‘Captain America: Civil War’ sets new standard for Marvel
‘Captain America: Civil War’ has everything a superhero movie needs to save the day
Anthony Mackie
‘Triple 9’ is only a flesh wound
‘Triple 9’ is a frustrating near-miss that falters beneath the weight of its own ambitions.
‘The Night Before’ is a raunchy alternative to winter Oscar bait
The Night Before Written by Evan Goldberg, Kyle Hunter, Jonathan Levine, and Ariel Shaffir Directed by Jonathan Levine U.S, 2015 Every November and December studios release holiday-themed flicks to cash in on the frenzy of the season. Every once in a while a gem like Gremlins or Elf comes out and becomes yearly viewing, but …
‘Our Brand is Crisis’ is toothless satire
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington featured a young, authentic Jimmy Stewart who does battle with the corrupt political machine. Many decades later, that hardened view of politicians (and the machine that gets them elected) has not changed.
New Projects: Benghazi, Jesse Owens, and ‘Hail, Caesar!’
The terrorist attack on the American Embassy in Benghazi so consumed the media and Washington that it’s bound to make good fiction. There’s potential for an on-the-ground action thriller, Zero Dark Thirty style, there’s potential for a thorny, political drama surrounding the ensuing scandal, and one can even look at the conspiracy theorist angle. And …
‘Captain America: The Winter Soldier’ a brutally efficient new entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Captain America: The Winter Soldier Written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo USA, 2014 There is an almost brutal efficiency present in each of the films encompassing the now-vast Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rare is the entry in this mini-canon with a striking level of personal style or brio; though …
‘Pain & Gain’ a first for director Michael Bay: mostly gain, little pain
If cinema has anything to say about it, the modern American dream is best typified by a grandiose level of entitlement in those who covet it most of all. Just a month ago, we saw Spring Breakers, a nightmarish, neon piece of grotesquerie, compelling experimental art about nubile young women trying to attain their hedonistic Western utopia by stealing from and killing people who dared get in their way, consequences be damned.
‘Gangster Squad’ Image Gallery
A chronicle of the LAPD’s fight to keep East Coast Mafia types out of Los Angeles in the 1940s and 50s. Directed by Zombieland‘s Ruben Fleischer, and written by Castle staff writer Will Beall, based on the book by Paul Lieberman