06 June
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DARK PHOENIX Writer/Director: Simon KinbergStarring: Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Jessica Chastain, Alexandra Shipp, Evan Peters, Kodi Smit-Phee Jean Grey is a favorite among X-Men fans. She’s had quite the journey as we’ve seen in the comics and film series. Dark Phoenix acts as part origin story as it charts evolution as mutant into the fully fledged Dark Phoenix. Game of Thrones’ Sophie Turner returns to the role of Jean Grey after appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse. We learn as a young girl she accidentally caused the death of her parents in a car accident. Her powers of telepathy and telekinesisRead More →

18 May
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ALIEN: COVENANT Director: Ridley Scott Starring: Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz In 2012 director Ridley Scott brought his Alien franchise back to life with Prometheus which posed as a prequel to his 1979 classic. Alien: Covenant is considered the eighth in this series if you include the two Alien vs Predator mashup movies that came in between. Scott is back to direct and has stated there are plans for more in his attempt to bridge the gap between these prequels and the original. Covenant picks up ten years after Prometheus left off. It’s 2104Read More →

01 September
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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 →

26 May
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X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Director: Bryan Singer Starring: Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Oscar Isaac, Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Evan Peters, Oliva Munn, Rose Byrne, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Alexandra Shipp I thought it would be a slam-dunk no-brainer that the casting of Oscar Isaac in the latest and final film in the new X-Men trilogy would make it the best one yet. I now realize I was reaching a bit due to my love of the actor. In case you’re unfamiliar, he played the heroic Poe Dameron in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and the title character in Inside Llewyn Davis. Now he’s playing theRead More →

30 December
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In Special Series

2015: A YEAR IN REVIEW It’s that time of the year again when critics post their best and worst of the year lists. The beginning of 2015 was a big doozy to the point where I thought it was going to be a bad year at the movies. It was one lousy movie after another (Get Hard, Chappie). The summer hit and the year seemed to be turning around especially after long running franchises were brought back to life to thunderous applause (Jurassic World, Mad Max Fury Road). The year ended with some wonderful smaller films packing a punch (Spotlight, Carol) and big studio filmsRead More →

12 December
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In Movie Trailers

X-MEN: APOCALYPSE Director: Bryan Singer Starring: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Munn, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Tye Sheridan, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters In just a few days, we will be treated with Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Before that movie starts, audiences will get a glimpse at the first trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse. This is the final film in the new trilogy that started with X-Men: First Class. The mutants we’ve come to know including: James McAvoy’s Professor X, Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique, and Michael Fassbender as Magneto are all back as well as some new mutants including Olivia Munn as Psyloche,Read More →

16 October
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STEVE JOBS Director: Danny Boyle Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Jeff Daniels, Michael Stuhlbarg, Seth Rogen, Katherine Waterston After the death of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, I saw hordes of people reading the book “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson as a way to get inside his head and use it for motivation in their business ventures. I will proudly admit to drinking the Apple Kool-Aid, but I have not dived into that tome yet. Emmy and Oscar winning writer Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, “The West Wing”) has now used portions of that book as the framework for his script. Instead of doing your standardRead More →

02 July
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STEVE JOBS Director: Danny Boyle Starring: Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet, Seth Rogen, Jeff Daniels         It was only a matter of time after Steve Jobs’ passing that his life and career would get the big screen treatment. Most people have probably forgotten about Ashton Kutcher playing him in Jobs. The second movie is simply titled Steve Jobs, and it has far more going for it than Jobs. Director Danny Boyle (Slumdog Millionaire) lined up an all-star cast including: Michael Fassbender in the title role, Seth Rogen as Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, Kate Winslet as a member of the Mac team, and JeffRead More →

27 May
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X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST Director: Bryan Singer Starring: Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Hugh Jackman, Peter Dinklage, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Halle Berry, Ellen Page, Shawn Ashmore The fans rejoiced when it was announced that Bryan Singer signed on to direct the latest outing in this series. He got the series going with X-Men and then upped the ante with the stellar X2 in 2003. Unfortunately he departed the series and we were left with Brett Ratner directing X-Men: The Last Stand, which still leaves a sour note in moviegoers’ memories. Since the original trilogy, we have had two terrible stand-aloneRead More →

07 November
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12 YEARS A SLAVE Director: Steve McQueen Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Alfre Woodard, Lupita Nyong’o, Paul Dano, Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Giamatti, Brad Pitt Not since Steven Spielberg’s Schindler’s List has a film so vividly captured a horrifying chapter in history. Steve McQueen’s (Shame, Hunger) latest film is an adaptation of the memoir of the same name by Solomon Northup. In 1841, Solomon (Ejiofor) was a free black man with a wife and two children. Being an accomplished violinist, he is targeted by two men (Scoot McNairy and Taran Killam) posing as artists offering him a chance to be a part of a touring musicRead More →