After more than a year of negotiations, Disney completed its purchase of 21st Century Fox last week, an investment of $71 billion.
According to Variety, the purchase means Disney now owns Twentieth Century Fox, Fox Searchlight, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Family and Fox Animation. Additionally, Disney now has control over Fox’s TV productions.
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Breaking down the merger of Disney and Fox”
A new adaptation of the book “Little Women” has swapped Emma Stone for Emma Watson.
According to Empire Magazine, Stone, an Oscar winner for her work in “La La Land,” had to leave the project because of scheduling issues. As a result, the film has attached Emma Watson to take her place in the same role.
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Emma Watson joins star-studded ‘Little Women’ cast”
The movie company A24 has acquired rights to release the film “Gloria Bell” in the United States.
According to Variety, the company’s deal comes just before its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. Variety reports that the movie is one of the more high-profile pictures set to debut at the fest.
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: A24 picks up Julianne Moore movie before Toronto film fest”
“Molly’s Game” is a film certainly filled with talent, both in its acting and writing. However, this isn’t necessarily a picture to go all in on.
The film tells two intertwined tales, both revolving around the same real life figure, Molly Bloom (Jessica Chastain). One of them is about how Molly created a high-stakes poker game which led to large amounts of wealth and its own share of problems.
The other takes place in the ‘present day,’ where her game was exposed by authorities and she needs to build a legal defense. In doing the latter, Molly gets help from a lawyer named Charlie Jaffey (Idris Elba), who becomes her legal counsel.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Molly’s Game’ Is Entertaining But Lacks Depth”
I’m not usually a stickler for 100 percent historical accuracy, but even I have to admit that “The Greatest Showman” takes a battle axe to P.T. Barnum’s true story.
The film tells the story of how Barnum (Hugh Jackman) went from a poor boy coming from nothing to a well-known showman who creates entertainment via circus acts. It doesn’t just do this in any ordinary manner, though. Instead, the film goes into full musical mode right off the bat and never lets up.
As the movie goes on, it explores Barnum trying to balance his family life with his wife Charity (Michelle Williams) and his business, which he runs with help from his partner Phillip (Zac Efron).
Continue reading “REVIEW: Catchy Songs Don’t Save Rushed Story In ‘Greatest Showman’”
It’s always surprising and disappointing seeing a film squander a plethora of talent in its cast. “The Circle” is one of those types of movies.
The picture centers on a young woman named Mae (Emma Watson) who gets a job at the world’s leading computer technology/social networking company, the Circle. Headed by a pair by the names of Bailey (Tom Hanks) and Stenton (Patton Oswalt), the Circle operates at a massive facility that largely provides anything that a person could really want.
As Mae settles into her new role, though, she starts to notice some things that seem off. This thought process is only increased when she comes into contact with a lead developer named Ty (John Boyega), who informs her of some shady operations. At the same time, though, Mae also becomes a person of interest as she starts coming up with new ideas that actually benefit the company.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘The Circle’ Is A Directionless Waste Of Talented Performers”
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In “Concussion,” Will Smith plays Dr. Bennet Omalu, a Pittsburgh forensic neuropathologist whose work brings him in contact with the deceased former Steelers player Mike Webster (Morse). After researching Webster’s cause of death, Omalu comes to the conclusion that repeated blows to the head from football created a disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE.
As Omalu begins to review other possible cases of CTE, he has to also deal with the National Football League, which isn’t ready to admit any wrongdoing on their part for the lack of research.
Director:
Danny Boyle
Cast:
Michael Fassbender
Kate Winslet
Seth Rogen
Jeff Daniels
Rated: R
“Steve Jobs” takes place over the course of three large scale unveilings of new computers. As these events take place, the film centers on Jobs’ (Fassbender) relationships with the important people in his life.
The film shows the tech mogul’s relationship with his associate Steve Wozniak (Rogen), former Apple CEO John Sculley (Daniels), his daughter Lisa and assistant Joanna Hoffman (Winslet).
Director:
Nancy Meyers
Cast:
Robert De Niro
Anne Hathaway
Anders Holm
Rated: PG-13
In “The Intern,” Robert De Niro plays Ben, a senior citizen and widower who has become a bit bored in his retirement. He’s taken up hobbies and traveled to other countries, but still feels like there’s more to do. The movie picks up when Ben comes across an ad marketing an intern program for seniors at an online clothes store.
Despite not having much experience with today’s technology or the newest fashion trends, Ben throws his hat in the ring and gets picked up as a new intern at the business. While there, he is tasked with being an assistant to the company’s owner Jules, played by Anne Hathaway. Jules is a bit difficult to work with, though, as she’s under pressure to make a decision regarding hiring a CEO for the company.
Director:
F. Gary Gray
Cast:
O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Corey Hawkins
Jason Mitchell
Neil Brown Jr.
Aldis Hodge
Paul Giamatti
Rated: R
“Straight Outta Compton” tells the story of the N.W.A., a west coast rap group that caused a monumental shift in the whole genre. Founding members of the group included Andre “Dr. Dre” Romelle Young (Hawkins), Eric “Eazy E” Wright (Mitchell), O’Shea “Ice Cube” Jackson (Jackson Jr.), Lorenzo “MC Ren” Patterson (Hodge) and Antoine “DJ Yella” Carraby (Brown Jr.).
The film follows their rise, from creating their first album to going on tour and the eventual group break-up that occurred in the early 1990s.
Matthew Liedke on Film 