Fantasy has enjoyed an upswing in the last two decades. Twenty years ago the term conjured for the public imagination images of Disney films, kitschy studio oddities like
Willow and
Labyrinth, and low rent embarrassments like the
Dungeons and Dragons movie. Today fantasy films are often pitched as major awards contenders. They litter the summer and fall release slots. “Nerd culture” has not just been accepted by pop culture. It has become pop culture.
Guillermo Del Toro, the writer and director of
Crimson Peak, is as responsible for the present climate as anyone. His early films
Cronos and
...
Few films about the recession were as unflinchingly grim as JC Chandor’s debut feature
Margin Call. Time and time again, well-meaning, sympathetic characters (and others less so) were given no choice but to act deplorably leading up to the greatest economic disaster since the Great Depression. “It’s all just the same thing over and over; we can’t help ourselves. And you and I can’t control it, or stop it, or even slow it. Or even ever-so-slightly alter it. We just react,” one Wall Street executive stated almost too succinctly. Despite a number of flaws common to first time writers and...
At first glance, Molly's Game has plenty going for it. The screenplay is written by Aaron Sorkin. Jessica Chastain is always a solid lead performer. And the core story looks like it might have some legs. Everyone involved harnesses their skills and talent to breathe life into the film and to some degree, they are successful. Molly's Game is a compelling character...
