If you haven’t seen Sling Blade, you are soon to meet quite a unique protagonist. If you have, you’ll know that Billy Bob Thornton’s original character Karl Childers is like a disturbed cousin of Forrest Gump, with his chin jutting out and a gravelly voice (he sounds like he’s been gargling broken glass) slurring out southern slang and broken sentences.
Staff Film Review – Once Upon A Time…In Hollywood
About halfway through Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, a shaggy-looking man approaches the Polanski residence on Cielo Drive. Jay Sebring (Emile Hirsch), friend of director Roman Polanski and his rising star wife Sharon Tate, answers the door. “Who is it, Jay?” asks Sharon from the hallway, played in the film by Wolf of Wall Street star Margot Robbie. “It’s ok, honey. It’s a friend of Terry’s,” Sebring answers, clearly skeptical of the stranger standing in his friend’s driveway and eager to be rid of him. The “Terry” refers to record producer Terry Melcher, friend of Beach Boys frontman Brian Wilson and previous resident of the house. Viewers familiar with their 1960’s true crime history will recognize the long-haired wanderer as the infamous cult leader Charles Manson though never explicitly named in the film. The scene is based on real events in which Manson staked out the house, later orchestrating one of the most shocking home-invasion murders in American history.
Staff Film Review – Ernest and Celestine
Ernest and Celestine is a charming French and Belgian animated film which was nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars in 2014, ultimately losing to a little movie you may have heard of called Frozen. Originally released in 2012, the movie was dubbed into English under the production company GKIDS the following year. This English language version features Forest Whitaker (Last King of Scotland) as Ernest, a curmudgeonly bear who’s down on his luck, and Mackenzie Foy (Interstellar) as Celestine, a mouse who is forbidden by her fellow mice to interact with bears yet finds herself interacting with one regardless.
Staff Film Review – The Secret of NIMH
Secret of Nimh is a 1982 animated film directed by Don Bluth. It was written for the screen by Bluth (as well as his long-time collaborators Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, and Will Finn), and adapted from the classic childrens’ book by Robert C. O’brien titled Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh. It tells the story of a widowed mouse…
Staff Film Review – Room
Room is a 2015 drama directed by Lenny Abrahamson (Frank) and written for the screen by Emma Donahue. It is adapted from Donahue’s own book of the same name, released in 2010. The film stars Brie Larson as “Ma” and Jacob Tremblay as her son Jack…
Staff Film Review – Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them is a 2016 fantasy film directed by David Yates (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2, Legend of Tarzan) and written for the screen by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, in her screenwriting debut. It’s a spin-off of the Harry Potter film series and stars Oscar-winner Eddie Redmayne (Theory of Everything,)…
Staff Film Review – Spirited Away
Spirited Away is an animated film written and directed by Japanese filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki. Released in Japan in 2001 with an English-language version soon following in 2002, it tells the story of a ten-year-old girl named Chihiro, separated from her parents after taking a shortcut in the woods en route to their new home.