E. Nielson

A fantasy film directed by Alex Proyas based on a screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless concerning ancient Egyptian deities is a woeful affair that tries to be entertaining but simply is not. Overly saturated with CGI (computer graphics imagery) effects that actually get wearisome after a very short period of time, this is a film that has been done many times before despite a cast that does its best to read their lines as if they were reciting Shakespeare. Filmed on a

This film directed by John Hillcoat from a screenplay by Matt Cook is a crime thriller drama which succeeds most of the time in its story telling though perhaps not up to the caliber of the talents involved. Unusual in its setting of Atlanta, Georgia, it is a story of the Russian Mafia, a hit squad of bank robbers and corrupt cops who are all part of the mix. I have to give all these actors credit for portraying characters that are different from what many have portrayed in t

A biographical film directed by Dexter Fletcher with a screenplay by Sean Macauley & Simon Kelton about Eddie “The Eagle” Edwards who became the first competitor to represent Great Britain in Olympic ski jumping is a rather delightful film of perseverance and determination by one man who was being written off by just about everyone but his mother. A story to appeal to the underdog in all of us, I remember when this story was happening at the Calgary Winter Olympic Games back

This documentary written, directed, produced and starring Michael Moore is there to show how America has lost its way by going to a series of foreign countries most of whom use American ingenuity, technology, and good old common sense to run their governments in ways that originated here in America but have since gotten lost in political rhetoric and Washington corruption. It was disheartening to watch because much of what Mr. Moore was saying was true, but he tends to whitew

Robert Eggers film based on his screenplay may be the first horror film in iambic pentameter or Olde English that I have ever seen. A cross between Arthur Miller’s THE CRUCIBLE and THE HAUNTING, it’s a film that is hard to categorize since I’m actually reluctant to really say it’s horror we are watching here. Much of the dialogue was taken from court transcripts of women accused of witchcraft and the attention to detail in recreating 17th Century New England is beautifully re

Stephen Hopkins’ film based on the incredible true story of four time Olympic Gold Medalist Jessie Owens is a great film and a miracle to behold in the way it covers all the bases of this man’s incredible true story. With a script by Joe Shrapnel & Anna Waterhouse, not since CHARIOTS OF FIRE have we had a true story of the Olympic Games so beautifully told. Having competed in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games where Adolph Hitler was seeking to use the Games to promote himself and

This rather impressive picture directed by Kevin Reynolds from a screenplay he co-wrote with Paul Aiello is the story of the crucifixion of Christ but told through the eyes of a Roman centurion by the name of Clavius who is well portrayed by Joseph Fiennes (SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE and Ralph Fiennes’ younger brother). Through witnessing the crucifixion then eyewitnessing the risen Christ, he has to try and reconcile what he’s seen with what his mind is telling him is impossible. F

Ben Stiller’s film is one of the most sophomoric pieces of filmmaking I’ve ever seen and commits the one crime a comedy of this fashion cannot, it’s not funny. Written by John Hamburg, Ben Stiller, Nick Stoller and Justin Theroux and based on the characters created in the original ZOOLANDER film, it really stuns me as to how they got so many very well known actors and members of the fashion industry to participate. Again, did anyone actually ever read the completed screenplay

Tim Miller’s film based on the graphic novel of the same name by Fabian Nicieza & Rob Liefeld with a screenplay by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, is a mind numbing, expletive laden, extremely violent exercise in the kind of filmmaking the public has come to expect. Pushing boundaries with its “let’s see how far we can go without totally turning off everyone involved,” I found it laborious and the CGI effects frankly tiring after awhile. Though some of the dialogue is extremely

Christian Ditter directed from a screenplay by Dana Fox, Abby Kohn and Mark Silverstein based on the novel of the same name by Liz Tuccillo. Though this film has characters that show a real questionable sense of morality, I feel it is probably very much in tune with the morality of our society in general today among most young people (and not so young) that as long as you don’t hurt anyone it’s OK. What I liked about the picture is the turn it takes midway through in recogniz