By Laurie Coker Rating: A Dev Patel seems an unlikely choice as Charles Dicken’s famous David Copperfield, but director/cowriter (with Simon Blackwell) Armando Iannucci finds gold with his star. Set in first person, we see Copperfield fight for his place in the world as a writer and gentleman. The Personal History of David Copperfield plays… Continue reading THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD
Category: MAIN
TESLA
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Writer/director Michael Almereyda tells the story of Nikola Tesla in a biopic that takes some novel approaches to its visuals and aesthetics, but ultimately struggles to maintain keep its audience engrossed in it. With Ethan Hawke in the plead role, I expected more from this film,… Continue reading TESLA
CHEMICAL HEARTS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the novel Our Chemical Hearts by Krystal Sutherland, this movie adaptation examines the way teenagers respond to different kinds of heartbreak and how this sorrow forces them to take leaps away from naive innocence. It is a subject dealt with in other, nearly countless… Continue reading CHEMICAL HEARTS
TESLA
By Laurie Coker Rating: B- Most hear the name Tesla and think of electric cars or perhaps the Tesla vehicle that Elon Musk launched into space as part of his SpaceX project. Behind the name is story. Ethan Hawke stars as Nikola Tesla, the brilliant inventor who played with electricity, in Tesla, written directed by… Continue reading TESLA
UNHINGED
By Mark Saldana Rating: 2.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Russell Crowe, the person, has been known to lose his temper quite infamously. So, it came as no surprise to me that he was cast in a movie about a furious and deranged villain who victimizes someone who crosses him in an unfavorable situation. Now, to… Continue reading UNHINGED
TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3 (Out of 4 Stars) South Korean director Yeon Sang-ho, who made a huge splash with his zombie flick Train To Busan, is back with a new installment, Peninsula. Yeon actually takes a page out of the career of zombie master George Romero and has created a sequel with different characters… Continue reading TRAIN TO BUSAN PRESENTS: PENINSULA
THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ I love traveling with my grandchildren and together we enjoy listening to audiobooks. On one trip, my granddaughter and I, both huge animal lovers, listened to The One and Only Ivan, the story of a silverback ape raised in captivity. Disney+ brings the book, based on a true story, to… Continue reading THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN
WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) Based on the novel of the same name by Julia Walton, director Thor Freudenthal’s and screenwriter Nick Naveda’s film adaptation offers a mostly moving portrait of a teen struggling with mental illness and the people who love him that are determined to see him persevere. Actor… Continue reading WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS
UNHINGED
By Laurie Coker Rating: B Academy Award winner Russell Crowe graces the screen as an utterly detestable and completely deranged man filled with rage and hatred. Director Derrick Borte with a script written by Carl Ellsworth, delivers an intense, shocking thriller, that speaks to the festering issues that silently plague people until all rationale leaves… Continue reading UNHINGED
SPUTNIK
By Mark Saldana Rating: 3.5 (Out of 4 Stars) From IFC Midnight comes what quite obviously is the Russian counterpart of Ridley Scott’s Alien. And even though that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, it is a plot/concept homaged or blantantly stolen by several other movies. To its benefit, the filmmakers behind Sputnik offer some fresh… Continue reading SPUTNIK