Considering its high box office and favorable reviews, a sequel to 2013's The Conjuring always had a feeling of inevitability. This year's unimaginatively titled The Conjuring 2 fulfills this possibility, reuniting director James Wan, stars Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, and screenwriters Chad and Carey Hayes in the process. Working together, this team offers up…Read more Film Review: The Conjuring 2 (2016)
2010s Reviews
Film Review: The Intern (2015)
I want to preface this review with a simple declaration: The Intern, Robert De Niro's big film from 2015, is not a travesty. This isn't a Dirty Grandpa, nor is it a Heist, Killing Season or The Big Wedding. Instead, The Intern is probably closest to De Niro's 2009 vehicle, Everybody's Fine. Like that earlier…Read more Film Review: The Intern (2015)
Film Review: In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
"The story of the Essex is the story of two men," we are told early in Ron Howard's latest film, the maritime adventure yarn, In the Heart of the Sea. It is a disingenuous statement however. While the film does grapple with important themes and contains a thrilling moment or two, it lacks well-written characters - male or female.…Read more Film Review: In the Heart of the Sea (2015)
Film Review: 13 Hours – The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
Does Michael Bay have a spiritual side? There are glimmers of it found in his new film, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi, particularly when a bearded grunt named Boon (played by The Office's David Denman) begins reading aloud from Joseph Campbell's book, The Power of Myth. However, for the most part Bay's take…Read more Film Review: 13 Hours – The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi (2016)
Film Review: American Ultra (2015)
The cover art of the American Ultra BluRay depicts stars Jesse Eisenberg and Kristen Stewart walking coolly away from an apocalyptic explosion. With the fiery inferno raging behind them, they strut with a sort of casual abandon. Eisenberg has a pair of aviator sunglasses on, despite it clearly being night. Stewart carries a shotgun, but…Read more Film Review: American Ultra (2015)
Film Review: Steve Jobs (2015)
"I'm going to put a 1000 songs in your pocket." When Michael Fassbender's titular character utters this line late into the running time of Steve Jobs it takes you a second to register what he's talking about. When you do however you don't feel or think anything substantial. There is no marveling at the man's…Read more Film Review: Steve Jobs (2015)
Film Review: Spectre (2015)
"I don't know," James Bond says at one point in Spectre, when asked what would happen if he stopped to think about the reality of his violent life. This scene cuts to thematic core of Daniel Craig's Bond era. It is also, however, a moment you've seen before, specifically in Craig's first go-round as the…Read more Film Review: Spectre (2015)
Film Review: Sicario (2015)
The lauded drug war film Sicario, produced by the semi-visionary director Dennis Villeneuve (Prisoners, Enemy), is a good movie, just not a great one. Expertly shot, the film functions as a thrilling narco-crime drama, elevated (occasionally) into something operatic by commanding performances and palpable mood-building. Like Villeneuve's earlier films, the world of Sicario is a…Read more Film Review: Sicario (2015)
Film Review: The Age of Adaline (2015)
Now available of DVD and BluRay, The Age of Adaline is a film that feels like it should mean more. Telling the story of a woman named Adaline (Blake Lively) who one day mysteriously stops aging, the film is the type of high concept epic that is rarely made, (unless you’re David Fincher and you…Read more Film Review: The Age of Adaline (2015)
Film Review : Ex Machina (2015)
Audacious, powerfully acted and thematically rich, Ex Machina is easily one of the best films of the year. Simultaneously eerie and funny, entertaining and esoteric, and featuring what is sure to be one of the year's great villainous performances from Oscar Issac, Ex Machina is a film destined to linger in the cultural imagination. It…Read more Film Review : Ex Machina (2015)
Adam Mohrbacher 