Focus on Film & Television Reviews and writings about these subjects. As well as Pop Culture at times. With a bit of an edge and some color
Written & Directed By: Sam Levinson
Cinematography By: Marcell Rev
Editor: Ron Patane
Cast: Odessa Young, Joel McHale, Hari Nef, Abra, Suki Waterhouse, Colman Domingo, Maude Apatow, Bella Thorne, Anika Noni Rose, Kathryn Erbe, Bill Skarsgard, Danny Ramirez, Cody Christian, Jennifer Morrison
After a malicious data hack exposes the secrets of the perpetually American town of Salem, chaos decends and four girls must fight to survive, while coping with the hack themselves.
Directed By: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck
Written By: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet
Story By: Nicole Perlman, Meg LaFeuve, Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck & Geneva Robertson-Dworet Cinematography: Ben Davis
Editor: Debbie Berman & Elliot Graham
Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Ben Mendelsohn, Annette Bening, Jude Law, Lashana Lynch, Clark Gregg, Lee Pace, Gemma Chan, Dijmon Hounsou
Carol Danvers becomes one of the universe’s most powerful heroes when Earth is caught in the middle of a galactic war between two alien races.
More like a comic book movie where it seems made more for younger kids and girls in particular to give them a hero to call their own to admire and inspire. That gives off a positive message.
Directed By: Travis Knight
Story & Written By: Christina Hodson
Cinematography: Enrique Chediak
Editor: Paul Rubell
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, John Cena, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Pamela Adlon, Jason Drucker, Stephen Schneider,John Ortiz, Glynn Turman, Len Cariou, Fred Dryer, Megyn Price
On the run in the year 1987, Bumblebee finds refuge in a junkyard in a small Californian beach town. Charlie, on the cusp of turning 18 and trying to find her place in the world, discovers Bumblebee, battle-scarred and broken. When Charlie revives him, she quickly learns this is no ordinary, yellow VW bug.
Directed By: Josh Trank
Written By: Jeremy Slater, Simon Kinberg & Josh Trank
Based on the original Marvel Comic Book By: Stan Lee & Jack Kirby
Cinematography: Matthew Jensen
Editor: Elliot Greenberg & Stephen Rivkin
Music By: Marco Beltrami & Philip Glass
Cast: Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, Reg E Cathey, Toby Kebbell, Tim Blake Nelson, Dan Castellaneta, Chet Hanks, Tim Heidecker
FANTASTIC FOUR, a contemporary re-imagining of Marvel’s original and longest-running superhero team, centers on four young outsiders who teleport to an alternate and dangerous universe, which alters their physical form in shocking ways. Their lives irrevocably upended, the team must learn to harness their daunting new abilities and work together to save Earth from a former friend turned enemy.
Directed By: Tim Burton
Written By: Scott Alexander & Larry Karaszewski
Cinematography By: Bruno Delbonnel
Editor: JC Bond
Music By: Danny Elfman
Cast: Amy Adams, Christoph Waltz, Jason Schwartzman, Danny Huston, Krysten Ritter Terrence Stamp, Jon Polito, Madeline Arthur
In San Francisco in the 1950s, Margaret was a woman trying to make it on her own after leaving her husband with only her daughter and her paintings. She meets gregarious ladies’ man and fellow painter Walter Keane in a park while she was struggling to make an impact with her drawings of children with big eyes. The two quickly become a pair with outgoing Walter selling their paintings and quiet Margaret holed up at home painting even more children with big eyes. But Walter’s actually selling her paintings as his own. A clash of financial success and critical failure soon sends Margaret reeling in her life of lies. With Walter still living the high life, Margaret’s going to have to try making it on her own again and re-claiming her name and her paintings.
Directed By: William Friedkin
Written By: Tracy Letts (Based On His Play)
Cinematography By: Caleb Deschanel
Editor: Darrin Navarro
Cast: Matthew McConaughey, Emile Hirsch, Thomas Haden Church, Gina Gershon, Juno Temple, Marc Macauley
Finding himself in considerable debt, Chris a Texan drug dealer, decides the only solution is to murder his mother to collect the insurance money. Getting together with his father, the ex-husband of Chris’ mother, they decide to hire Joe Cooper a contract killer, who also happens to be a police detective. The plan is that the money will go to Chris’ sister Dottie. However due to the size of the contract fee, Chris agrees that Joe can take Dottie as a retainer until the insurance comes through.
Written & Directed By: Christopher McQuarrie
Story By: Christopher McQuarrie & Drew Pearce
Cinematography By: Robert Elswit
Editor: Eddie Hamilton
Cast: Tom Crusie, Rebecca Ferguson, Simon Pegg, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris, Jeremy Renner, Alec Baldwin, Tom Hollander, America Olivio
CIA chief Hunley convinces a Senate committee to disband the IMF (Impossible Mission Force), of which Ethan Hunt is a key member. Hunley argues that the IMF is too reckless. Now on his own, Hunt goes after a shadowy and deadly rogue organization called the Syndicate.
Written & Directed By: Michael R. Roskam
Cinematography By: Nicolas Karakatsanis
Editor: Alain Dessauvage
Cast: Matthias Schoenaerts, Jeroen Perceval, Jeanne Dandoy, Barbara Sarafin, Tibo Vandenborre, Frank Lamers
*Please note that some trivia and facts have been republished from imdb among other sources In this review
Directed By: Sacha Gervasi
Written By: John J. McLaughlin
Based On The Book “ALFRED HITCHCOCK AND THE MAKING OF PSYCHO”: Stephen Rebello
Cinematography By: Jeff Cronenweth
Editor: Pamela Martin
Music By: Danny Elfman
Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Helen Mirren, Jessica Biel, Scarlett Johansson, Danny Huston, Toni Colette, Michael Stuhlbarg, Michael Wincott, James D’Arcy, Richard Portnow, Kurtwood Smith, Wallace Langham, Ralph Macchio
In 1959, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife, Alma, are at the top of their creative game as filmmakers amid disquieting insinuations about it being time to retire. To recapture his youth’s artistic daring, Alfred decides his next film will adapt the lurid horror novel, Psycho, over everyone’s misgivings. Unfortunately, as Alfred self-finances and labors on this film, Alma finally loses patience with his roving eye and controlling habits with his actresses. When an ambitious friend lures her to collaborate on a work of their own, the resulting marital tension colors Alfred’s work even as the novel’s inspiration haunts his dreams.
Written, Directed & Edited By: Xavier Dolan
Cinematography By: Andre Turpin
Cast: Annie Dorval, Suzanne Clement, Antoine-Oliver Pilon, Patrick Huard
Cut To The Chase 