Ranking the Halloween Series

Happy Halloween everyone! This is always the best time of the year. World Series baseball is wrapping up, the NFL season is in full swing and horror movies are running rampant. Oh how I wish October would never end. Scary movies were my introduction to film. At an early age I developed an obsession with feeling frightened thanks to classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. However, nothing quite left its mark like Michael Myers and the Halloween franchise. As a loyal fan and someone who has seen each film of the series, through the good times and the bad, I've decided to de

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Nightcrawler

Film: NightcrawlerStarring: Jake Gyllenhaal (Prisoners) and Rene Russo (Thor)Director: Dan GilroyU.S. Release: October 31st, 2014 (Rated R)Genre: ThrillerRuntime: 117 minutes*** Guest Review by Greg RouleauThere’s something remarkably intriguing about Los Angeles at night.  From the beautiful skyscrapers of the downtown area, the Hollywood hills overlooking a sea of illumination, the vastness of the valley and the Pacific coast - cinematically, the “City of Angels” is a perfect backdrop for the genre of crime-thrillers.  As seen in Michael Mann’s Heat and Collateral, to the recent i

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2014 Philadelphia Film Festival Recap Part 2

Yesterday kicked off my first of a two-part series recapping each and every film I managed to catch at this year's Philadelphia Film Festival (click here for Part 1). Here's a look at the final eight titles that I ended up viewing.Imperial Dreams2 and a half stars out of 4 - B-Malik Vitthal's Imperial Dreams stood out as one of the most powerful dramas of the festival. Leading actor John Boyega gives a towering performance as Bambi, a young aspiring writer recently released from prison who's set on taking care of him son and making it out of the dangerous projects in Watts, Los Angeles. Imper

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2014 Philadelphia Film Festival Recap Part 1

After outlining my Best of the Festival Picks yesterday, I thought I'd give a brief recap of all the films I had a chance to enjoy over the past 2 weeks of movie watching. First, I already reviewed a few festival selections like Laggies, Birdman, St. Vincent, The Imitation Game, Wild, Escobar: Paradise Lost and The Good Lie. Here's a look at some other films I caught at the Philadelphia Film Festival:The Mule3 stars out of 4 - BOne of the most bizarre and incredible stories at this year's festival comes from the Aussie film, The Mule. Terrific performances from Angus Sampson (who al

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The Best of the Philadelphia Film Festival 2014

Now that the 23rd annual Philadelphia Film Festival has come and gone, I've decided to reflect on the 21 new films I watched (I saw Lynn Shelton's Laggies for a second time) and break down the best movies and performances that I experienced. Sadly, this was my first festival that didn't produce an "A" movie. However, that doesn't mean the lineup they assembled was awful because there was really only one "clunker" in all of the 21 new films I witnessed. So here they are, my selections for the Best of the Fest (not including Laggies, which ranks on my Best of Sundance list):Best Supporting Actr

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Wild

Film: WildStarring: Reese Witherspoon (Mud) and Laura Dern (The Fault in Our Stars)Director: Jean-Marc Vallee (Dallas Buyers Club)U.S. Release: December 5th, 2014 (Rated R)Genre: DramaRuntime: 115 minutesThis year's Closing Night selection at the Philadelphia Film Festival was Jean-Marc Vallee's latest effort, Wild. Vallee has quickly climbed the ranks as a premier filmmaker thanks to the overwhelming success of last year's Dallas Buyers Club, which went on to collect 3 Academy Awards during its memorable run. While Wild clearly doesn't have the same impact and staying-power as his previ

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The Gambler (Red Band) and Avengers: Age of Ultron Trailers

December release The Gambler, from Rise of the Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt, has debuted its first Red Band teaser trailer. The remake of Karel Reisz's 1974 film of the same name stars Mark Wahlberg as a literature professor whose gambling addiction puts him in serious danger with some ruthless gangsters. Boasting a lengthy cast of prominent talents such as John Goodman, Jessica Lange and Brie Larson, there are plenty of reason for optimism with this Oscar-hopeful reboot.The world held its collective breath at the first word of the Avengers: Age of Ultron teaser trailer. Following

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Rapid Reviews: Escobar: Paradise Lost and The Good Lie

With The Philadelphia Film Festival in full swing and over a dozen new films behind me, Tuesday delivered one of the clear festival highlights, Italian-native Andrea Di Stefano's Escobar: Paradise Lost. As Stefano's directorial debut, the actor-turned-filmmaker conjures up a well-crafted fictitious tale of a Canadian-born surfing instructor named Nick (played by The Hunger Games' Josh Hutcherson) who ventures to Colombia and falls in love with the niece of notorious cocaine-kingpin, Pablo Escobar.Escobar: Paradise Lost does a wonderful job of gradually escalating the tension and sealing

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The Imitation Game

Film: The Imitation GameStarring: Benedict Cumberbatch (12 Years a Slave), Keira Knightley (Pride & Prejudice) and Matthew Goode (Watchmen)Director: Morten TyldumU.S. Release: November 21st, 2014 (Rated PG-13)Genre: DramaRuntime: 113 minutesEvery year an unexpected film rises out of nowhere and makes its mark on the awards season race. While Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game hung quietly on prognosticators' radars, none expected it to capture the highly coveted People's Choice Award at TIFF, a recognition that instantly catapults the film into the heart of the Best Picture race. Previous

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Rapid Reviews: St. Vincent and Men, Women & Children

The Philadelphia Film Festival delivered a special treat on its Opening Night. With Alejandro G. Inarritu's Birdman as the main attraction, the evening also featured a viewing of Theodore Melfi's directorial debut, St. Vincent, starring the legendary comedic performer Bill Murray.St. Vincent is a charming little film that's rough around the edges thanks to Murray's wonderful title-character turn as a grouchy Vietnam War veteran who's cornered into taking his new neighbor's son under his wing. Broke and desperate for a steady source of income, Vin becomes an unconventional babysitter of sorts

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Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)

Film: Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)Starring: Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice), Emma Stone (The Help) and Edward Norton (Moonrise Kingdom)Director: Alejandro G. Inarritu (Babel)U.S. Release: October 17th, 2014 (Limited Release - Rated R)Genre: ComedyRuntime: 119 minutesThe 23rd annual Philadelphia Film Festival kicked off last night in a less than grand fashion. After an unexpected last-minute issue with the projector, a venue change was quickly arranged and delayed the evening by nearly an hour and a half. Set to jump-start the festival was Alejandro G. Inarritu's latest cinemat

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A November to Remember

While I was running over my tentative movie-watching schedule for the 23rd annual Philadelphia Film Festival, which kicks off tomorrow night with two high profiles films, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu's powerhouse Oscar-contender, Birdman, and newcomer Theordore Melfi's St. Vincent, I began to think about the huge slate of titles coming to theatres this November. Whether you're in the mood for highly-touted festival darlings with Academy Awards aspirations or new installments to blockbuster franchises, November is sure to offer a little something for everybody.On November 7th the wait is finall

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