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: Maggie Carey
Cinematography By: Doug Emmett
Editor: Paul Frank
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Johnny Simmons, Bill Hader, Connie Britton, Rachel Bilson, Donald Glover, Christophe Mintz-Plasse, Scott Porter, Alia Shawkat, Sarah Steele, Clark Gregg, Andy Samberg, Adam Pally, D.C.Pierson, Dominic Dierkes
Feeling pressured to become more sexually experienced before she goes to college, Brandy Klark makes a list of things to accomplish before hitting campus in the fall.
Written & Directed By: Garth Jennings
Cinematography By: Jess Hall
Editor: Dominic Leung
Cast: Bill Milner, Jessica Stevenson, Neil Dudgeon, Will Poulter, Jules Sitruck, Ed Westwick, Asa Butterfield, Edgar Wright
SON OF RAMBOW is the name of the home movie made by two little boys with a big video camera and even bigger ambitions. Set on a long English summer in the early 80’s, SON OF RAMBOW is a comedy about friendship, faith and the tough business of growing up. We see the story through the eyes of Will, the eldest son of a fatherless Plymouth Brethren family. The Brethren regard themselves as God’s ‘chosen ones’ and their strict moral code means that Will has never been allowed to mix with the other ‘worldlies,’ listen to music or watch TV, until he finds himself caught up in the extraordinary world of Lee Carter, the school terror and maker of bizarre home movies. Carter exposes Will to a pirate copy of Rambo: First Blood and from that moment Will’s mind is blown wide open and he’s easily convinced to be the stuntman in Lee Carters’ diabolical home movie. Will’s imaginative little brain is not only given chance to flourish in the world of film making, but is also very handy when it comes to dreaming up elaborate schemes to keep his partnership with Lee Carter a secret from the Brethren community. Will and Carter’s complete disregard for consequences and innocent ambition means that the process of making their film is a glorious rollercoaster that eventually leads to true friendship. They start to make a name for themselves at school as movie makers but when popularity descends on them in the form of the Pied Piper-esque French exchange student, Didier Revol, their unique friendship and their precious film are pushed, quite literally, to breaking point.
Written & Directed By: Lorene Scafaria
Cinematography By: Brett Pawlek
Editor: Kayla M. Emter
Cast: Susan Sarandon, Rose Byrne, J.K. Simmons, Jerrod Carmichael, Cecily Strong, Lucy Punch, Michael McKean, Billy Magnussen, Jason Ritter, Casey Wilson, Megan Echikunwoke, Amy Landecker, Harry Hamlin, Robert Picardo, Shiri Appleby, Laura San Giacomo, Roger Arron Brown, Randall Park, Bill Fagerbakke
An aging widow from New York City follows her daughter to Los Angeles in hopes of starting a new life after her husband passes away.
Directed By: Steve Rash
Written By: Fax Bahr, Adam Small & Shawn Schepps
Story By: Patrick Clifton, Susan McMartin & Peter Lenkov
Cinematography By: Peter Deming
Editor: Dennis M. Hill
Cast: Pauly Shore, Carla Gugino, Lane Smith, Mason Adams, Tiffani Amber-Theissen, Patrick Renna, Cindy Pickett, Dennis Burkley
Country girl Rebecca begins college in Los Angeles. There she meets Crawl, a student who is crazy, unpredictable and wild. During the holidays she brings him with her home. Her parents have never seen anything like him and are shocked when Rebecca tells them that they are engaged to be married. Two different worlds collide…
Directed By: John Lee
Written By: Paul Reubens & Paul Rust
Cinematography By: Tim Orr
Editor: Jeff Buchanan
Cast: Paul Reubens, Alia Shawkat, Richard Riehle, Leo Fitzpatrick, Brad William Henke, Robert R. Schafer, Stephanie Beatriz, Josh Myers, Diane Salinger, Joe Manganiello, David Arquette, Nicole Sullivan, Paul Rust, Lynne Marie Stewart
A fateful meeting with a mysterious stranger inspires Pee-wee Herman to take his first-ever holiday in this epic story of friendship and destiny.
