All in all The Martian is enjoyable film that promotes science and exploration but on a human and recognizable scale in a way that any audience can enjoy.
Now Showing: My Personal Favorites from This Year’s Alexandria Film Festival
I was fortunate this year to serve on the Alexandria Film Festival’s volunteer Program Committee chaired by Irwin Singer.
Steven Spielberg's BRIDGE OF SPIES
What Spielberg seems to be saying is that we must not let the very real fears and dangers of the time make us forget who we are and the freedoms we hold dear.
Brad Bird’s TOMORROWLAND
The ending is convoluted and prolonged — does the world really need another giant robot fight? — but Tomorrowland is different and definitely worth reviewing, if only for the amazing sets, visuals, and ideas.
Duvall’s performance in this movie is a pleasure to watch. I can’t say it is a revelation since he has been so good for so long and we have come to expect excellence from him. Somehow he is able to embody a sense of reality, orneriness, and pathos. This is a character who, in lesser hands, would have strayed into overacting.
Isabel Coixet's LEARNING TO DRIVE
Every now and then it is nice to see an adult film about relationships and interesting characters. Learning to Drive scratches that itch.
Kim Farrant's STRANGERLAND
Not since Nicolas Roeg’s Walkabout has landscape played such an important role in a film.
David Fincher's GONE GIRL
Let’s also say that what this movie reminded me of was a blended mix of both seasons of True Detective to which is a affixed a fragile but showy veneer of bitter middle-class angst and marital subterfuge, plus a lot of dark humor.
Josh Feldman's “SENN”
Senn transcends its low-budget roots and tackles a mainstream sci-fi premise with elegance, intelligence, original special effects and music, and excellent production values that include extensive alien signage and lettering.
Tomm Moore's SONG OF THE SEA
This charming, lyrical, and exceptional animated film is a reminder of the power of folklore and myth and how the visual arts and music can be combined to tell a powerful and emotional story.
Christopher McQuarrie's MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION
This is a great summer movie and I think this matches and in some ways exceeds the recent Bond films. But let’s not get too serious here. This is a popcorn film of the highest order. We have learned to expect no less from that crazy guy Cruise.
The Wachowskis’ JUPITER ASCENDING
This review will not be popular. I really enjoyed Jupiter Ascending. I had a similar reaction to another movie I also enjoyed immensely, John Carter.
Kevin MacDonald's BLACK SEA
I’m a sucker for submarine movies and books. BLACK SEA delivers.
Pete Docter & Ronaldo Del Carmen's INSIDE OUT
This is definitely a movie to see in the big screen. It’s not just the detail, it’s the vast scope of the landscapes presented — keeping in mind that all of this is supposed to be taking place inside the head of an 11-year-old girl!
David Dobkin's THE JUDGE
Best of all you get to see Duvall deliver one of his best performances ever.
John Darabont's "THE MIST"
As time passes increasingly deadly attacks occur and we watch as factions emerge among the survivors with opposing views on “Why this is happening to us?” and “What can we do about it if anything?”
Michael Roskam’s THE DROP
But it’s the characters on display here that are the real focus. Who are these people and what are they really up to? Watching the actions of the police is especially interesting. They’re the outsiders here. Everyone goes to great lengths to keep the cops at arm’s length so they can pursue their own deals.
GARGANTIA ON THE VERDUROUS PLANET
Plot twists develop that are unexpected and handled in surprisingly dramatic and original ways. I found the series getting more interesting as it progressed as it addressed issues of militarism, greed, social structure, duty, honor, generational transition, artificial intelligence, and reliance on technology.
This is not just one more big city with skyscrapers being torn apart by Marvel or Transformer characters fighting. This is a human scale small town surrounded by cornfields getting smashed by Mother Nature in scenes that are becoming depressingly more common as our climate continues to change for the worse.
David Ayer's “FURY”
Inglourious Basterds, except for its opening sequence, is a cartoon compared with Fury.