The Liam-Neeson-caught-in-a-pickle formula is basically its own sub-genre at this point. It’s been quite the surprising and profitable turn for Neeson, who spent his early career in dramas and light-as-a-feather comedies. Now a proven action star, he’s back once again in The Commuter, his third collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra… Continue reading
For most people, simply being in the water near sharks is enough of a nightmare. Being forty-seven meters (154.2 feet for my fellow Americans) under the surface, bleeding, and with sharks circling is whole different beast. In 47 Meters Down, writer/director Johannes Roberts takes this seemingly simple narrative setup and… Continue reading
Following in the footsteps of 2014’s Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train is another grocery store potboiler turned into a sleek, albeit only moderately involving, thriller. Like Gone Girl, its story is exceedingly ludicrous but a crackling final half hour and fantastic performance from Emily Blunt save a first… Continue reading
It’s hard to believe it’s been over six years since the Deepwater Horizon blowout and subsequent oil spill, the worst in U.S. history as 210 million gallons of oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico. While many likely have vivid recollections of the underwater camera showing oil pouring out of the well,… Continue reading
Seventeen years ago the face of horror changed forever when The Blair Witch Project, filmed for a minuscule $60,000, took the August box office by storm and raked in an incredible $140 million by Halloween. It’s not like it was a fluke; all-around well-received, it was something never seen before… Continue reading
Deadpool is just the swift kick to the junk the superhero genre – one that has taken itself entirely too seriously for far too long and gotten away with it – needs. Profane, hyper-violent, and never hesitant to take things a step or two beyond overkill, the film is an interesting and… Continue reading
13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi embodies about what you’d expect out of a marriage between the political firestorm that is Benghazi and Michael Bay, the action director everyone seems to love to hate, despite the fact his films make hundreds of millions of dollars. What will surprise most… Continue reading
Spotlight is one of the great investigative journalism films; compelling, flawlessly acted, and successful in its invitation to join in the hunt for the truth. It’s enough to make you think twice about the easy, convenient dismissal of the importance of newspapers in our digital times. Even with an ending… Continue reading
Secret in Their Eyes, a remake of the 2009 Oscar-winning Argentinian film El secreto de sus ojos, is an old-school, taut, and endlessly involving thriller. The suspense-drama isn’t much in style these days, but this film is a swift reminder that the genre can still bring the heat. As adapted… Continue reading
With Spectre, the James Bond series has once again reached a crossroads. The decision can really be simplified down to this: do we want to continue this dark, gritty charade or actually have some fun again? Spectre, despite its lush locales and trademark superb action set pieces, is a mostly… Continue reading