
No Escape (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 23rd, 2015 - Blu-ray and DVDI don’t have a whole lot new to add. No Escape is incredibly well made, and is suitably thrilling for much of its running time. Yet it is also really difficult to watch at times, and I can’t help but feel a little xenophobic on some levels – which is maybe the point – for enjoying it as much as I did. Make of that what you will.
I don’t have a whole lot new to add. No Escape is incredibly well made, and is suitably thrilling for much of its running time. Yet it is also really difficult to watch at times, and I can’t help but feel a little xenophobic on some levels – which is maybe the point – for enjoying it as much as I did. Make of that what you will.

Passage to Marseille (1944) – Warner Archive
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 23rd, 2015 - Blu-ray and DVDWho cares about Humphrey Bogart’s exceedingly odd casting as a French war hero? I certainly don’t, Passage to Marseille a wonderful old school patriotic WWII actioner with a unique overlapping flashback structure that’s beyond one-of-a-kind.
Who cares about Humphrey Bogart’s exceedingly odd casting as a French war hero? I certainly don’t, Passage to Marseille a wonderful old school patriotic WWII actioner with a unique overlapping flashback structure that’s beyond one-of-a-kind.

#Horror (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 20th, 2015 - Movie Reviews#Horror isn’t a fun watch, and what it says is hardly profound. But that doesn’t make the film any less easy to turn away from, either, and as debuts go Subkoff has crafted one I’m going to be thinking on for quite some time, indeed.
#Horror isn’t a fun watch, and what it says is hardly profound. But that doesn’t make the film any less easy to turn away from, either, and as debuts go Subkoff has crafted one I’m going to be thinking on for quite some time, indeed.

A Ballerina’s Tale (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 20th, 2015 - Movie ReviewsA Ballerina’s Tale might not be a great documentary, never achieving the same level of perfection as its subject so often does dancing across the staged, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Still, I can’t stop wondering what might have been had George dug just a tiny bit deeper, Copeland’s amazing story deserving of a fuller, more complex telling, one I can’t help but hope happens sooner rather than later.
A Ballerina’s Tale might not be a great documentary, never achieving the same level of perfection as its subject so often does dancing across the staged, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. Still, I can’t stop wondering what might have been had George dug just a tiny bit deeper, Copeland’s amazing story deserving of a fuller, more complex telling, one I can’t help but hope happens sooner rather than later.

Brooklyn (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 20th, 2015 - Movie ReviewsDelivering what could be misconstrued as nothing more than a fluffy romantic comedy with dramatic undertones, sneakily and subtly [Brooklyn] is actually about so much more. This is the saga of a youngster becoming her own, confident women ready to take on the world at large, learning who she is now and who she was then aren’t as far apart as those wanting to keep Eilis standing still would like her to believe.
Delivering what could be misconstrued as nothing more than a fluffy romantic comedy with dramatic undertones, sneakily and subtly [Brooklyn] is actually about so much more. This is the saga of a youngster becoming her own, confident women ready to take on the world at large, learning who she is now and who she was then aren’t as far apart as those wanting to keep Eilis standing still would like her to believe.

By the Sea (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 20th, 2015 - Movie ReviewsOnly time will reveal how I really feel about By the Sea, whether or not it becomes something meaningful and thought-provoking or if it just remains a facetious facsimile emulating a style of European cinema it reveres yet fails to understand. Either way, I’m tempted to still give Jolie Pitt props, and I have this sneaky suspicion I’ll be giving the film a second chance to win me over sooner rather than later.
Only time will reveal how I really feel about By the Sea, whether or not it becomes something meaningful and thought-provoking or if it just remains a facetious facsimile emulating a style of European cinema it reveres yet fails to understand. Either way, I’m tempted to still give Jolie Pitt props, and I have this sneaky suspicion I’ll be giving the film a second chance to win me over sooner rather than later.

Secret in Their Eyes (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 20th, 2015 - Movie ReviewsSecret in Their Eyes will not electrify viewers who’ve seen the Argentinian original with near the same magnitude. Ray doesn’t shake things up, doesn’t choose to go in a new direction, more or less doing nothing more than attempt to tell the same story but with an Americanized bent. But thanks to the efforts of the cast, especially the central trio, an unbelievably good Roberts most of all, and a smart, intelligently-constructed script that treats its audience with a great deal of respect, I found that this remake was worthwhile, was a motion picture I could enjoy.
Secret in Their Eyes will not electrify viewers who’ve seen the Argentinian original with near the same magnitude. Ray doesn’t shake things up, doesn’t choose to go in a new direction, more or less doing nothing more than attempt to tell the same story but with an Americanized bent. But thanks to the efforts of the cast, especially the central trio, an unbelievably good Roberts most of all, and a smart, intelligently-constructed script that treats its audience with a great deal of respect, I found that this remake was worthwhile, was a motion picture I could enjoy.

Trumbo (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 20th, 2015 - Movie ReviewsIt’s impossible not to imagine what the man being chronicled here would have thought of this…Nonetheless, Trumbo is a solid effort made close to unmissable thanks in large part to Cranston’s magnificence, the resulting biopic a gripping return to a Hollywood of yesteryear where the themes being examined couldn’t be more appropriately timely.
It’s impossible not to imagine what the man being chronicled here would have thought of this…Nonetheless, Trumbo is a solid effort made close to unmissable thanks in large part to Cranston’s magnificence, the resulting biopic a gripping return to a Hollywood of yesteryear where the themes being examined couldn’t be more appropriately timely.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part II (2015)
by Sara Michelle Fetters - November 19th, 2015 - Movie ReviewsTo their credit, the filmmakers match the tone of Collins’ book more or less all the way through (save for a subtle – yet important – change during the closing seconds), attempting to craft a war-torn parable that has more in common with Platoon or Apocalypse Now than it does to Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
To their credit, the filmmakers match the tone of Collins’ book more or less all the way through (save for a subtle – yet important – change during the closing seconds), attempting to craft a war-torn parable that has more in common with Platoon or Apocalypse Now than it does to Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings trilogy.