Friday, March 31, 2017

SWISS ARMY MAN (2016)



Written & Directed By: The Daniels (Daniel Kwan & Daniel Scheinert) 
Cinematography By: Larkin Seiple 
Editor: Matthew Hannam 
Music By: Andy Hull & Robert McDonnell 


Cast: Paul Dano, Daniel Radcliffe, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Shane Carruth, Andy Hull 


A hopeless man stranded on a deserted island befriends a dead body and together they go on a surreal journey to get home.

MISS PEREGRINE'S HOME FOR PECULIAR CHILDREN (2016)



Directed By: Tim Burton 
Written By: Jane Goldman 
Based on the Book By: Ransom Riggs 
Cinematography By: Bruno Delbonnel 
Editor: Chris Lebenzon 


Cast: Eva Green, Asa Butterfield, Ella Purnell, Samuel L. Jackson, Terrence Stamp, Judi Dench, Chris O’Dowd, Rupert Everett, Kim Dickens, O-Lan Jones, Alison Janney, Milo Parker, Raffiela Chapman, Finlay MacMillan, Lauren McCrostie 


When Jacob discovers clues to a mystery that stretches across time, he finds Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. But the danger deepens after he gets to know the residents and learns about their special powers.

THE GREAT GILLY HOPKINS (2015)



Directed By: Stephen Herek 
Written By: David Paterson 
Based on the Book By: Katherine Paterson 
Cinematography By: David M. Dunlap 
Editor: David Leonard 


Cast: Sophie Nelisse, Kathy Bates, Octavia Spencer, Bill Cobbs, Julia Stiles, Glenn Close, Billy Magnussen, Zachary Hernandez 


A feisty foster kid's outrageous scheme to be reunited with her birth mother has unintended consequences in The Great Gilly Hopkins, an entertaining film for the entire family. Gilly Hopkins has seen more than her share of foster homes and has outwitted every family she has lived with. In an effort to escape her new foster mother Maime Trotter's endless loving care, Gilly concocts a plan that she believes will bring her mother running to her rescue. But when the ploy blows up in Gilly's face it threatens to ruin the only chance she's ever had to be part of a real family.

Thursday, March 30, 2017

WAR ON EVERYONE (2017)



Written & Directed By: John Michael McDonagh 
Cinematography By: Bobby Bukowski 
Editor: Chris Gill 


Cast: Alexander Skarsgard, Michael Pena, Theo James, Malcom Barrett, Tessa Thompson, Caleb Landry Jones, Paul Resier, Stephanie Sigman , Keith Jardine, David Wilmot 


Two corrupt cops set out to blackmail and frame every criminal unfortunate enough to cross their path. Events, however, are complicated by the arrival of someone who appears to be even more dangerous than they are.

Saturday, March 25, 2017

ARSENAL (2017)



Directed By: Steven C. Miller 
Written By: Jason Mosberg 
Cinematography By: Brandon Cox 
Editor: Vincent Tabaillon 


Cast: Adrian Grenier, Jonathan Schaech, John Cusack, Nicolas Cage, Vivian Benetiz, Lydia Hull, Heather Johansen, Christopher Coopola 


A Southern mobster attempts to rescue his kidnapped brother.

CRIMINAL ACTIVITIES (2015)



Directed By: Jackie Earle Haley 
Written By: Robin Moore 
Cinematography By: Seamus Tierney 
Editor: Alex Marquez 

Cast: Michael Pitt, Dan Stevens, Rob Brown, Christopher Abbott, John Travolta, Jackie Earle Haley, Morgan Wolk, Edi Gathegi  


The film is about four young guys who reunite at an ex-classmate's funeral. One mentions to the others inside information on a stock that is a guaranteed lock to make them instant millionaires. Unfortunately, the deal goes south along with their investment. Things go from bad to worse: one of them borrowed his share of the money from a mobster.

MERCENARIES (2014)



Directed By: Christopher Douglas Olen Ray 
Written By: Edward DeRuiter 
Cinematography By: Alexander Yellen 
Editor: Maureen Murphy & Bobby K. Richardson 



Cast: Zoe Bell, Cynthia Rothrock, Brigitte Nielsen, Kristanna Lokken, Vivica A.Fox, Nicole Bilderback, Tim Abell, Gerald Webb, Alecis Raich 


The President's daughter is captured and imprisoned while touring a war zone, so a team of elite female commandos is assembled to infiltrate a women's prison for a daring rescue.

