This is a war movie and so there are moments in here as inhumanely cruel as any you’ve ever seen; but Nicole Kidman is also in here and she transforms this movie from just being […]
review – noah
Yes, the story told on the screen strays from the story told in the Bible, but it’s those differences that help make this movie more human, more entertaining, and more emotionally involving. Most children know […]
Arri Alexa On ‘Wolf Of Wall Street’
Risqué business From Travis Bickle to Henry Hill, director Martin Scorsese has brought some of the most memorable, larger-than-life characters to the big screen. In WOLF OF WALL STREET, Scorsese brings us Jordan Belfort (played […]
review – divergent
This movie, like the book on which it’s based, understands its young audience very well. It’s all about what they’re going through — trying to figure out where they fit in, having to take tests […]
Alexa Sup 9.1 and Arc 3.0 Available
As technology evolves, ARRI continues to sustain and improve the performance of the ALEXA family of cameras with the release of ALEXA Software Update Packet (SUP) 9.1 and the ARRIRAW Converter (ARC) 3.0. The ARRIRAW […]
Oscar Winners Choose Arri
Oscar Winners Choose Arri. ARRI film and digital cameras dominated as the capture tools of the Oscar winners at the 86th Annual Academy Awards. Best Picture honors went to 12 YEARS A SLAVE, directed by […]
review – non-stop
Buckle in for a bumpy flight; Liam Neeson has delivered another tight and taut little thriller. At this time of year, the A-list star turns himself into a haunted and hulking B-movie brawler. And turns […]
review – in secret
Before seeing this, I would have told you that Elizabeth Olsen was never in a movie I didn’t enjoy. I would have said that she had never played a character I didn’t believe. But, now […]
review – winter’s tale
This is a tale of the enduring power of love, of a white winged horse, and of a little red-haired girl. In a month when romantic movies are often trite, trivial and predictable, this one […]
review – the lego movie
Have ever seen a really elaborate, professionally set-up dominoes game? You touch one domino and it sets everything in motion – down ridges, around corners, up hills, in multiple streams, with so much happening simultaneously […]
review – whiplash
Like the best independent movies, this one uses a small, tight story about music to tell a universal story about life. On one level, it’s the story of a first year student – a drummer […]
review – jack ryan: shadow recruit
I’ve never been a fan of the late Tom Clancy’s long, involved, sometimes convoluted Cold War thrillers, but somehow his character Jack Ryan has survived thirty years and four major actors (Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, […]
review – august osage county
In some ways, this may be the “feel good” movie of the year because, no matter how dysfunctional your family is, this movie will make you feel good that yours is far less vitriolic and […]
review – the wolf of wall street
This is a three-hour movie. Any movie that needs three hours to tell its story – and intends to tell it in an interesting way — needs to have a lot of either “spectacle” or […]
Review – The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
Ben Stiller missed the point. Walter Mitty is a meek and mild-mannered person who has heroic daydreams. He doesn’t actually go on those adventures; he just imagines them. Being “a Walter Mitty” means you’re a […]
review – lone survivor
Let’s have a little quiz to get this party started. First question: Four Navy SEALs (Mark Wahlberg, Ben Foster, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch) start out on a mission in Afghanistan. How many return? (Hint: see […]
review – saving mr. banks
If you were to ask those who know movies to make a list of the most enjoyable musical films, with the most loved songs, ever, “Mary Poppins” — with music and lyrics by Richard and […]
review – american hustle
What we have here are two small-time dreamers trying to reinvent themselves. Because everybody hustles. She’s Sydney Prosser (Adams) from New Mexico; he’s Irving Rosenfeld (Bale) from the Bronx; they meet at a pool party, […]
Review – Frozen
This Disney film comes not from Pixar, but from Walt Disney Animation Studios and in style, story, and sensibility, this looks like classic Disney moviemaking. Somehow, for reasons I can’t define, it just feels different […]
review – philomena
As a director, Stephen Frears knows how to find the heart, the humanity, and the humor in situations and create movies that tell small stories in wonderfully intelligent ways. He did it in “Dirty Pretty […]
Review – Nebraska
So what we have here is a beautifully-photographed movie – in black and white – with a wonderfully-underwritten performance at its center – telling a story of ordinary days filled with ordinary people who do […]
Review – The Book Thief
This movie was shot by Florian Ballhaus (he also shot “The Devil Wears Prada”) and his work here is so perfect and polished, it’s initially distracting. It’s 1939 in Germany, a time of dark desperation, […]
Review – The Counselor
Halfway through this almost two-hour movie, the Counselor (Fassbender) asks Westray (Pitt): “What happens next?” A better question would have been: “What’s happened so far?” The answer to both: “It’s difficult to determine.” If you’ve […]
Review – All Is Lost
In some ways, this is a perfect title. Here is what will be “lost” if you decide to see this movie: your time, the price of admission, the cost of transportation to get there, any […]
Review – The Fifth Estate
“Man is least himself when he talks as his own person,” Julian Assange (Cumberbatch) says early in this film. “But if you give him a mask, he will tell you the truth. …if we could […]
LOS ANGELES FILM REVIEW 