The king of the jungle, a London-based gangster and high-powered drug dealer, has been killed. Or, so says Fletcher (Hugh Grant), an investigative reporter who’s stumbled onto a scoop so good, he might as well parlay it into blackmail and … Continue reading THE GENTLEMEN
Not everyone fighting for equality can be found on the frontline. There has to be someone in the shadows, toiling away, fueled by indignation, righteousness, and uncompromising ethics. Roman J. Israel is such a man. For years, Israel (Denzel Washington), the partner of a charismatic litigator, has spent his time locked away in an office, pouring over books, finding inconsistencies, and plotting his greatest civil rights coup. But his partner has fallen into a coma, incapacitated by a heart attack. Suddenly, the office is dissolved, the clients are moved to a large and affluent firm run by a former student of … Continue reading ROMAN J. ISRAEL, ESQ.
About Last Night – Two guys (Kevin Hart & Michael Ealy) and two gals (Regina Hall & Joy Bryant) are living in Los Angeles and trying to find love and companionship. The guys are best friends, the gals are roommates, and their lives will become inseparably tangled when they start dating. First Bernie and Joan start dating, then Danny and Debbie hook-up. Then Debbie and Danny break it off, so that means Bernie and Joan need to spend sometime apart as well. Love sure can be complicated. Written by Leslye Headland based on the play “Sexual Perversity in Chicago” by … Continue reading Movie Beat – 02.14.14
American Hustle – It’s all about the con, not the con-artist, but the con. Every business, every transaction, every dream levied is a con in one way or another, and director David O. Russell is out to show everyone how deep the con goes. Christian Bale and Amy Adams are the con artist, Jennifer Lawrence is his ex-wife, Bradley Cooper is the FBI agent needing a little help, Jeremy Renner is the politician who is conning everyone, and Eric Singer and David O. Russell are the writers who concocted this whole shebang. Out in limited release from Sony Pictures. … Continue reading Movie Beat – 12.13.13
3 Geezers – If these geezers were in their twenties, they would audition for Jackass, if they were teenagers, they would be labeled ‘troubled youths’, and if they were in preschool, they would fit right in. J Kimball (J.K. Simmons) is researching a role for an upcoming movie and spends some time with these degenerates in a retirement home. When it becomes clear that he is in too deep, he calls on his Hollywood friends to put these old farts in their place. Makes perfect sense to me. Basil Hoffman, Lou Beatty Jr., Tim Allen, Scott Cann, Breckin Meyer, and … Continue reading Movie Beat – 05.24.13
The ABCs of Death – Twenty-six letters in the English alphabet, twenty-six directors, twenty-six clever ways to die. For people who suddenly become very anxious and paranoid when they realize how vulnerable they really are, then this one is not … Continue reading Movie Beat – 03.08.13
3,2,1… Frankie Go Boom – We kick this week’s list of releases with writer/director Jordan Roberts’ second feature. Frankie (Charlie Hunnam) has a problem, and that problem is his brother (Chris O’Dowd), a recovering addict who loves to film Frankie’s every embarrassing and personal moment, including, Frankie and a girl (Lizzie Caplan) having sex. Now Frankie has to track the video down and keep it out of the hands of a notorious pornography producer (Chris Noth) who happens to be the girl’s father. This is one of those movies where nothing is easy. You can’t even go and hire an old prison cellmate without some dramatic twist. … Continue reading Movie Beat – 10.12.12
Seven Psychopaths is writer/director Martin McDonagh’s second feature film. McDonagh, probably best know as a playwright, debut feature, In Bruges (2008), was critically accepted and doubled its budget in sales. In Bruges starred Colin Farrell, who takes the role of the central character, Marty, in this film as well. Marty is a screenwriter who is also dealing with a pretty serious case of alcoholism, he is rarely seen without a drink in his hand. It is later pointed out by Marty’s friend that it’s in his nature to be an alcoholic, he is a writer and Irish, two strikes against him. In real life, Farrell … Continue reading SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS
