Reviewed by GREG KING Director Ava DuVernay Stars: Storm Reid, Levi Miller, Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, Mindy Kaling, Chris Pine, Zach Galifianakis, Michael Pena, Deric McCabe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Andrew Holland, Rowan Blanchard, David Oyelowo, Daniel MacPherson, Tim Kang. Madeleine L’Engle’s popular 1962 YA fantasy novel A Wrinkle In Time has long been considered difficult to adapt to the screen. There was a four-hour television miniseries made for Canadian tv in 2004 which featured some shoddy special effects and ordinary performances. This version has Continue reading
12 STRONG
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Nicolai Fuglsig Stars: Chris Hemsworth, Michael Shannon, Michael Pena, Navid Negahban, Numan Acar, Trevante Rhodes, William Fichtner, Rob Riggle, Austin Stowell, Geoff Stults, Thad Luckinbill, Austin Hebert, Ben O'Toole, Kenneth Miller, Kenny Sheard, Jack Kesy, Elsa Pataky, Arshia Mandavi. A very different dirty dozen for the war on terror? In the aftermath of the September 11 terror attacks on the US, a small force of twelve Green Berets (all volunteers) were dropped into Afghanistan in a Continue reading
CHIPS
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: Dax Shepard Stars: Dax Shepard, Michael Pena, Vincent D'Onofrio, Kristen Bell, Adam Brody, Isiah Whitlock jr, Jessica McNamee, Ryan Hansen, Justin Chatwin, Ben Falcone, Richard T Jones, Jane Kaczmarek, Adam Rodriguez, Maya Rudolph, Rosa Salazar. Producers continue to tap into Gen X nostalgia by adapting classic television shows from the 60s and 70s for the big screen. Often though they get it wrong, by either miscasting iconic roles or by misjudging the tone of the piece or not understanding the appeal of the original, thereby Continue reading
COLLATERAL BEAUTY
Reviewed by GREG KING Director: David Frankel Stars: Will Smith, Edward Norton, Kate Winslet, Michael Pena, Helen Mirren, Kiera Knightley, Jacob Lattimore, Naomie Harris, Ann Dowd, Kylie Rogers. "There is collateral beauty in everything." Ironically though there is little beauty to be found in this maudlin and flawed drama about grief and a man damaged by his sense of loss. There have been a lot of films dealing with death and the grieving process that explore how different people respond to loss. Despite a stellar cast of A-listers and the pedigree of director Continue reading