Beyond the Lights (Gina Prince-Bythewood, 2014) About halfway through Beyond the Lights – the new soapy tearjerker of a pop-infused romance by Gina Prince-Bythewood (Love…
“Force Majeure” Is a Cinematic Tour de Force
Force Majeure (Ruben Östlund, 2014) In Force Majeure, a Swedish film (originally entitled “Turist“) by Ruben Östlund (Play), a family – seemingly…
“Interstellar” Reaches for the Stars but Gets Stuck in the Clouds
Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, 2014) Dust is everywhere. The only crop that can still grow on earth is corn, but every…
“Big Hero 6” – A Franchise in Search of a Raison d’Etre
Big Hero 6 (Don Hall/Chris Williams, 2014) From Walt Disney comes a new adaptation of a lesser-known Marvel comics super…
Be Sure to Give Yourself “Whiplash”
Whiplash (Damien Chazelle, 2014) Whiplash, the overwhelmingly riveting second feature from young (born 1985) writer/director Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a…
Midday on the Great War at the Movies: 11/7/14 @ 1pm
[NOTE: If you missed the show, you can listen to the podcast on the WYPR website.] World War I began…
“Nightcrawler” Thrills When It’s Not Moralizing
Nightcrawler (Dan Gilroy, 2014) Nightcrawler is the directing debut of screenwriter Dan Gilroy (The Bourne Legacy, co-written with his brother, Tony…
The Must-See “Citizenfour” Asks Us to Care About Citizenship
Citizenfour (Laura Poitras, 2014) I am unfamiliar with the work of documentary filmmaker Laura Poitras, but after watching Citizenfour I feel…
In Masterful “Birdman,” Michael Keaton Goes Mad. Much Fun Is Had.
Birdman or (the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (Alejandro González Iñárritu, 2014) The Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu has been making feature films…
The Anti-Hero Makes Good: “St. Vincent” & “John Wick”
Today, in Baltimore, two new movies open that each celebrate a different kind of anti-hero. Like their protagonists, the films…
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