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TOMB RAIDER Director: Roar Uthaug Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Walton Goggins, Daniel Wu, Kristin Scott Thomas, Derek Jacobi, Hannah John-Kamen I should preface this review by stating that I am not a gamer. I’ve never played the “Tomb Raider” video games, but like many, I’m familiar with the character of Lara Croft given the two previous movies. The video game got a reboot in 2013, which apparently means that a movie reboot was the natural next step. This iteration finds Academy Award winner Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl) as Croft. We learn that at a young age, her father (West) left his family toRead More →

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THE LIGHT BETWEEN OCEANS Writer/Director: Derek Cianfrance Starring: Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, Rachel Weisz, Thomas Unger, Bryan Brown Let’s get this out of the way upfront. I have never read the 2012 M.L. Stedman bestselling novel of the same name from which the film is based. I have, however, seen two other films by Derek Cianfrance so I knew I would be in for a wallop of a heavy story. He wrote and directed Blue Valentine and The Place Beyond the Pines, both starring Ryan Gosling. No, he does not make an appearance here. The Light Between Oceans finds Tom Sherbourne (Fassbender) at a crossroadsRead More →

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JASON BOURNE Director: Paul Greengrass Starring: Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Vincent Cassel, Julia Stiles, Alicia Vikander, Riz Ahmed It’s been nine years since Matt Damon donned the identity of Jason Bourne, and boy does it feel great to have him back in such a memorable role. Bourne has been lying low passing his days as a rough street boxer. Julia Stiles is also back as Nicky Parsons, Bourne’s contact regarding the Treadstone Project. She’s at her rope’s end and wants to expose the CIA for all of their secretive wrongdoings. She’s caught in Iceland transferring a massive amount of Black Ops files, which leadsRead More →

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THE 88th ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS The Complete List of Winners…and some commentary BEST PICTURE Spotlight BEST DIRECTOR Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant BEST ACTOR Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant BEST ACTRESS Brie Larson, Room BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Mark Rylance, Bridge of Spies BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Alicia Vikander, The Danish Girl BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY Josh Singer, Tom McCarthy, Spotlight BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY Charles Randolph, Adam McKay, The Big Short BEST EDITING Margaret Sixel, Mad Max Fury Road BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM Son of Saul, Hungary BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki,The Revenant First to win three back to back Oscars in this category. Previously won for Gravity andRead More →

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PAUL PREDICTS The 88th ACADEMY AWARD WINNERS BEST PICTURE 1. The Big Short 2. Bridge of Spies 3. Brooklyn 4. Mad Max Fury Road 5. The Martian 6. The Revenant 7. Room 8. Spotlight WILL WIN: The Revenant COULD WIN: Spotlight BEST DIRECTOR 1. Lenny Abrahamson, Room 2. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant 3. Adam McKay, The Big Short 4. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight 5. George Miller, Mad Max Fury Road WILL WIN: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant COULD WIN: George Miller, Mad Max Fury Road BEST ACTOR 1. Bryan Cranston, Trumbo 2. Matt Damon, The Martian 3. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant 4. Michael Fassbender, SteveRead More →

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OSCAR! OSCAR! REVIEWS OF NOMINATED FILMS We are merely days away from Oscar night, and I still can’t predict who will go home the winner of the coveted Best Picture Oscar. I can’t even predict Best Director at this point. I thought I would share links to my reviews for some of the nominated films for those who may be feeling behind or need to narrow down their “must watch” list. Just click on the film’s title to go to the reviews. Plus, I’ve listed the nominations it received. The Big Short – 5 nominations Picture Director – Adam McKay Supporting Actor – Christian Bale AdaptedRead More →

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The 88th ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS BEST PICTURE 1. The Big Short 2. Bridge of Spies 3. Brooklyn 4. Mad Max Fury Road 5. The Martian 6. The Revenant 7. Room 8. Spotlight BEST DIRECTOR 1. Lenny Abrahamson, Room 2. Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, The Revenant 3. Adam McKay, The Big Short 4. Tom McCarthy, Spotlight 5. George Miller, Mad Max Fury Road BEST ACTOR 1. Bryan Cranston, Trumbo 2. Matt Damon, The Martian 3. Leonardo DiCaprio, The Revenant 4. Michael Fassbender, Steve Jobs 5. Eddie Redmayne, The Danish Girl BEST ACTRESS 1. Cate Blanchett, Carol 2. Brie Larson, Room 3. Jennifer Lawrence, Joy 4. Charlotte Rampling,Read More →

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THE DANISH GIRL Director: Tom Hooper Starring: Alicia Vikander, Eddie Redmayne, Ben Whishaw, Amber Heard, Adrian Schiller, Matthias Schoenaerts It seems with each passing year, the term and notion of being transgender comes with more acceptance and understanding. We have public figures stepping out and announcing they are transgender, which helps the dialogue and communication about it. Back in 1926, it was practically unheard of. Tom Hooper’s new film, The Danish Girl, takes a look into the life of painter Einar Wegener (Redmayne) who went through that transition. He is married and madly in love with his wife Gerda (Vikander). They’re both painters with himRead More →

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EX MACHINA Writer/Director: Alex Garland Starring: Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno I’m just going to throw it out there and say that Oscar Isaac is one of my favorite actors working today. He seems to transform himself with every role without it feeling too showy. In Ex Machina, he plays Nathan, the CEO of a search engine who has secluded himself at his own research facility deep within the mountains of a woody area. One of his employees, Caleb (Gleeson), finds out he has won a coveted position to work for Nathan at the compound. The off the grid feeling is aRead More →

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THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. Director: Guy Ritchie Starring: Henry Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Jared Harris, Hugh Grant A few years ago Guy Ritchie (Snatch, Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels) reimagined Sherlock Holmes for a new audience. He is back for another reimagined reboot with his take on the TV show “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.” which ran from 1964-1968. He keeps it in the Cold War era with a high-speed car chase that introduces us to Napoleon Solo (Cavill) and Illya Kuryakin (Hammer). They are top agents who couldn’t be farther apart in their approaches to bringing down the nemesis. Solo is aRead More →