Rooney Mara
Movie Review: Nightmare Alley
Guillermo del Toro's "Nightmare Alley" is an effective exercise in the art of storytelling through the use of exquisite character development and execution.
Movie Review: Kubo and the Two Strings
“If you must blink, do it now,” Kubo warns the audience in the first seconds of Kubo and the Two Strings. One of the truest lines to ever open an animated movie as the latest offering from Laika (the stop-motion studio behind Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls) is by far their most stunningly beautiful and rewarding effort yet. Reminiscent of classic Pixar films, Kubo and the Two Strings is t...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Stop-Motion Magic in the New Kubo and the Two Strings Trailer
Long time, no see, dear readers. But I’m back, and just in time for the release of the new Ghostbusters. This week’s Trailer Trashin’ column takes a look at the new trailer for Laika’s upcoming animated film Kubo and the Two Strings. Premise: Clever, kindhearted Kubo (voice of Art Parkinson) ekes out a humble living, telling stories to the people of his seaside town. But hi...[Read More]
Trailer Trashin’: Enter the World of Japanese Mythology in Kubo and the Two Strings
Happy New Year, dear readers! I hope you all had a good holiday, whatever it is you celebrate. I’m sure a lot of you have also seen Star Wars: The Force Awakens by now, and I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. And for the last Trailer Trashin’ column of 2015, I’m taking a look at one of the previews I saw in front of Star Wars – the teaser trailer for Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings. Premise: ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Pan
Every once in a while, life hands you an unexpected treat. In this particular case that treat is the new family adventure film Pan. You likely did not know you were even missing something in your children’s fairy tale catalog. That is, you probably never stopped to think, even after seeing Peter Pan in full on Disney style so many times, about how Peter became Peter in the first place. This ...[Read More]
Movie Review: Side Effects
A suspenseful thriller with political undertones would best describe Steven Soderbergh’s film, Side Effects. The film centers on psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Banks (Jude Law) and his moral and legal dilemma after his patient Emily (Rooney Mara) has a severe and life changing reaction to a new anti-depressant that he prescribed for her. Dr. Banks finds himself in quite a predicament that costs h...[Read More]
Movie Review: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
I certainly had high expectations for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo going in. Granted, we’ve all been burned by unsuccessful movie-to-book adaptations before, usually because the filmmakers got lazy and didn’t quite change enough to allow the film to stand on its own, but I had a feeling this would be different. Not just because I love the source material – I devoured the books – but because of ...[Read More]