Based upon the graphic novel The Coldest City by Antony Johnston and Sam Hart, Atomic Blonde undergoes a change of title (for the better) and delivers on every level I was praying that it would. Set during the Cold War, the film follows MI6 agent Lorraine Broughton (Charlize Theron) as she endeavors to recover a... Continue Reading →
Original US release date: December 5, 2007 Production budget: $7,500,000 Worldwide gross: $231,411,584 Squeezed out at the end of 2007 in order to be eligible for the 2008 awards season, Juno was a rare example of a small little independent film that caught fire with general audiences and became a bit of a phenomenon at... Continue Reading →
Christopher Nolan has been my favorite director since the one-two punch of Memento and The Prestige. He always brings such intelligence and flair to his stories and I feel like a thought-provoking experience is always guaranteed when he releases a new film. Having said that, I haven't been all that excited for Dunkirk. War films... Continue Reading →
There has been a lot of buzz around the latest film from Luc Besson (The Fifth Element). The trailers and television spots have been eye-dazzling and very encouraging. Based on a French comic book, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets follows the efforts of law-enforcement agents Valerian (Dane Dehaan) and Laureline (Cara Delevingne)... Continue Reading →
Original US release date: May 13, 2011 Production budget: $32,500,000 Worldwide gross: $288,383,523 In May of 2011, director Paul Feig released his new comedy Bridesmaids to the public and turned it into a hit far beyond the level of what anyone had anticipated. Focusing on complex and realistic female characters, Bridesmaids tapped into an underserved audience... Continue Reading →
There are many, many small-budget films that are released in any given year. Most of them are overlooked due to the lack of an advertising budget or are swallowed up by the large-scale blockbusters that monopolize most theaters. And then, on occasion, one breaks through. It strikes a chord with film lovers. Word-of-mouth builds. It... Continue Reading →
Back in 2011, Rupert Wyatt's Rise of the Planet of the Apes surprised the world simply by nature of its quality. Though the Planet of the Apes franchise was once mighty, Tim Burton had attempted to revive it in 2001 to little success. The film was a financial success, but seemingly failed to stir up much... Continue Reading →
Original US release date: August 7, 2015 Production budget: $120,000,000 Worldwide gross: $167,977,596 Well, here we go. I talk a lot about the entitlement of modern audiences - especially those from the comic book fanbase - and no film in recent memory is a better example of that fan entitlement than Josh Trank's 2015 Fantastic Four. ... Continue Reading →
I say without any hint of hyperbole that SPIDER-MAN: HOMECOMING may be the most anticipated film in movie history. For so long, Spider-Man struggled under Sony to find his voice. The Sam Raimi films starring Tobey Maguire were certainly strong, but not exactly the Spider-Man that we had all known and loved since 1962 (or whenever... Continue Reading →
Original US release date: July 19, 2013 Production budget: $20,000,000 Worldwide gross: $318,000,141 Horror movies come and go at a brisk pace. They're cheap enough to produce and popular enough as a genre that it's harder to lose money on them than it is to make a profit. They typically don't break box office records. ... Continue Reading →
The Movie March! 