Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Ken Kwapis Stars: Robert Redford, Nick Nolte, Emma Thompson, Nick Offerman, Kristen Schaal, Mary Steenbergen. We have had several films recently in which characters have hiked some challenging paths in order to find solace, comfort or redemption. There was Emile Hirsch as the doomed Christopher McCandless in Sean Penn’s Into… Continue Reading »
ITALIAN FILM FESTIVAL 2014 – reviews
by GREG KING Last updated September 28. SCAMPIA’S GOLD. Originally made for Italian television, this has to be one of the grimmest feel good movies in the festival. This inspiring and enjoyably crowd pleasing underdog story was based on the actual triumph of an Italian teenager from Scampia, who won a gold medal in judo… Continue Reading »
THE FAMILY MAN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Brett Ratner Stars: Nicolas Cage, Tea Leoni, Don Cheadle, Jeremy Piven, Saul Rubinek, Josef Sommer, Harve Presnell, Amber Valletta, Mackenzie Vega. The spirit of Frank Capra’s enduring Christmas classic It’s A Wonderful Life runs throughout this well meaning romantic comedy/drama in which a rapacious, uptight Wall Street broker suddenly discovers… Continue Reading »
A SIMPLE PLAN
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Sam Raimi Stars: Bill Paxton, Billy Bob Thornton, Bridget Fonda, Gary Cole, Brent Briscoe, Chelcie Ross, Becky Ann Baker, Jack Walsh. Set in Delano, a small town in America’s midwest, during a bitter winter, A Simple Plan invites obvious comparisons to the Coen brothers’ Fargo. However, this violent, darkly comic,… Continue Reading »
WHEN WE WERE KINGS
Reviewed by GREG KING Documentary: Director: Leon Gast Politics, sports, and music make for a potent mixture in this insightful and entertaining Oscar-winning documentary from acclaimed film maker Leon Gast. When We Were Kings details the behind-the-scenes story of the famous 1974 Ali/Foreman fight, held in Zaire, a small, fairly obscure African country, that has… Continue Reading »