The Theory of Everything (Blu-ray)
Directed by James Marsh, best known for his daring documentaries such as Man on a Wire and Project NIM, The Theory of Everything is a bit of a departure. The film tells the life story of Stephen Hawking, but unlike the Errol Morris 1991 documentary A Brief History of Time, it doesn’t delve deeply into […]
The Fifth Estate (Blu-ray)
Chronicling the rise to prominence of whistle blowing website WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch), The Fifth Estate is told from the perspective of Daniel Dumsheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl), former spokesperson for the site, a computer genius who was committed to Assange’s mission to expose government cover-ups and lies. The Fifth Estate attempts to […]
Blu-ray Review: War Horse
Based on the children’s novel and stage adaptation of the same name, War Horse tells the story of the special relationship between a young man and his horse. While the story of this relationship does have moments of charm, it’s the re-creation of the Great War’s battlefields and some stunningly beautiful camerawork by cinematographer Janusz […]
Blu-ray Review: Mr. Nice
Bernard Rose’s (Candyman, Immortal Beloved) Mr. Nice is a biopic of the infamous Welsh hashish smuggler Dennis Howard Marks. Oxford educated, Marks didn’t set out to be a drug kingpin, but he didn’t fall into a life of crime by accident, either: once he saw how much money a friend was making running hashish back […]
Blu-ray Review: Naked
Like other films by British writer-director Mike Leigh—Life is Sweet (1990), Secrets & Lies (1996), Vera Drake (2004)—Naked is a tough, unflinching look at class conflict, sexual insecurity, and identity crisis in working class England. Naked is by no means an easy thing to watch. At the center of it all, is a young man […]
Blu-ray Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1
Warner Bros. | 2010 | 146 min | PG-13 The decision to divide J.K. Rowling’s seventh novel into two separate films remains a controversial one, but director David Yates and screenwriter Steve Kloves have taken full advantage of the opportunity the opportunity provided, and crafted a character driven drama unlike anything seen in the series […]
Blu-ray Review: James and the Giant Peach
Disney/Buena Vista | 1996 | 79 mins. | Rated G Back in the mid nineties when I read that Disney would be releasing a theatrical version of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, my first thought was, “what a perfect pair.” Throughout their long history, Disney’s films have often involved departed or largely absent […]