Michael Fassbender

Director Bryan Singer helms a sprawling epic that’s merely cobbled together from familiar plot points and franchise curtain calls.

Macbeth Directed by Justin Kurzel Written by Todd Louiso, Michael Lesslie and Jacob Koskoff (Based on the play by Shakespeare) U.K., France, U.S., 2015 There have been countless adaptations of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet, but with the exception of Roman Polanski’s 1971 film, Macbeth has largely gone ignored by cinema. Justin Kurzel, fresh …

Bolstered by the best script of 2015 and masterful performances from Michael Fassbender and Kate Winslet, director Danny Boyle’s propulsive character study is a fascinating glimpse at the evolution of a cult icon.

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) divides this character study of contentious public figure Steve Jobs (Michael Fassbender) between three product launches, focusing on key pressure-cooker moments of his career that portray him at his most capable and least compassionate.

“It’s best not to think of her as a woman. That would be a mistake.” These words are uttered by Kenneth (Ewan McGregor) to freelance operative Paul (Michael Fassbender) in a scene somewhere toward the end of Steven Soderbergh’s truly excellent but much ignored action movie Haywire. The woman they are referring to is Mallory …

Hugh Jackman has played Logan aka Wolverine in seven different films. It’s an impressive number that will shortly increase with a third solo Wolverine film and possibly X-Men:Apocalypse, although at the time of writing he has yet to be officially cast. A few other names are snapping at the heels of Jackman, notably the cast …

Frank Written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan Directed by Lenny Abrahamson (as Leonard Abrahamson) UK/Ireland, 2014 Artistic personalities from all walks of life seem to dance to the beat of their own distinctive drums. The creative process and all its motivations and manipulations is what makes these dedicated artists strive for their performing juices. …

Frank Directed by Leonard Abrahamson United Kingdom, 2014 The pitch for Frank sounds like it might fall somewhere between Rubber and Kevin Smith’s upcoming Tusk: films that seem predicated on a dare, a bet, a drunken night. But Frank is a high concept film masquerading as low concept. Jon (Domhnall Gleeson) is a middle-class, IT-by-day, …

Frank steers away from almost-Almost Famous territory and into something familiar to anyone who’s seen The Devil and Daniel Johnston; director Abrahamson carries his deft balancing of tonal shifts from his 2012 film What Richard Did over to this effort.

Frank follows a post-internet age Billy Liar and asks, “What if he did follow his dream through, but his idol was a lunatic?” Jon (Domnhall Gleeson), a young middling English songwriter, gets invited to play keyboard for the aforementioned Frank (Michael Fassbender). Frank wears a giant fake head made of papier-mâché and refuses to take it off. Soon, Jon is invited to spend a year in Ireland with the band as they record their painstakingly overblown album, all the while secretly filming it and posting clips to YouTube.

X-Men: Days of Future Past Written by Simon Kinberg Directed by Bryan Singer USA, 2014 It may be a slightly ominous sign that the best scene in X-Men: Days of Future Past features a totally new character to the infinite universe of mutants, who then all but vanishes from the rest of the film. Still, …

X-Men: Days of Future Past Written by Simon Kinberg Directed by Bryan Singer USA, 2014 The key virtue of the X-Men films has been their mutant-like ability to seamlessly blend with other genres. The Wolverine worked as samurai cinema. First Class played well as a Cold War-era Bond thriller. Since the comic’s inception, X-Men has been the “…in bed” fortune …

Frank Directed by Lenny Abrahamson Written by Jon Ronson and Peter Straughan Late in the movie, Frank (Michael Fassbender), the eponymous musician, exclaims in an attempt to be accepted that he’s made his “most likeable song” yet. Frank explores with eccentric, odd ball delight the personal sources of creativity, authenticity, art, music, happiness, and mental …

Part 2 will cover: – Best Actor – Best Actress – Best Supporting Actor – Best Supporting Actress – Best Film Best Actor – Bruce Dern (Nebraska) – Tom Hanks (Captain Philips) – Christian Bale (American Hustle) – Leonardo DiCaprio (Wolf of Wall Street) – Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) All nominees have performed …

In early 2012, while most of the film world was caught up in Oscar prognostications, one film quietly came and went through theatres, earning less that $20 million domestically, and just over $30 million internationally. That film was Steven Soderbergh’s Haywire, with Gina Carano taking on the lead role of Mallory Kane, and its quiet box office reception is in no way indicative of the film’s quality. While it may appear, on the surface, to be a standard action thriller – and there’s certainly no issue with that, as the genre is littered with efforts that fail to even be competent in their execution – in true Soderbergh style, there’s a lot more going on in Haywire than it may appear at first glance.

In his later years, the novelist Cormac McCarthy has circled like a vulture around the theme of death, specifically its inevitable grip on humanity. No Country for Old Men and The Road presented very different worlds, both filled with men trying desperately to withstand the inexorable hand of the reaper, and eventually realizing that there wasn’t much left but to give into what comes for us all. Such an existential fear is, perhaps unsurprisingly, the foundation of McCarthy’s newest foray, his screenplay for the crime thriller The Counselor. Its director is the prolific Ridley Scott, and its cast is impressively stacked, but this is a McCarthy story through and through, which is mostly heartening news.

In July, when Zack Snyder announced that Batman would have a role in the Man of Steel sequel, the internet went ablaze with excitement and speculation. A major issue of speculation was casting; who would play Batman? After Adam West, Michael Keaton, Val Kilmer, George Clooney and Christian Bale each succeeded and/or failed at making …

Welcome to our “12 Years a Slave” Reviews. Review #1 12 Years a Slave Written by John Ridley Directed by Steve McQueen USA, 2013 With Hunger and Shame, Steve McQueen crafted two highly divergent, yet equally distinctive character studies of men whose respective physical existences are defined by extremity. Hunger’s Bobby Sands stays true to his political convictions in …

If you flashback to the early 00’s, there was still a sense of excitement and anticipation at the announcement of Ridley Scott working on a new project. This was a visionary director who’s expansive, ambitious and heart capturing visual eye had given the world of cinema such wonders as Alien and Blade Runner, masterpieces of …

This article is dedicated to Andrew Copp: filmmaker, film writer, artist and close friend who passed away on January 19, 2013. You are loved and missed, brother. **** Looking at the Best Actor Academy Award nominations for the film year 2012, the one miss that clearly cries out for more attention is Liam Neeson’s powerful …

Every thirty days, I like to post a list of my favorite films I’ve recently watched. Here are the best films I’ve seen throughout the month of September. This list is based on movies theatrically released here in Canada, and I do not include what I have seen at film festivals. **** 1: Prometheus Directed …

Prometheus Directed by Ridley Scott Written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof USA, 2012 Noomi Rapace and Logan Marshall-Green are scientists who find a pictograph in the isle of Skye, Scotland; the same pictograph of giant men pointing up to the same constellation of stars as other ancient dead societies. Reading this to be an …

Prometheus Written by Jon Spaihts and Damon Lindelof Directed by Ridley Scott USA, 2012 This review contains no explicit narrative spoilers. Prometheus is a hugely disappointing film on several levels. The first is in regards to its director Ridley Scott, never the most consistent filmmaker but one with an especially underwhelming track record since 2003’s …