Month: October 2017
Thank You For Your Service: The battle’s just begun
by Matt Ward
When war ends, new battles begin for soldiers returning home from combat. Quite often the things they’ve seen, the experiences they’ve had fundamentally change who they are as a person and their ability to relate to those loved ones who never served. These struggles strike at the core of writer/director Jason Hall’s “Thank You For Your Service,” a military drama based on real events … Read More Thank You For Your Service: The battle’s just begun
Victoria and Abdul: Long live the queen
by Matt Ward
Give Dame Judi Dench a role in your movie and good things are going to happen. Make her royalty and your film is bound to shine no matter how average and uneven the script might be. Such is the case with “Victoria and Abdul,” the latest film from British director Stephen Frears. Based on the book of the same name from Shrabani Basu, “Victoria … Read More Victoria and Abdul: Long live the queen
Stronger: What defines a man
by Matt Ward
Jeff Bauman is more than a photograph, more than just a symbol of strength during a harrowing moment in American history. In a now iconic picture, Bauman is shown being carried to safety by a stranger in a cowboy hat following a terrorist attack at the 2013 Boston Marathon. His journey before and after a homemade bomb took his legs and ripped his life … Read More Stronger: What defines a man
Blade Runner 2049: Beautiful complexity
by Matt Ward
Prestige cinema comes at a price. For some, the nearly two-hour and 45-minute science fiction epic “Blade Runner 2049” is a masterpiece of dynamic, visually stunning moviemaking from French Canadian auteur Denis Villeneuve. And yet other moviegoers will find the Ryan Gosling sequel to the 1982 Harrison Ford cult classic excessive, boring or outright stupid. What “Blade Runner 2049” does best is help define … Read More Blade Runner 2049: Beautiful complexity
Battle Of The Sexes: Evening the playing field
by Matt Ward
Billie Jean King’s infamous tennis match with aging trash talker Bobby Riggs takes a back seat to private, personal moments in the new biopic “Battle of the Sexes.” While the film makes its mark with the 1973 King/Riggs showdown at the Houston Astrodome, viewers rarely see the two on screen together as directors Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris meander through King’s love life and … Read More Battle Of The Sexes: Evening the playing field
Cinematic Considerations 