Wednesday, March 22, 2017

SiREN (2016)




Directed & Edited By: Greg Bishop 
Written By: Ben Collins & Luke Piotrowski 
Based On Characters Created By: David Bruckner & Nicholas Tecosky 
Based on the Original screenplay “AMATEUR NIGHT” By: David Bruckner 
Cinematography By: George Feucht 


Cast: Hannah Fierman, Chase Williamson, Justin Welborn, Hayes Mercure, Brittany S. Hall, Michael Aaron Milligan, Lindsey Garrett 


A bachelor party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.

Friday, March 17, 2017

JEFF OF THE CINEFILES & UNFINISHED BUSINESS: HALL OF FAME: FILE #0049: THE VIRGIN SUICIDES (2000)



Written & Directed By: Sofia Coopola 
Based on the book by: Jeffrey Eugenides 
Cinematography By: Edward Lachman 
Editor: Melissa Kent & James Lyons 


Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett, James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Danny DeVito, Scott Glenn, A.J. Cook, Chelse Swain , Hanna Hall, Melody Johnson, Jonathan Tucker, Hayden Christensen, Michael Pare, Robert Schwartzman 


A group of male friends become obsessed with five mysterious sisters who are sheltered by their strict, religious parents in suburban Detroit in the mid-1970s.

TOO WONG FOO: THANKS FOR EVERYTHING, JULIE NEWMAR (1995)



Directed By: Beeban Kidron 
Written By: Douglas Carter Beane 
Cinematography By: Steve Mason 
Editor: Andrew Mondshein 


Cast: Patrick Swayze, Wesley Snipes, John Leguizamo, Stockard Channing, Chris Penn, Arliss Howard, Beth Grant, Blythe Danner, Jason London, Melinda Dillon, Alice Drummond, Michael Vartan, Rupaul 


Three drag queens travel cross-country until their car breaks down, leaving them stranded in a small town.

GIRL ASLEEP (2016)



Directed By: Rosemary Myers 
Written By: Matthew Whittet (Based on his Stage Play) 
Cinematography By: Andrew Commis 
Editor: Karryn de Cinque 


Cast: Bethany Whitmore, Harrison Feldman, Amber McMahon, Matthew Whittet, Eamon Farren, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Danielle Catanzariti, Pia Moutakis, Clara Moutakis 


The world is closing in on Greta Driscoll. On the cusp of turning fifteen she can't bear to leave her childhood, it contains all the things that give her comfort in this incomprehensible new world. She floats in a bubble of loser with her only friend Elliott, until her parents throw her a surprise 15th birthday party and she's flung into a parallel place; a world that's weirdly erotic, a little bit violent and thoroughly ludicrous - only there can she find herself. Based on the critically acclaimed production by Windmill Theatre, The film is a journey into the absurd, scary and beautiful heart of the teenage mind.

Wednesday, March 15, 2017

I DON'T FEEL AT HOME IN THIS WORLD ANYMORE (2017)



Written & Directed By: Macon Blair 
Cinematography By: Larkin Seiple 
Editor: Tomas Vengris 


Cast: Melanie Lynskey, Elijah Wood, Gary Anthony Williams, Devon Graye, Jane Levy, David Yow, Derek Mears, Christine Woods, Robert Longstreet 


When a depressed woman is burglarized, she finds a new sense of purpose by tracking down the thieves alongside her obnoxious neighbor. But they soon find themselves dangerously out of their depth against a pack of degenerate criminals.

Friday, March 10, 2017

DEMOLITION (2016)



Directed By: Jean Marc-Vallee 
Written By: Bryan Sipe 
Cinematography By: Yves Balenger 
Editor: Jay M.Glen 

Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal, Naomi Watts, Chris Cooper, Judah Lewis, Polly Draper, Debra Monk, Heather Lind 


A successful investment banker struggles after losing his wife in a tragic car crash. With the help of a customer service rep and her young son, he starts to rebuild, beginning with the demolition of the life he once knew.

