Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) – Sam Taylor-Johnson

Fifty Shades of Grey’s consistent characterization as not much more than “trash romance” didn’t have me exactly anticipating writing its review. However, the notoriety and controversy surrounding it had piqued my interest. When Citizen Kelvin politely declined my offer to review the film, I figured I owed it to the Flim Crickets to break out […]

A Most Violent Year (2014) – J.C. Chandor

A Most Violent Year is another ambitious film directed by J.C. Chandor. Chandor, who has a thematic affinity for modern market capitalism and the American Dream, is the new Oliver Stone of today. Margin Call, Chandor’s Wall Street, is a riveting first feature about the financial crisis in 2008, which coincided with the Occupy Wall […]

Selma (2014) – Ava DuVernay

In Selma’s most iconic scene, Martin Luther King Jr. is standing on the Edmund Pettus Bridge, a structure named for a former Grand Dragon of the Ku Klux Klan. Behind him are thousands of marchers—mostly black, but some whites too—demonstrating against the suppression of African-American voter registration in Alabama. In front of King is a […]

The Theory of Everything (2014) – James Marsh

Back when I was in grade school and thought I wanted to be a scientist, I was reasonably obsessed with Stephen Hawking. Every chance I had, I was doing a report or a paper or a poster on him. He was always an inspiration to me not just as a brilliant mind but also […]

Foxcatcher (2014) – Bennett Miller

Director Bennett Miller’s films are distinct for its monotone visual palette, cold atmospheres, and bleak narratives. There is an ominous air that permeates through his films that reveals a sense of gravity and portent in contemporary society. Capote focuses on the brilliant literary mind of Truman Capote as well as his moral and ethical denigration […]

Big Hero 6 (2014) – Don Hall & Chris Williams

As far as I can tell, Big Hero 6 is the first animated (non-Pixar) Disney film following the shocking phenomenon that was Frozen. While Big Hero 6 doesn’t stand up to Frozen’s financial/cultural impact, it’s considered the superior film critically (albeit by the slimmest of margins) which is an accomplishment worth mentioning. I liked Frozen quite […]

American Sniper (2014) – Clint Eastwood

Clint Eastwood claims that American Sniper is meant to be apolitical and the “biggest anti-war statement” any film could make. Predictably, it has been compared to Kathryn Bigelow’s 2008 film The Hurt Locker, which is set during the Iraq War and centered on a Sergeant who is a maverick when it comes to disarming bombs. […]

Into the Woods (2014) – Rob Marshall

I should probably say up front that I’ve seen six different stage productions of Into the Woods, and, like most fans of the musical (book by James Lapine, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim), I went into this Rob Marshall film adaptation both excited to see the show on the silver screen and nervous that […]

Whiplash (2014) – Damien Chazelle

The desire to be great at whatever it is we feel we’re built to do is something that is probably common to no insignificant portion of the population. Maybe it’s just me, but it seems like a deeply relatable part of the human condition. Does anyone want to be forgettable? Unlikely. But how many of […]

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) – Peter Jackson

Warning: This review will contain a considerable amount of initialisms If it hadn’t been for the Desolation of Smaug, I would have been pretty unexcited for the release of The Battle of the Five Armies. DoS, while still not in the same league as any of the Lord of the Rings movies, at least stirred […]