Directed by: Nick Cassevetes
Written By; Melissa Stack
Cinematography By: Robert Fraise
Editor: Jim Flynn & Alan Heim
Cast: Cameron Diaz, Leslie Mann, Nicki Minaj, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Taylor Kinney, Kate Upton, Don Johnson, David Thornton
After discovering her boyfriend is married, Carly Whitten tries to get her ruined life back on track. But when she accidentally meets the wife he’s been cheating on, she realizes they have much in common, and her sworn enemy becomes her greatest friend. When yet another affair is discovered, all three women team up to plot mutual revenge on their cheating, lying, three-timing SOB.
Written & Directed By: Sebastian Silva
Cinematography By: Sergio Armstrong
Editor: Sophia Subercaseaux
Cast: Sebastian Silva, Kristin Wiig, Tunde Adebimpe, Reg E. Cathey, Mark Margolis, Alia Shawkat, Anthony Chilsom, Neal Huff, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Judy Marte
A close-knit trio navigates the idea of creating life, while at the same time being confronted with a brutal scenario that causes them to take a life.
Directed By: Alejandro González Iñárritu
Written By: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolas Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo
Based On The Writings of: Raymond Carver
Cinematography: Emmanuel Lubezki
Editor: Douglas Crise & Stephen Mirrione
Cast: Michael Keaton, Edward Norton, Emma Stone, Amy Ryan, Zach Galifianakis, Andrea Riseborough, Naomi Watts, Lindsay Duncan, Merrit Wever, Damian Young, Paula Pell, Bill Camp, Stephen Adly Gurgis
Riggan Thomas, once known quite well to movie theater goers as an iconic super hero called “The Birdman” had recently turned down a third installment of the franchise. Now washed up, he attempts to reinvent himself as a director by staging a new retelling of a classic Broadway dramatic play called “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”. The events leading up to the Saturday night premiere prove to be one disaster after another as the original lead actor is injured while on set and Riggan scrambles to find a replacement, but the replacement proves to be exactly who he needs – a method actor who takes the job way too seriously. But Riggan has a hard time juggling between the set, his replacement actor, his equally washed up daughter, and a host of other disasters that prevent a proper staging of the play. Meanwhile, a New York Times critic who Riggan has to woo threatens to shut down production of the play before it even starts with a scathing review of the dress rehearsal. Does Riggan have a hit on his hands or will he even make it to opening night?
Continue reading “BIRDMAN OR (THE UNEXPECTED VIRTUE OF IGNORANCE) (2014)”
Directed By: Matthew Vaughn
Written By: Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn
Based on characters from The Graphic Novel “SECRET SERVICE” By: Mark Millar & Dave Gibbons
Cinematography By: George Richmond
Editor: Eddie Hamilton
Cast: Taron Egerton, Mark Strong, Colin Firth, Hanna Alstrom, Channing Tatum, Pablo Pascal, Halle Berry, Julianne Moore, Edward Holcraft, Michael Gambon, Jeff Bridges, Emily Watson, Bruce Greenwood, Sophie Cookson, Poppy Delevigne, Thomas Turgoose
When their headquarters are destroyed and the world is held hostage, the Kingsman’s journey leads them to the discovery of an allied spy organization in the US. These two elite secret organizations must band together to defeat a common enemy.
Directed By: Wes Craven
Written By: Kevin Williamson
Cinematography: Peter Deming
Editor: Patrick Lussier
Cast: Neve Campbell, Jerry O’Connell, Elise Neal, Timothy Olyphant, Jamie Kennedy, David Arquette, Courtney Cox, Rebecca Gayheart, Portia DeRossi, Liev Schrieber, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jada Pinkett, Omar Epps, Duane Martin, David Warner, Luke Wilson, Heather Graham, Tori Spelling, Lewis Arquette, Joshua Jackson, Marisol Nichols
Two years after the events of Scream, Sidney Prescott and Randy are attending Windsor college. They are trying to get on with their lives…Until a new Ghostface killing spree begins. With the help of Dewey and Gale, Sidney must find out who’s behind the murders. As the body count goes up, the list of suspects goes down.
Cut To The Chase 