Posted by Jared Mobarak on January 8, 2018 · Leave a Comment
“Where all your dreams come true” In true children’s book fashion, Paddington’s (Ben Whishaw) continuing adventures in London alongside the Brown family (Hugh Bonneville‘s Henry, Sally Hawkins‘ Mary, Madeleine Harris‘ Judy, Samuel Joslin‘s Jonathan, and Julie Walters‘ Mrs. Bird) would of course stem from something as seemingly innocuous as procuring a birthday present for his […]
Category action/adventure, comedy, family, film reviews · Tags Aaron Neil, Ben Whishaw, Brendan Gleeson, Hugh Bonneville, Hugh Grant, Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Joanna Lumley, Julie Walters, Justin Edwards, Madeleine Harris, Michael Bond, Noah Taylor, Paddington 2, Paul King, Peter Capaldi, Richard Ayoade, Sally Hawkins, Samuel Joslin, Simon Farnaby, Tom Davis
Posted by Jared Mobarak on January 6, 2018 · Leave a Comment
“Does anyone know where I can find a home?” I remember reading Michael Bond‘s Paddington Bear books when I was a kid and might have even had a duffle coat-wearing stuffed animal too. But I couldn’t tell you a thing about those stories if you put a gun to my head and asked. I recall […]
Category action/adventure, comedy, family, film reviews · Tags Ben Whishaw, Hugh Bonneville, Imelda Staunton, Jim Broadbent, Julie Walters, Madeleine Harris, Matt Lucas, Michael Bond, Michael Gambon, Nicole Kidman, Paddington, Paul King, Peter Capaldi, Sally Hawkins, Samuel Joslin, Tim Downie
Posted by Jared Mobarak on June 5, 2016 · Leave a Comment
“That is none of your concern” Writer/director Yorgos Lanthimos‘ English language debut The Lobster is a dystopian sci-fi romance depicting a world where Paula Abdul doesn’t exist. If these mechanical creatures devoid of emotion heard her 1988 single “Opposites Attract” their woes of the heart might be eased. I say this because while life is […]
Category comedy, drama, film reviews, romance · Tags Angeliki Papulia, Ashley Jensen, Ben Whishaw, Colin Farrell, Dogtooth, Efthymis Filippou, Jessica Barden, John C. Reilly, Léa Seydoux, Michael Smiley, Olivia Colman, Paula Abdul, Rachel Weisz, The Lobster, Yorgos Lanthimos
Posted by Jared Mobarak on April 27, 2016 · Leave a Comment
“Look. They are sweeping sand in the desert.” If you’re doubling-down on the existential content of your film as soon as it begins, you can do worse than Talking Heads classic “Once in a Lifetime”. Not only does it perfectly encapsulate the fallout of a mid-life crisis wherein everything you believed made you who you […]
Category comedy, drama, film reviews · Tags A Hologram for the King, Alexander Black, Ben Whishaw, Dave Eggers, Khalid Laith, Sarita Choudhury, Sidse Babett Knudsen, Talking Heads, Tom Hanks, Tom Skerritt, Tom Tykwer
Posted by Jared Mobarak on December 1, 2015 · 1 Comment
“It’s what I dream. They’re Lili’s dreams.” It’s difficult to fathom what Lili Elbe went through in the 1920s—and not just living as a transgender woman at a time where there was no name for it, but also to undergo surgeries as advanced as sex reassignment a century ago. You’d like to believe her life […]
Category biography, drama, film reviews · Tags Alicia Vikander, Amber Heard, Ben Whishaw, David Ebershoff, Eddie Redmayne, Lucinda Coxon, Matthias Schoenaerts, Sebastian Koch, The Danish Girl, Tom Hooper
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 2, 2015 · Leave a Comment
“You’re a kite dancing in a hurricane, Mr. Bond” Remember that badass organization known as Quantum the deliciously vile Mr. White (Jesper Christensen) ran to terrorize James Bond (Daniel Craig) for two films? How about rogue former 00-program pledge Silva (Javier Bardem) wreaking havoc throughout London due a personal vendetta against MI6? They both made […]
Category action/adventure, film reviews, suspense/thriller · Tags Andrew Scott, Ben Whishaw, Casino Royale, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Craig, Dave Baustista, Die Another Day, Hoyte Van Hoytema, Javier Bardem, Jesper Christensen, Jez Butterworth, John Logan, Kevin McClory, Léa Seydoux, Miss Bala, Monica Bellucci, Naomie Harris, Neal Purvis, Quantum of Solace, Ralph Fiennes, Robert Wade, Roger Deakins, Sam Mendes, Skyfall, Spectre, Stephanie Sigman
Posted by Jared Mobarak on October 1, 2014 · Leave a Comment
