Movie Reviews

‘Last Flag Flying’ honors the power and beauty of friendship

“Last Flag Flying” (2017). Cast: Bryan Cranston, Laurence Fishburne, Steve Carell, J. Quinton Johnson, Deanna Reed-Foster, Yul Vazquez, Graham Wolfe, Cicely Tyson. Director: Richard Linklater. Screenplay: Richard Linklater and Darryl Ponicsan. Book: Darryl Ponicsan, Last Flag Flying. Web site. Trailer. Saying goodbye is never easy, especially when a parent is forced to do so for a departed child who’s taken unexpectedly and in the prime of life. Under circumstances like these, we can use all of the support we can muster, and those who often prove most helpful are those who have already been through life-and-death experiences with us. Such is the case of a distraught father burying his deceased son in the highly moving new drama, “Last Flag Flying.” [...]

Brent Marchant2017-12-12T11:17:06-05:00November 28th, 2017|Drama, Movie Reviews|

‘Breathe’ inspires us to vanquish our limitations

“Breathe” (2017). Cast: Andrew Garfield, Claire Foy, Hugh Bonneville, Diana Rigg, Penny Downie, David Wilmot, Stephen Mangan, Edward Speleers, Tom Hollander, Amit Shah, Jonathan Hyde, Emily Bevan, Harry Marcus, Dean-Charles Chapman, Sylvester Groth. Director: Andy Serkis. Screenplay: William Nicholson. Web site. Trailer. Imagine being confronted by a life of bed-ridden confinement, unable to move or even to inhale your own life-sustaining breath. Add to that the frustration and despondency brought on by an unfeeling health care system that insists upon regimented institutionalization as the only way to address your condition. And, to make matters worse, you’re young and just beginning what’s supposed to be a happy and fulfilling time with the love of your life. If you can picture that, [...]

Brent Marchant2017-12-12T06:59:22-05:00October 24th, 2017|Drama, Movie Reviews, Romance|

‘Lucky’ ruminates on the meaning of life

“Lucky” (2017). Cast: Harry Dean Stanton, David Lynch, Ron Livingston, Ed Begley Jr., Tom Skerritt, James Darren, Beth Grant, Barry Shabaka Henley, Yvonne Huff, Hugo Armstrong, Bertila Damas, Ana Mercedes. Director: John Carroll Lynch. Screenplay: Logan Sparks and Drago Sumonja. Web site. Trailer. The longer we live, the luckier we’re supposed to believe we are, right? But what if that long life is devoid of meaning? In those cases, it seems like we just keep going on and on but without purpose or a sense of what life’s all about. Under those conditions, we have to ask ourselves, is that enough? Does the act of merely biding our time suffice? And, if that’s what’s really happening to us, will we [...]

Brent Marchant2017-11-29T11:15:08-05:00October 11th, 2017|Drama, Movie Reviews|

‘Blade Runner 2049’ explores what it means to be human

“Blade Runner 2049” (2017). Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Robin Wright, Jared Leto, Ana de Armas, Sylvia Hoeks, Carla Juri, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, Hiam Abbass, Lennie James, Barkhad Abdi, Dave Bautista, Mackenzie Davis, Loren Peta. Director: Denis Villeneuve. Screenplay: Hampton Fancher and Michael Green. Story: Hampton Fancher. Book Source: Philip K. Dick, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. Web site. Trailer. Our love of freedom is undeniable. But, if we consider it so important, then why do we continue to shackle ourselves and our peers to various forms of enslavement? Some of these permutations may not be readily obvious, but their impact invariably serves that very purpose. And, when we imbue our existence with elements reflective of the [...]

Brent Marchant2017-11-29T00:09:06-05:00October 10th, 2017|Movie Reviews, Sci-Fi|

‘Columbus’ gives us space for reflection

“Columbus” (2017). Cast: John Cho, Haley Lu Richardson, Parker Posey, Rory Culkin, Michele Forbes, Erin Allegretti. Director: Kogonada. Screenplay: Kogonada. Web site. Trailer. Getting away from it all – even under less-than-ideal conditions – can sometimes work wonders, particularly if there’s much weighing us down. But what we do with such opportunities when they present themselves is most important. That’s very much the case for a pair of searching protagonists in the new, thought-provoking drama, “Columbus.” While on a national lecture tour, a renowned, aging, Korean-born architect collapses, falling into a coma. With no one to attend to his needs, his longtime aide, Eleanor (Parker Posey), springs into action, summoning the ailing icon’s son, Jin (John Cho), to come care [...]

Brent Marchant2017-10-24T12:40:39-05:00September 24th, 2017|Archives, Drama, Movie Reviews|