A new Pixar release is almost always a cause for celebration, and ‘Inside Out’ is no exception. It’s a perfectly balanced original creation – an animated entertainment about emotions Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader), and Disgust (Mindy Kaling), that elicits and completely earns these same emotional responses from an audience thoroughly… Continue reading ‘Inside Out’ – Pixar Perfection Continues?
‘Game of Thrones’ ended yet another masterful season with the culmination of a number of storylines perfectly positioned and executed by all facets of this brilliant HBO show’s talented creative forces. This has been the program’s operating principle – introduce characters and plot threads held together by perfectly written and acted scenes, intersperse some of… Continue reading ‘Game of Thrones’ Season Five – Controversial, but will it alienate fans?
The original ‘Jurassic Park,’ released in the summer of 1993, was a huge blockbuster hit for Steven Spielberg. Its’ now classic elements of wonder and awe quickly turning to fear and horror, still resonate in the collective movie-going psyche. The sequels could never live up to the original, upping the ante on fx and action,… Continue reading ‘Jurassic World’ – Reinvention of a Classic?
The first season of the CW’s, ‘The Flash’, finished last week with a mind-bending, paradox-laden season finale cliffhanger. It was an episode that put the cherry on top of a blast of a television entrance for this DC Comics superhero, and a truly welcome one at that. Grant Gustin’s Barry Allen/Flash is a likable hero,… Continue reading ‘The Flash’ – Bringing comic book fun to the small screen?
George Miller can’t be criticized for being derivative since he basically invented the gas/water-starved, post-apocalyptic, dust-bowl landscape so frequently used and abused since his 1981 masterpiece, “The Road Warrior.” After working on masterful family films like ‘Babe”, he now returns to the sci-fi action genre with another slice of original perfection, ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’, a… Continue reading ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ – What Happens When a Lunatic Visionary gets to Spend $100+ Million?
Going into this final season of ‘Mad Men,’ the only question remaining about this stellar program was whether or not creator Matthew Weiner would stick the landing and maintain its’ status as one of the best shows of all time. Overall, throughout its’ history, this show has been near perfect, but the last mini-season 7… Continue reading ‘Mad Men’ Series Finale – The End of an Era?
With the release of Captain Marvel, Marvel films now have 21(!!) inter-connected movies, and this is a perfect time to re-post my thoughts on their ranking. While they all contain iconic, indelible moments, are all re-watchable, and fans most likely own them all, some are definitely better than others. In that vein, Top Marvel Films… Continue reading All Marvel Cinematic Universe movies ranked – Comic books, a mainstream success?
‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’, the hotly anticipated sequel to the 3rd highest grossing film of all time and the 11th movie in the Marvel cinematic universe, drops tomorrow and it’s filled to the brim with superhero goodness, if not quite greatness. Writer / director Joss Whedon had his hands full crafting a follow-up to what… Continue reading ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ – Is it possible to have too much of a good thing?
A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) has been tackled as a concept on film in cinematic masterpieces (‘2001’), classic action franchises (‘Terminator’), and soon-to-be worldwide mega-blockbusters, ‘Avengers 2: Age of Ultron.’ ‘Ex Machina’, the new film written and directed by Alex Garland (known as a novelist and screenwriter for Danny Boyle on movies like ’28 Days Later’ &… Continue reading ‘Ex Machina’ – What constitutes Artificial Intelligence?
The horror genre always seems to be the guinea pig for film experimentation, from the special effects in silent classics like ‘Nosferatu’ to the first real “found footage” flick, ‘The Blair Witch Project.” Risks can be taken on the cheap because as long as there is a savvy hook, young audiences will always show up… Continue reading ‘Unfriended’ – Social network horror, exciting new genre or double-click bore?
liamthekid.com 