Sing focuses on the character of Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey) a koala who grew up with a passion for theatre and dreamed of one day putting on his own hit show. After years of trying and failing, Buster is slowly losing customers, losing interest and losing his theatre. One last gasp attempt of salvation has…
We dive into all things Screen Unseen courtesy of Odeon right here on Back to the Movies! Before I got the email, I had never even heard of Odeon’s Screen Unseen before. I knew about their Limitless offerings not to mention the wonderful Gallery experience and all other Odeon treats and perks but how on…
A tightly wound psychological thriller that projects a dark, creepy atmosphere that reflects our protagonists mind-set. Set in present-day Hollywood, this film examines the fine line between nurturing a dream and fueling an obsession—and what happens when you cross it. After years of futile struggle on L.A.’s grueling audition circuit, would-be actress Priscilla Anders is…
I have to confess, it has been so many years until I last went to the theatre. The first show that I ever saw was Chitty Chitty Bang Bang at the Manchester Palace Theatre. It’s a far distant memory as I only recall one thing that happened during the entire show; I think there was…
Courtney Hunt’s quietly electrifying debut Frozen River was everything cinema should be – thought provoking, risk-taking, strange and new, and extremely powerful. So why has it taken Hunt nearly a decade to get a second feature up on movie screens? Anchored by Melissa Leo’s Oscar nominated and totally blistering performance as a woman nearing her…
Arrival is cinema I crave – a thought provoking, somber yet stylish, and thoroughly cerebral piece of storytelling within one of my favorite milieus, and produced independently of the major studios, thus feeling resolutely unconcerned with satisfying endless rounds of notes and enduring creative compromises that could have potentially sabotaged the crux of the piece…
The final line of dialogue in Swiss Army Man sums up the entire viewing experience: “What the f**k?” This is one of the most visually inventive and thematically odd films I’ve seen in years, and despite the concluding 15 minutes not truly working for me, the previous 75 minutes are pure stony bliss. I’ve also…
Walter Hill is one of the manliest directors of my lifetime, or any lifetime. He’s made a career out of telling tales of gunslingers, cops, criminals, and loners, and I instinctively respond to his particular brand of tough guy cinema. Southern Comfort is one of my favorite efforts from Hill, a totally nasty and rather…
Note: The cut I watched was a pre premiere work in progress cut “press preview” The Girls Were Doing Nothing is a study of our difficulty to accept the conflicting nature of love and the human soul – our basic needs for stability, comfort and routine which clash with equality strong desires for novelty, variety…
A Bigger Splash is one of those films where the primary interest is in exploring mood, atmosphere, and style before anything else. This is a movie about textures, surfaces, and bodies, and how people give off vibes (positive or negative) just by occupying the same space as others, without having to say much at all….
Mat Whitrecross explores one of the biggest British bands of all time, Oasis. The ins and outs, the fights, the egos and a surprisingly shallow look into this music-defining band. From rehearsal footage to interviews with the band, Supersonic goes into detail about how the band was formed, some antics on the road and playing…
Being based here in Los Angeles I often feel like this city is never ending with fun things to do. Every year though Universal Studios tends to be my favorite event of the year. Universal Studios becomes Halloween Horror Nights. The park creates anywhere from 5-7 haunted house horror mazes a year for you to…
I’m a huge fan of Adrian Lyne’s sexy, stylish, and provocative work in general, and Unfaithful is easily one of his best films, filled with probing psychological underpinnings and juicy star turns from Richard Gere and Diane Lane, who likely delivered career topping work with her simmering and extremely erotic performance as a suburban housewife…
Bulworth remains just as funny and incisive now as it did back in 1998 when it scorched movie screens. Directed with verve by Warren Beatty and co-written with obscene ferocity by Beatty and Jeremy Pikser, the film stings with blunt truth, outlandish yet cogent satire, and an eerily prescient vibe that feels more and more…
John Lithgow and Alfred Molina deliver wonderful, sensitively attuned performances in Ira Sachs’ warmhearted drama Love is Strange. Portraying an older gay couple living in a gorgeous NYC apartment when they’re suddenly and unexpectedly forced to move out, the film takes a simple and observant look at the lives of these two dapper, eccentric, and…
Few movies have frightened me more in the theater than Fire in the Sky. I was 13 years old when my dad took me to see this incredible alien abduction film, and we went opening night because I was so excited that an alien movie was coming out on the big screen. My fascination with…
