Category: New Releases
Race: Inspirational biopic runs around in circles
by Matt Ward
There’s a terrific film out there somewhere about African-American sprinter Jesse Owens, who overcame racial prejudice in both America and Nazi Germany on his way to Olympic gold. Owens, a pioneer in the world of track and field as much for his courage and perseverance off the track as his athletic accomplishments, is a more than worthy candidate to be honored with a feature … Read More Race: Inspirational biopic runs around in circles
Eddie the Eagle: Fun, light-hearted biopic worth checking out
by Matt Ward
Odds are pretty good you had never heard of Michael “Eddie” Edwards this time a year ago. Edwards, a British man and unlikely Olympian, overcame adversity to compete as a ski jumper during the 1988 Winter Games in Calgary while essentially a total novice in the sport. His tale – told in a similar vein as the classic football drama “Rudy” – opens in … Read More Eddie the Eagle: Fun, light-hearted biopic worth checking out
Risen: Faith-based feature bridges gap between substance, style
by Matt Ward
Even if you’re a non-believer, the Christian story of Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection is a familiar one cinema has told incredibly well with “The Passion of the Christ.” Seeking to put a new twist on a familiar tale, the new release “Risen” approaches the story of Jesus’ crucifixion from a refreshing new angle, focusing on Roman Tribune Clavius and his search for Christ’s … Read More Risen: Faith-based feature bridges gap between substance, style
How to Be Single: Leading ladies make middling rom-com work
by Matt Ward
Dakota Johnson breaks up with a boyfriend to find herself. Rebel Wilson wants to teach her how single life – and sexual promiscuity – can be really fun. Leslie Mann puts her job as an OB-GYN over relationships and the possibility of motherhood. Alison Brie thinks she can manipulate the 10 online dating services she uses to find Mr. Right. It’s in this vapid, … Read More How to Be Single: Leading ladies make middling rom-com work
Zoolander 2: A #Oops of a movie
by Matt Ward
I feel like ridiculously good looking male model Derek Zoolander. I just don’t know the words. It’s almost impossible to accurately describe what an absolute disaster of a film the Ben Stiller-Owen Wilson sequel Zoolander 2 is. It’s not JUST that people once again weren’t really banging down the doors for a follow-up to the 2001 comedy which saw Stiller catwalk down the runway … Read More Zoolander 2: A #Oops of a movie
Deadpool: A violently, snarky good time
by Matt Ward
If you can handle the gore, language and snark, you won’t be sorry.
Room: A whole world in a small space
by Matt Ward
Odds are good that audiences don’t know much about Brie Larson before stepping into a theater to watch the critically acclaimed drama Room. Larson, who’s been a scene stealer in comedies like Trainwreck and an indie darling with Short Term 12, takes a major step toward stardom in director Lenny Abrahamson’s drama as Ma, a 24-year-old woman kidnapped and held in a shed for … Read More Room: A whole world in a small space
Hail, Caesar!: A big swing and even bigger miss
by Matt Ward
Joel and Ethan Coen don’t owe us anything. The writing/directing brothers and masterminds behind some of cinema’s best films over the last few decades – from The Big Lebowski and Fargo to No Country For Old Men and Burn After Reading – are allowed a pass every once in a while to take a big swing for the fences on a prestige picture and … Read More Hail, Caesar!: A big swing and even bigger miss
The Finest Hours: Riveting film on sea gets waterlogged on land
by Matt Ward
Capturing true heroism – and not simply the superhero-ism of Marvel movies and the like – on film is a tricky task. Directors must find a difficult balance between effective cinematic storytelling and staying faithful to the real life events, which proves troublesome when the events a film is retelling can’t make up the entirety of a two-hour adventure. It’s a problem that Michael … Read More The Finest Hours: Riveting film on sea gets waterlogged on land
Kung Fu Panda 3: Sequel gives families something fun in slow January
by Matt Ward
DreamWorks Animation, a studio that’s struggled to find success in the last five years aside from 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2, burst back onto the scene in a major way last weekend with the release of Kung Fu Panda 3, which returned unlikely hero Po and his gang of do-gooder friends back to action. While Pixar has been at the forefront of … Read More Kung Fu Panda 3: Sequel gives families something fun in slow January
Jane Got a Gun: Embattled western uneven, but rewarding
by Matt Ward
Jane Got a Gun, a new western starring Natalie Portman and Joel Edgerton, never really stood a chance – at least not to get a fair share of the audiences cramming into theaters to see things like Ride Along 2, The Boy, The Forest and The Finest Hours. Originally slated to come out almost a year and a half ago, this slow-burn thriller has … Read More Jane Got a Gun: Embattled western uneven, but rewarding
Brooklyn: Beauty in duality
by Matt Ward
Describing “Brooklyn” to someone who has never heard of the Oscar-nominated film based on the novel of the same name by Colm Toibin isn’t as easy of a task as one might think. It would be a gross over-simplification to call the film a romance period piece where a young Irish immigrant named Eilis – played by Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan – falls … Read More Brooklyn: Beauty in duality
Cinematic Considerations 