‘Office Christmas Party’ is More Chaos Less Comedy
I've heard that musicians record Christmas albums because they never stop selling. For one month out of every year, consumers are so enticed by the holidays, they will buy anything to constantly remind them of...
“Allied” is All Lies, and That’s the Truth
Whoever coined the term, "all's fair in love and war," didn't account for the love affair of two wartime spies, which, as you can imagine, complicates things considerably. You've heard of marriage under false pretenses,...
‘Moana’ Makes Waves with Tall Tales
Legends? Check. Destiny? Check. Princess? Not exactly. Moana is a chieftain's daughter, a far more proactive role than princess, which, from what I understand, is primarily comprised of sleeping, waltzing and the careless loss of priceless...
‘Bleed for This’ Rolls with the Punches
A remarkable true story doesn't necessarily make for a remarkable film. In fact, it can almost be a detriment, as it can give a film a fatal sense of responsibility to the source material. The film will...
Wands at the Ready!: ‘Fantastic Beasts’ Packs the Adventure
As the Potter films became more numerous, their wide-eyed whimsicality was dampened by their darker, more "adult" ambitions, thereby losing what made them special in the search to be "important." "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them" returns...
The ‘Doctor’ is in
Studio interference is generally seen as a corrosive force in the making of a film—the moment when the creatives and the suits collide in a superhero showdown of their own. At Marvel Studios, spearheaded by Kevin...
See why “Inferno” is a Hellish Experience
The central philosophical question at the heart of "Inferno" is one we've seen often: would you kill a few to save many? The film raises the stakes to exterminating half the world's population, which would, in...
Count On “The Accountant”
Ben Affleck is Christian Wolff, the accountant in question. He's got a case of high-functioning autism, a sniper rifle that shoots anti-aircraft rounds and the psychological inability to leave a stone unturned. As such, he's the guy you...
“Deepwater Horizon” Explodes Off the Screen
Behind every headline, there are human beings. In what is deemed the "bigger picture"—whether that involves money, political rhetoric or both—these people are often bundled into a two-digit number. And there is, perhaps, no transaction so lopsided as that of...