Author: Laurie Coker

By Laurie Coker Rating: C+ Dark and gloomy describes not only the characters of screenwriter/director Jason Reitman’s new film Labor Day; it also expresses tone of every moment in the story. Passionate performances from first class actors, perhaps one of the best of Brolin’s career, kept me engrossed in the tale, but little is new… Continue reading Review: LABOR DAY

By Laurie Coker Rating: C- At least three different actors have played Tom Clancy’s famed action hero Jack Ryan, and in the latest adaptation, Chris Pine (Star Trek) plays the title character. Admittedly, I don’t read Clancy novels. Pines, Ryan has all the good looks and muscle power necessary to play Ryan, but Clancy’s story,… Continue reading Review: JACK RYAN: SHADOW RECRUIT

By Laurie Coker Rating: A With pure unadulterated decadence, debauchery and depravity – from poverty to Wall Street and on to sleaze Street – Jordan Belfort did it all and Martin Scorsese’s darkly comedic telling of Belfort’s rags to riches story, by way of penny stocks, drugs and carousing, is perhaps one of the best… Continue reading Review: THE WOLF OF WALL STREET

By Savannah Wood Rating: B+ On the wake of American Hustle’s seven Golden Globe nominations and widespread critical acclaim, I went into the theater with high expectations. Certainly I enjoyed myself over the course of the almost two and a half hour-long film, but when it was over I wasn’t left with the buzzing positivity… Continue reading Review: AMERICAN HUSTLE

By Laurie Coker Rating: A- Over the last few days, we have all felt a bit frozen, and what better thing to do than head to the theatre for Disney’s new animated feature, Frozen, starring the voice talent of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Josh Gad, Jonathan Groff and Alan Tudyk. While not a Christmas movie,… Continue reading Review: FROZEN

By Laurie Coker Rating: A- I realize it’s completely cliché to say this, but Dame Judi Dench could read a phone book and people would listen. Ms. Dench’s remarkable, venerable performance and the screenplay, adapted by her co-star Steve Coogan and Jeff Pope from Martin Sixsmith’s 2009 nonfiction book, The Lost Child of Philomena Lee makes every… Continue reading Review: PHILOMENA

By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ If ever a franchised relied on a key actor and his or her portrayal of the story’s protagonist, Jennifer Lawrence is to The Hunger Games, what Daniel Radcliff is to Harry Potter. Her embodiment of Katniss Everdeen in the series’ latest installment captivates more even than any of the film’s… Continue reading Review: THE HUNGER GAMES: CATCHING FIRE