Tag Archives: Drama
Review: Nightcrawler (2014)
NIGHTCRAWLER skewers the news industry mercilessly, perhaps the most brutal deconstruction of the business since Sidney Lumet’s superlative NETWORK. It’s hard-hitting and often shocking, but it also works as an example of the very murkiest of black comedies. Louis Bloom … Continue reading
Film Confessional #7: Field of Dreams
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but I have a confession to make…last night I watched FIELD OF DREAMS, and I don’t see what all the fuss is about. It’s one of those movies that a … Continue reading
Review: The Babadook (2014)
It’s true what you’ve heard, THE BABADOOK is very good. But is it really all that scary? I’m not so sure. Set in suburban Australia, The Babadook follows working mother Amelia (Essie Davis) who is left caring for her child … Continue reading
Review: Mr. Turner (2014)
Not for a single moment was I in any doubt that I was in another time, observing these real people going about their real lives. That’s Mike Leigh’s greatest strength as a filmmaker, the convincing portrayal of the world we … Continue reading
Oscar Review: Boyhood (2014)
BOYHOOD is not a masterpiece. And yet it’s probably still worthy of an Oscar in 2014, a pretty patchy year in film overall. Judging by the pattern awards shows so far seem to be following it’s all-but a shoe-in for … Continue reading
Review: Gone Girl (2014)
GONE GIRL is a solid mystery, a satisfying examination on the ins and outs (mostly outs) of relationships, but it’s a truly great film about the power of the media image and its complete and utter dominance in contemporary society. … Continue reading
Review: Foxcatcher (2014)
Director Bennett Miller’s movies tend to take a sideways view on real life. Everything about his filmmaking style is restrained, but the stories he chooses to tell (or re-tell) are so odd and remarkable you really couldn’t make them up. … Continue reading
Review: Birdman: or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Often the films that are not entirely successful end up being the most interesting, especially when they are attempting something new. BIRDMAN is one such creature, an ambitious and sometimes jarring exploration of the id and the ego filmed as … Continue reading
Review: The Theory of Everything (2014)
How do you sum up the life of such an extraordinary human being? Director James Marsh, writer Anthony McCarten and principle actors Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones prove that you have to start from a place of emotion, and THE … Continue reading
SSP Thinks Film 