THANK'S FOR SHARING (2012)




Directed By: Stuart Blumberg 
Written By: Stuart Blumberg & Matt Winston 
Cinematography By: Yaron Orbach 
Editor: Anne McCabe 


Cast: Mark Ruffalo, Gwyneth Paltrow, Josh Gad, Alecia Moore, Tim Robbins, Patrick Fugit, Joely Richardson, Carol Kane, Emily Meade, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Michaela Watkins, David Wain, Brian Koppelman 


A romantic comedy that brings together three disparate characters who are learning to face a challenging and often confusing world as they struggle together against a common demon: sex addiction.

THE COMPANY MEN (2011)



Written & Directed By: John Wells 
Cinematography By: Roger Deakins 
Editor: Robert Frazen 

Cast: Ben Affleck, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper, Maria Bello, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kevin Costner, Craig T. Nelson, Eammon Walker, Cady Huffman 

The story centers on a year in the life of three men trying to survive a round of corporate downsizing at a major company - and how that affects them, their families, and their communities.

Wednesday, March 8, 2017

SPLIT (2017)



Written & Directed By: M. Night Shyamalan 
Cinematography By: Michael Gioulakis 
Editor: Luke Ciarrocchi 


Cast: James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Haley Lu Richardson, Jessica Sula, Betty Buckley, Brad William Henke, Neal Huff 



When three girls are kidnapped by a man with 23 different personalities they have to work out which of those personalities will help them escape and which of those personalities will try to stop them

Friday, March 3, 2017

BLOOD FATHER (2016)



Directed By: Jean-Francois Richet 
Written By: Peter Craig & Andrea Berloff 
Based On The Novel By: Peter Craig 
Cinematography By: Robert Gantz 
Editor: Steven Rosenblum 


Cast: Mel Gibson, Erin Moriarty, Diego Luna, Michael Parks, William H. Macy, Dale Dickey, Miguel Sandoval, Richard Cabral, Raoul Trijillo, Thomas Mann 


An ex-con reunites with his estranged wayward 17-year old daughter to protect her from drug dealers who are trying to kill her.

MR. RIGHT (2015)



Directed By: Paco Cabezas 
Written By: Max Landis 
Cinematography By: Daniel Aranyo 
Editor: Tom Wilson 


Cast: Sam Rockwell, Anna Kendrick, Tim Roth, RZA, James Ransone, Anson Mount, Michael Eklund, Katie Nehra 


After a going through a painful break up, a woman meets a man who appears to be perfect for her. However, as their relationship develops, she learns that he is a former hit-man. Their new, but genuine relationship is tested even further as they try to save each other after his dark past comes back to haunt him

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (2016)




Written & Directed By: Casey Tebo 
Cinematography By: Terrence Hayes 
Editor: Brendan O’Connor 


Cast: Matt Bush, Britne Oldford, Vanessa Lengies, Steven Tyler, Erik Palladino, Riley Litman, Tristin Mays 


When two friends embark on a journey to Mexicali for a Birthday celebration, they soon realize their psychedelic shenanigans have taken a turn for the worse.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

MOVIES WATCHED IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY (2017)


Gerard Butler in ROCK N' ROLLA

THE GIRL WITH ALL THE GIFTS (2017)



Directed By: Colm McCarthy 
Written By: Mike Carey (Based on His own Novel) 
Cinematography By: Simon Dennis 
Editor: Matthew Cannings 


Cast: Sennia Nanua, Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, Dominique Tipper, Fasiyo Akinade, Anamaria Marinca, Anthony Welsh 


In a dystopian near future, humanity has been ravaged by a mysterious fungal disease. The afflicted are robbed of all free will and turned into flesh-eating 'hungries'. Humankind's only hope is a small group of hybrid children who crave human flesh but retain the ability to think and feel. The children go to school at an army base in rural Britain, where they're subjected to cruel experiments by Dr. Caroline Caldwell. School teacher Helen Justineau grows particularly close to an exceptional girl named Melanie, thus forming a special bond. But when the base is invaded, the trio escape with the assistance of Sgt. Eddie Parks and embark on a perilous journey of survival, during which Melanie must come to terms with who she is.