Release: Friday, March 6, 2020 →Theater Written by: Brad Ingelsby Directed by: Gavin O'Connor Jack Cunningham (Ben Affleck) had a future in basketball beyond high school. Probably beyond college. Once the pride of Bishop Hayes High in the 1990s, he led his team to more victories and championships in his four years than the many iterations managed in … Continue reading The Way Back
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The Infiltrator
Release: Wednesday, July 13, 2016 [Theater] Written by: Ellen Brown Furman Directed by: Brad Furman Brad Furman wasn't looking to infiltrate more elite groups of directors who had earlier tackled the gritty but ever fascinating subject of the drug trafficking epidemic in America when he paired up with Bryan Cranston. That much is clear just based on the relative nonchalance … Continue reading The Infiltrator
The Lady in the Van
Release: Friday, December 4, 2015 (limited) [Theater] Written by: Alan Bennett Directed by: Nicholas Hytner The Lady in the Van is really good if you like watching movies about the elderly, the homeless and the incontinent. (Spoiler alert: I don't mind them.) Maggie Smith, who is the lady in the van, is a real piece of work in … Continue reading The Lady in the Van
The Night Before
Release: Friday, November 20, 2015 [Theater] Written by: Jonathan Levine; Kyle Hunter; Ariel Shaffir; Evan Goldberg Directed by: Jonathan Levine I was enjoying, for the most part, the latest incarnation of the Seth Rogen and Friends Show, finding myself more than a little amused by their storming of New York City in an effort to live it … Continue reading The Night Before
Creep
Release: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 [Netflix] Written by: Patrick Brice; Mark Duplass Directed by: Patrick Brice Creep is Brice's directorial debut, pairing the writer-director with master of strange Mark Duplass of mostly independent film fame. As with his sophomore effort The Overnight the less I mumble on, the higher Creep's potential to surprise becomes. And if I'm not just … Continue reading Creep
The Voices
Release: Friday, February 6, 2015 [Redbox] Written by: Michael R. Perry Directed by: Marjane Satrapi I always knew cats were inherently evil. What with their pawing and purring and hairballs and general infatuation with chasing their own tails. Is evil the right word? In this case, yes . . . yes it is; cats take on an entirely darker … Continue reading The Voices
It Follows
Release: Friday, March 13, 2015 [Theater] Written by: David Robert Mitchell Directed by: David Robert Mitchell Subtly unsettling and certainly spooky the unseen, inexplicable threat at the heart of It Follows is not likely to strike you right away, but if you let it that paranoid feeling will eventually find you. David Robert Mitchell has come up with a … Continue reading It Follows
McFarland USA
Release: Friday, February 20, 2015 [Theater] Written by: Christopher Cleveland; Bettina Gilois; Grant Thompson Directed by: Niki Caro Is this the part where I openly admit to becoming teary-eyed watching a Disney film? Or is that just way too honest? . . . . . hello . . . ? Guys . . . . . . ? Ah … Continue reading McFarland USA
Cheap Thrills
Release: Friday, March 21, 2014 (limited) [Netflix] Written by: David Chirchirillo; Trent Haaga Directed by: E.L. Katz There are some things money can't buy. As Cheap Thrills goes to show, confidence, self-respect, and social acceptance apparently aren't among those things. Here is a movie that invites the viewer to bare witness to something of a moral dilemma: watching a man … Continue reading Cheap Thrills
Whiplash
Release: Friday, October 10, 2014 (limited) [Theater] Written by: Damien Chazelle Directed by: Damien Chazelle I know that Terence Fletcher wouldn't give a rat's you-know-what about any kind of critique of his performance or his teaching methods. So we'll keep this between us, okay? I don't want a chair thrown at me, thank you very much. In this surprisingly … Continue reading Whiplash