“What happens to the animals out there during a wildfire?” “They adapt, I suppose. The little ones get confused and burn up. I used to cry about it when I was a little kid. My father said that didn’t help anything.” This is a conversation between Joe (Ed Oxenbould) and his mother, Jeannette (Carey Mulligan), … More ‘Wildlife’ gives Carey Mulligan her best role yet
At last year’s St. Louis International Film Festival, I caught a film at the last minute. The movie was called DriverX, and it was a low budget go-for-broke independent film written and directed by Henry Barrial. The subject matter intrigued me, though: rideshare driving and the real stories behind it. Barrial, who one drove for … More How ‘DriverX’ star Patrick Fabian pulled from his own life to play Leonard
Pardon me, but I have something to say tonight… If there is one thing I can’t wrap my head around during my 36+ years on this Earth, it is what compels someone to take a kid’s life. I just don’t understand it. It’s a complex theory that I can’t make out. Madness. A mixed up … More How does one combat senseless violence? Be better tomorrow
It’s been thirty years since Gary Hart was a sure-fire Presidential Candidate one week and out of the race completely two weeks later with the future of politics changed for good, but no one in Hollywood has touched his story…until Jason Reitman came along. The Front Runner opens in St. Louis this week, and it … More Jason Reitman: Hugh Jackman was the only choice to play Gary Hart
What if there was more than one Spider-Man? A comic universe expanded into different dimensions represents a cotton candy-covered playground for filmmakers, and with Spider Man: Into the Spider-Verse, co-directors Bob Perischetti, Peter Ramsay, and Rodney Rothman have given us a beautifully-rendered world of possibilities that should make you laugh, cry, and watch your jaw … More ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ is wicked fun, comic book geek or not
Gary Hart (Hugh Jackman) thought he was untouchable..above the law…or at least beyond reproach. It’s too bad he was a man lost in time. A smart man who couldn’t resist being incredibly stupid. 20 years ago, the man of the people changed the world of politics forever, introducing moral arguments that reverberate today. In 1987, … More ‘The Front Runner’ informs and entertains, and it has Hugh Jackman
On the surface level, Showtime’s long-running drama series, Ray Donovan, provides an easygoing pleasure, detailing the life of a Hollywood fixer (Liev Schreiber) who tables his personal troubles in order to tend to the wild nature of the rich elitists who sully their lives on a daily basis. Think of George Clooney’s Michael Clayton, but … More Appreciating the layered pleasure of Showtime’s ‘Ray Donovan’
Before Stephanie Beran could play a bad-to-the-bone femme fatale on screen, she became one in real life. By the time the St. Louis native stepped in front of a camera for this week’s western, Big Kill, Beran had achieved a high level of renegade human being. Beran not only acquired a Bachelor of Science Degree … More Stephanie Beran interview: St. Louis native became a badass off-screen before becoming one on it
Michael Mann’s LA crime epic is the best … More Why ‘Heat’ is still a classic, 23 years later
Certain films hit you just right. You sit down in your seat at the theater hoping for some kind of escape, and get a heartwarming tale about a subject that is unfortunately still ripping through the headlines. The film leans into you with all its might and leaves you with a smile in the end. … More ‘Green Book’ Review: Hilarious true story will make you feel good
