E. Nielson

Gus Van Sant’s film from an original screenplay by Chris Sparling is a film I enjoyed though not quite sure what to make of it when it was first starting. A story of redemption set in a Japanese forest notorious for being a place where people from all over the globe but particularly in Japan go to commit suicide. It sounds morbid and strange but that is part of the allure since it really isn’t that at all and proves to be quite life affirming with its wonderful and mystical e

Dave Christiano both directed and wrote this original screenplay about a young female cross country coach and teacher whose wise and prudent coaching methods are brought into questions by her students, fellow academics and parents. A beautifully written script with a decidedly Christian message that manages to achieve its goals without hitting the viewer over the head. At first I felt that the young coach was perhaps too perfect with her impeccably good nature and perhaps wou

This fine film directed by Jacob Jakubowicz from his own screenplay is a biographical movie of the life of professional boxer Roberto Duran. Taking his life story from when he was a child through to his enormous success as the WBC welterweight world champion, this story details the tragedy and triumph of a life that began in extreme poverty and ended up in extreme wealth. A film like this depends on an absorbing story told with an excellent cast of actors, particularly Edgar

Richard Tanne directed from his own original screenplay the story of how Barack Obama and Michelle Robinson (Obama) survived their first date and how it evolved itself into a very good and powerful marriage. Though the film ends when the date ends, it certainly gives insight into these two exceptional young people and what was in store for them based on the incredibly high standards and expectations that they had both set for themselves. Beautifully cast with Parker Sawyers a

Fede Alvarez directed this film from an original screenplay that he co-wrote with Rodo Sayagues that should never have been made, it’s that bad. Ridiculous in its execution, it centers its story around three young antagonist-type hoodlums that decide to rob a blind veteran (who’s also a war hero) after he’s received a large settlement after his only child was killed by a motorist on the street. This is a film with so many plot holes you could actually fly the Hindenburg throu

​​​​ Travis Knight’s stop-motion animated film with a script by Marc Haimes and Chris Butler (Story by Shannon Tindle and Marc Haimes) is both beautiful to look at while being quite compelling in its overall execution. In the tradition of ancient Japanese folklore this film was shot in stop-motion animation in much the same way as GUMBY and DAVEY AND GOLIATH were filmed years ago. The animators take these various puppets and move them ever so slightly to eventually create the

David Mackenzie’s film from an original screenplay by Taylor Sheridan (SONS OF ANARCHY/actor & SICARIO/screenplay) is a fantastic film that could well win Mr. Sheridan the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Beautifully cast with Chris Pine, Jeff Bridges, Ben Harper, and Gil Birmingham among many others, could see some major Oscar attention come next January, it’s that good. Without spoiling the story too much, it deals with how a corrupted banking system designed to

Todd Phillips directed this film from his screenplay that he co-wrote with Stephen Chin and Jason Smilovic based on the magazine article and book ARMS AND THE DUDES by Guy Lawson. Since you are dealing with a story that was based on fact but had been highly fictionalized for dramatic purposes you’re never really sure if what you are seeing actually happened. What we know is that two twenty something guys who were small time arms dealers made a 300 million dollar deal with the

This re-make of William Wyler’s Academy Award winner (11 wins including Best Picture) is not quite up to the standards of its predecessor but is never the less quite enjoyable and entertaining. As directed by Timur Bekmambetov from a screenplay by Keith Clarke and John Ridley based on the novel BEN-HUR: A TALE OF THE CHRIST by Lew Wallace, it didn’t really need to be made since it was dealing with a classic film of epic proportions by one of Hollywood’s greatest filmmakers. I

Sean Ellis directed this film from a screenplay that he co-wrote with Anthony Frewin based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, where a group of exiled Czechoslovak soldiers were assigned in December of 1941 to assassinate SS Officer Reinhard Heydrich (aka The Butcher of Prague and the third highest ranking Nazi Official behind Hitler and Himmler and the main architect of The Final Solution, exterminating 11 million people in concentration camps, including six million J