“Making sense of the good things in life” If the end were empty—as was the beginning—wouldn’t life be meaning in itself? Why do we constantly ask the question and seek its answer if so many believe our present existence is merely a stepping-stone towards eternity? If that’s truly the case one could label life as […]
Category drama, fantasy, film reviews, science fiction · Tags 12 Monkeys, Ben Whishaw, Brazil, Christoph Waltz, David Thewlis, Karen Souza, Lucas Hedges, Matt Damon, Mélanie Thierry, Pat Rushin, Peter Stormare, Radiohead, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Terry Gilliam, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The LEGO Movie, The Zero Theorem, Tilda Swinton
Posted by Jared Mobarak on September 24, 2014 · Leave a Comment
“Kissing is kissing” There’s no better title for Hong Khaou‘s feature debut than the one given: Lilting. It describes the pacing and aesthetic as guilt and grief intertwine with memory and reality fading together within a single camera pan for a joltingly emotive effect. It also illustrates each character’s cautious trepidation amidst tragedy and their […]
Posted by Jared Mobarak on November 5, 2012 · Leave a Comment
“He’s keen to get home” With Paul Haggis relinquishing co-writing duties opposite duo Neal Purvis and Robert Wade to John Logan, the newest iteration of James Bond finds itself an autonomous entity. More attuned to the legacy that came before Daniel Craig donned the suit, we no longer need to worry about Mr. White or […]
Category action/adventure, film reviews, suspense/thriller · Tags Albert Finney, Ben Whishaw, Bérénice Marlohe, Casino Royale, Daniel Craig, Days of Heaven, Ian Fleming, Javier Bardem, John Logan, Judi Dench, Live Free or Die Hard, Naomie Harris, Neal Purvis, Ola Rapace, Paul Haggis, Quantum of Solace, Ralph Fiennes, Robert Wade, Roger Deakins, Sam Mendes, Skyfall, The Bourne Identity
Posted by Jared Mobarak on September 15, 2012 · Leave a Comment
“Our lives are not our own” In grand fashion comes an epic about freedom and the wrongs of humanity forever marring how we’re seen through the annals of time. Every misstep is repeated; every stand against oppression spawned from the voice of one strong enough to understand equality’s worth over the cowardice of blindly hiding […]
Category drama, film features, film festival, film reviews, science fiction, toronto international film festival · Tags Andy Wachowski, Ben Whishaw, Cloud Atlas, David Gyasi, David Mitchell, Doona Bae, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, James D'Arcy, Jim Broadbent, Jim Sturgess, Lana Wachowski, Susan Sarandon, TIFF, Tom Hanks, Tom Tykwer, Toronto International Film Festival
Posted by Jared Mobarak on September 14, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Every year at the Toronto International Film Festival seems to get better and better. Is that due to the increase in films from six to eleven to fifteen? It very well might be. And I’ll just say now, watching fifteen films in less than four days may not be the healthiest thing in the world. […]
Category essays, film features, film festival, toronto international film festival · Tags A Serious Man, Abbie Cornish, Adam Brody, Agora, Alejandro Amenábar, An Education, Antichrist, Away We Go, Ben Whishaw, Bright Star, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Cormac McCarthy, Cracks, Cremaster, Daybreakers, Diablo Cody, Elizabethtown, Enter the Void, Equilibrium, Ethan Hawke, Eva Green, Face, Fanny Ardant, Gaspar Noé, George Clooney, Irreversible, Jane Campion, Jason Reitman, Jennifer’s Body, John Hillcoat, John Holmes, Jordan Scott, Juno, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Lars and the Real Girl, Lars von Trier, Like You Know It All, Lone Scherfig, Mads Mikkelsen, Mar adentro, Margot at the Wedding, Matt Damon, Matthew Barney, Max Minghella, Megan Fox, Michael Haneke, Ming-liang Tsai, Nick Hornby, Nicolas Winding Refn, Paul Schneider, Rachel Weisz, Ridley Scott, Robert Duvall, Sam Neill, Scott Z. Burns, Spierig Brothers, Steven Soderbergh, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, The Informant!, The Others, The Piano, The Proposition, The Road, The White Ribbon, TIFF, Toronto International Film Festival, Undead, Up in the Air, Valhalla Rising, Viggo Mortensen, Visage, Willem Dafoe, [Rec] 2
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