"Far From the Madding Crowd" is a pretentious story about an independent single woman being pursued by three very different male suitors. This obnoxious feminist statement of a motion picture was based on the 1874 novel by Thomas Hardy, adapted by screenwriter David Nicholls and directed by [..]
Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation (2015)
Tom Cruise continues in his more than three decade reign as one of Hollywood's top movie stars with "Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation." This is his fifth appearance as IMF agent Ethan Hunt in this movie series (1996, 2000, 2006, 2011) and likely the most popular one yet [..]
Inside Out (2015)
The innovation and ingenuity at Pixar Animation Studios never ceased to amaze. "Inside Out" is the story of the inner workings inside the mind of a young girl, with an original story, an excellent screenplay, colorful animation, and exceptional voice performances. Viewing in 3-D only enhances [..]
Max (2015)
"Max" is a family friendly adventure film about a military trained dog used to help U. S. Marines in Afghanistan. There is little to complain about in this picture, as it has an even pace with a well thought out storyline from a fantastic screenplay by Sheldon [..]
Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
In a year of numerous action-adventure movies in general release, it takes a lot for one of them to stand out, such as a high quality script, good directing, and excellent performances. "Kingsman: The Secret Service" has none of these qualities. [..]
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Arnold Schwarzenegger is back in his most famous role as The Terminator in "Terminator Genisys." Director Alan Taylor ("Thor: The Dark World" 2013) has supplied loads of action and special effects, but the screenplay by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier has created a world of confusion with [..]
San Andreas (2015)
"San Andreas" is the typical disaster movie directed by Brad Peyton, who was reunited with star Dwayne Johnson from "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" of 2012. There are few "faults" to find with the film, and not much new either. It has good acting, loads of [..]
Aloha (2015)
Producer-director-screenwriter Cameron Crowe ("Jerry Maguire" 1996) put together a film called "Aloha" that has a confusing storyline, meandering plot, bad acting, and poor production values. The subject and direction of the movie is also in question: Is "Aloha" a romantic comedy, a political drama, a family [..]
Jurassic World (2015)
Executive producer Steven Spielberg delivers the goods in "Jurassic World." This fourth film in the "Jurassic Park" series (and the first of the "Jurassic World" trilogy, with sequels to come in 2018 and 2022) is choc full of scary dinosaur action sequences and special effects, with a [..]
Spy (2015)
Director Paul Feig has reached new heights of hilarity with "Spy." His third film with Melissa McCarthy has proven to be a charm; he paired her with action star Jason Stratham with great results. Feig's screenplay is filled with tons of laughs, spread throughout the [..]