Swiss Army Man Written and Directed by Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert U.S., 2016 One of the hopes that people come to the Sundance Film Festival with is that they will see something wholly unique, something that they have never seen or imagined before. Swiss Army Man is that film. This feeling happens pretty quickly, as …
There’s no denying that the latest iteration of Mary Shelley’s classic is pretty terrible.
With Hollywood looking for franchises wherever it can find them, it seems mighty odd that The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, a highly successful novel with a film adaptation that had Rooney Mara, David Fincher, and James Friggin’ Bond attached, is not already swimming in sequels. The American version of Stieg Larsson’s novel wasn’t exactly …
Daniel Radcliffe could not be doing more to dispel his Harry Potter image that so many movie fans still hold onto. From ages 12 to 22 Radcliffe personified the beloved children’s book character, but he’s moving on. He’s played beat icon Allen Ginsberg, he’s played a cynical romanticist, and he’s played a terrorized attorney. Based on the novel by Joe Hill, Horns, is truly the cherry on top of the typecast-busting sundae because no one will be thinking about Potter when they see this.
What If Written by Elan Mastai Directed by Michael Dowse Ireland/Canada, 2013 While the new indie rom-com, What If, has a serious aversion to conflict, it’s also inescapably charming. A strong cast delivers enough laughs and cheeky irreverence to elevate this otherwise breezy tale to more delightfully cynical heights. You probably won’t remember it in …
If you’ve been living under a rock and haven’t heard the news, J.K. Rowling has recently released a new Harry Potter story exclusive to users of her website Pottermore. The short story, which is called “Dumbledore’s Army Reunites,” centres around the now 34 year old Harry at the Quidditch World Cup final with his youngest …
John Krokidas’ film debut Kill Your Darlings follows the turbulent University years of famed American beat writers Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe), Jack Kerouac (Jack Huston), Lucien Carr (Dane DeHann) and William Burroughs (Ben Foster). Set in the early 1940s at Columbia University and on the streets of New York City, the film centers around the murder of David Kammerer (Michael C. Hall) and the months that led up to it.
Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters Directed by Thor Freudenthal Written by Marc Guggenheim USA, 2013 The footprint that J.K. Rowling left in the world of pop culture is ever-expanding, even as those who are influenced by her work often produce something that feels less like an homage to the world of Hogwarts, Muggles, and wizards, …
The Woman in Black Written by Jane Goldman, from the novel by Susan Hill Directed by James Watkins UK / Canada / Sweden, 2012 Nowadays, “old-fashioned” is generally meant as a compliment in discussions of contemporary movies, in conjunction with an overarching sense that new films – particularly mainstream films – are not as sharp …
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Directed by Chris Columbus
Written by Steve Kloves
USA, 2002
Director Chris Columbus returned with the second Harry Potter installment a year after the first’s release. As a film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a marked improvement over first installment. It’s not even close to being perfect and it has gone down greatly in my estimation since when I first saw the film in the theatre. However there is enough good stuff in there to make it an adequate Harry Potter film while not really holding up when compared to the films following it.
Well, not really, but they might as well be. The Leaky Cauldron is reporting that at the end of this week and through the weekend the Biography Channel will be airing two “Creating the World of Harry Potter” programs, one which focuses on the first movie and the other on creating the characters. There will also …