24 January
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BEN IS BACK Writer/Director: Peter HedgesStarring: Lucas Hedges, Julia Roberts, Courtney B. Vance, Kathryn Newton, Rachel Bay Jones In the new film Ben is Back, Lucas Hedges stars Ben Burns (Hedges) who suffers from drug addiction. He’s put his family through turmoil time and time again. He unexpectedly comes home for Christmas Eve much to the delight of his mother, Holly (Roberts). His stepfather, Neal (Vance), has his guard up as Ben has yet to prove himself to be in a sober and stable state of mind. Holly gives him 24 hours for him prove his sobriety and show them that he is getting better.Read More →

16 November
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WONDER Director: Stephen Chbosky Starring: Jacob Tremblay, Julia Roberts, Owen Wilson, Izabela Vidovic, Daveed Diggs, Kadji Jeter, Mandy Patinkin The book Wonder by R.J. Palacio has taken schools by storm due to its sensitive subject of bullying and feeling accepted. Now we’re getting the big screen treatment with a pretty strong cast. Jacob Tremblay (Room) stars as ten-year-old Auggie. As he states in the opening voice-over, he’s no ordinary kid despite doing what kids his age like to do like play with lightsabers and pretend he’s flying into outer space. He has a big imagination and often uses that to escape from the harsh realitiesRead More →

13 May
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MONEY MONSTER Director: Jodie Foster Starring: George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Jack O’Connell, Dominic West, Giancarlo Esposito George. Julia. Jodie. All three Oscar winners are teaming up for a sharp edge of your seat thriller that feels all too realistic. George Clooney plays Lee Gates, a Jim Cramer type host of a cable show called Money Monster. He’s a showy kind of host who’s not afraid to veer off the script to be the hotshot star. The show is devoted to the New York Stock Exchange, and he’s considered the “Wizard of Wall Street.” He recently predicted the stock of a company named IBIS to skyrocket,Read More →

29 April
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MOTHER’S DAY Director: Gary Marshall Starring: Jennifer Aniston, Kate Hudson, Julia Roberts, Jason Sudeikis, Margo Martindale, Britt Robertson, Timothy Olyphant, Hector Elizondo, Aasif Mandvi, Robert Pine, Sarah Chalke, Jack Whitehall I hate watching bad movies, but I sure do love writing about them. Such is the case for Mother’s Day. Long-time comedy director Gary Marshall continues his “holiday” themed movies with Mother’s Day, which follows Valentine’s Day and New Year’s Eve. It’s another ensemble film with many intersecting storylines and one little twist along the way. Those other films had boasted a huge cast of A-listers. I had gathered by this film’s poster that maybeRead More →

10 January
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AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Director: John Wells Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Julianne Nicholson, Juliette Lewis, Chris Cooper, Margo Martindale, Ewan McGregor, Abigail Breslin, Dermot Mulroney, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Shepard Did you have some family drama over the holidays? People acting crazy around the dinner table? Just wait until you meet the Weston family. Your family will seem a whole heck of a lot more normal after you spend a few hours with the Westons. Patriarch Beverly (Shepard) is an alcoholic and former poet who can no longer tolerate his marriage to Violet (Streep). After thirty plus years and three daughters, the love they once hadRead More →

26 November
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THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER–The 2013 Full Uncensored Actresses and Producers Roundtable The Hollywood Reporter continues their roundtable discussions with two more that have been released in the series. This time we have many of the actresses and producers that are making a splash this awards season. You may notice some of the same movies being discussed, but it is always interesting hearing about the process from different perspectives involved in the production. I have included links to all of my reviews thus far. The Actresses Roundtable Amy Adams, American Hustle Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave Julia Roberts, August: Osage County Octavia Spencer, Fruitvale Station EmmaRead More →

10 May
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AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY Director: John Wells Starring: Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts, Juliette Lewis, Abigail Breslin, Ewan McGregor, Dermot Mulroney, Chris Cooper, Sam Shepard, Margo Martindale, Benedict Cumberbatch When I first heard that Goddess Meryl Streep had been cast as Violet, the pill-popping matriarch of the Weston family, I thought of no one better that could play that role for the big screen adaptation of the Tracy Letts play. After Violet’s husband Beverly (Shepard) goes missing, the whole family gathers together in the house they grew up in order to find him. To call this family dynamic dysfunctional would be an understatement. Movies adapted from stageRead More →