolfini, ‘The Sopranos’ Star, Dead at 51
The actor best known for playing mob boss Tony Soprano on HBO’s The Sopranos, died a the age of 51 while on vacation in Italy. He is survived by his wife, their eight-month-old daughter and a son from a previous marriage. There are conflicting reports surrounding circumstances of this death, but speculation leans toward stroke… Continue reading News: James Gandolfini, ‘The Sopranos’ Star, Dead at 51
Own Jack the Giant Slayer on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download – June 18th
By Laurie Coker Rated: B- Available June 18 on DVD, Blu-ray combo pack and digital download, Jack the Giant Slayer is perfect for those who love their classic literature to leap from the pages in a colossal way. Brought to audiences by the Warner Brothers team, Jack the Giant Slayer tells the epic tale of… Continue reading Own Jack the Giant Slayer on Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital Download – June 18th
Review: THE EAST
By Laurie Coker Rating: B- Before SXSW 2013, embarrassingly, I knew little about Alexander Skarsgård although I got a crash course from a friend, who follows the actor on television’s True Blood. Skarsgård, Ellen Page and Brit Marling star in The East, a film delving into the inner workings of a group bent on stopping… Continue reading Review: THE EAST
Review: THE PURGE
By Laurie Coker Rating: C- Since I have grown to dislike the typical verbal diarrhea of Vince Vaughn, when given a choice, I opted to see Ethan Hawke in the violent thriller The Purge instead, a genre that I usually pass off to a different critic. Director James DeMonaco offers plenty of thrills, suspense and… Continue reading Review: THE PURGE