REVIEW: The Equalizer 2

The Equalizer 2 marks the first ever sequel for director Antoine Fuqua and star Denzel Washington; reuniting here for their fourth film together.

As in its 2014 predecessor and the series that inspired it, the film blends together brutal fight scenes with care-in-the-community drama.…

The Big Short goes long on edudrama and it pays off – magnificently

You wouldn’t think the recent global financial crisis would be the stuff of comedy, but The Big Short makes it funny – and educational, and genuinely moving.

Directed and co-written by frequent Will Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay (Anchorman, Talladega Nights) and with an all-star cast, including Christian Bale, Steve Carrell, and Ryan Gosling, The Big Short makes for a highly entertaining (and instructive) study of greed, fraud, and three groups of people who sought to profit from the meltdown before it happened.…

The Equalizer is a fairly brutal middle-of-the-road actioner

 

The major issue that almost every attempt to adapt beloved ‘80s TV franchises to the big screen is tone.

Michael Mann’s Miami Vice might have had cigarette boats and more suit jacket-t-shirt combos than you can shake a brick (of coke) at, but, amidst all the neo-noir stylings, it lost it sense of cool.…

Flight is a film trip well worth the making

 

Robert Zemeckis’ Flight is the most character-driven film of this year’s Academy Award contenders, which is impressive given the broad and eclectic range of performances on display.

Spielberg’s Lincoln is just as much about slavery and the passing of the 13th Amendment as it is the title character, though Daniel Day Lewis brings much-needed subtlety to the role in a film that might otherwise seem overly celebratory given the issues on display.