Three And Above

Star Wars: The Force Awakens  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: J.J. Abrams Written by: J.J. Abrams, Michael Arndt                 & Lawrence Kasdan, based on                  characters created by George Lucas Starring: Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher,             Mark Hamill, Daisy Ridley,              John Boyega, Adam Driver,              Oscar Isaac and Domhnall Gleeson Rating: PG Release Date: December 18th, 2015 Daisy Ridley, John Boyega & BB-8 outrun the Dark Side in Star Wars: The Force Awakens Image Source Note: I saw the newest addition to the Star Wars franchise with no knowledge of the plot; this is the best way to experience the film. For those who haven't yet seen the film, spoilers are clearly marked below.      Star Wars has always been a cultural phenomenon that ignores the socially imposed biases of gender, race, or culture. While the oft compared Star Trek has it's own legion of devotees, (myself among the

Spotlight  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Tom McCarthy Written by: Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Michael Keaton,               Rachel McAdams, John Slattery,               Stanley Tucci, Liev Schreiber               Billy Crudup & Brian d'Arcy James Rating: 14A Release Date: November 20th, 2015 Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams, Michael Keaton & Brian d'Arcy James get to work in Spotlight © 2015 - Open Road Films      There are very few truly 'great' films. Art is subjective, and so is entertainment. As a critic, it's continuously difficult to assign ratings to films which vary in subject matter, entertainment value, and originality. Who is to say that The Martian  is a better film than Animal House; Fight Club  is more meaningful than Toy Story;  or that  When Harry Met Sally is better than the original Die Hard ? Each film fills its own niche; at home in a unique cinematic environment. I&

The Martian  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Ridley Scott Written by: Drew Goddard, based on                    Andy Weir's book Starring: Matt Damon, Jessica Chastain,               Chiwetel Ejiofor, Jeff Daniels               Sean Bean, Michael Peña Rating: PG Release Date: October 2nd, 2015 Matt Damon farms space potatoes in The Martian The Martian  image is the intellectual property of 20th Century Fox     The landmark 1968 book by famed physicist Richard Feynman, Six Easy Pieces,  begins with a quandary; in preparing an introductory lecture series on physics at California Tech, Feynman ran into a 'special problem,' with the challenging nature of introductory physics. His problem was that "with these lectures, [his goal] was to maintain the interest of the very enthusiastic and rather smart students" coming out of high school, whom had "heard a lot about how interesting and exciting physics is - the theory of r

The Overnight  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Patrick Brice Written by: Patrick Brice Starring: Adam Scott, Taylor Schilling,                Jason Schwartzman, Judith Godrèche Rating: 14A Release Date: June 26th 2015 Taylor Schilling peers through the looking glass in The Overnight © Courtesy of Sundance Institute     Few films have the audacity to take adult themes and approach them openly and intelligently. Bertolucci's strikingly intelligent  Last Tango In Paris was a no holds barred, explicit exploration of the nature of love, sex and an existential struggle for self expression through companionship. While Brice's The Overnight is nowhere near the timeless brilliance of Bertolucci's masterpiece, it's freewheeling take on sexuality and gender roles is absolutely hilarious, interesting, and at times groundbreaking. The Overnight  is also the best satire of the year.        The Overnight follows Alex and Emily, (Adam Scott and

Straight Outta Compton  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: F. Gary Gray Written by: Jonathan Herman, Andrea Berloff,                    S. Leigh Savidge, Alan Wenkus Starring: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins,                Jason Mitchell, Paul Giamatti Rating: 14A Release Date: August 14th 2015 Jason Mitchell and Corey Hawkins work their musical magic as Eazy-E & Dr. Dre in Straight Outta Compton Photo by Jaimie Trueblood - © Universal Pictures     Music has always been the pulse that one can feel to find the heartbeat of the current zeitgeist. The counter culture of rebelliousness and equality was found throughout jazz from the 1930's to it's explosion in the 1950's, the anti-government, soul-searching movements of the 60's and 70's were felt through folk and rock music; anger and disillusionment rocked the early 1980's with heavy metal and punk, and by the late 80's, rap music took over as the vocal embodi

Spy  (2015) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Paul Feig Written by: Paul Feig Starring: Melissa McCarthy, Rose Byrne, Jason Statham               Jude Law Rating: 14A Release Date: June 5th 2015 Melissa McCarthy takes a detour in Spy      There is no doubt that Melissa McCarthy is one of the most talented comediennes of her generation. From her virtuoso turn in Paul Feig's Bridesmaids, a keen detective in The Heat  and even Alan's love interest in the unfairly maligned Hangover Part III,  she's always been able to make audiences laugh. Yet, it seems as if she has relied on this fact alone as of late. Identity Thief and  Tammy were two awful, boring and completely unoriginal films. It was with these films in mind that I walked into a screening of Spy, and was completely blown away. Not only is this the funniest film of McCarthy's career, it's on track to be the best comedy of 2015.       As we've seen with Bridesmaids and The Hea

Sunset Boulevard  (1950) A Review by Grant Kanigan Directed by: Billy Wilder Written by: Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder                    & D.M. Marshman Jr.  Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson               Erich von Stroheim Rating: PG Release Date: August 10th 1950 Erich von Stronheim, William Holden & Gloria Swanson get ready for their close-ups in Sunset Boulevard Paramount/MPTV      Billy Wilder is one of the most interesting filmmakers from the classic-era of cinema. Some Like It Hot, Sunset Boulevard,  and The Apartment  are all considered celluloid classics, and all have distinct, unique milieux. Wilder was a master of his craft; able to make effective cinema in genres as different as comedy, horror and drama, (for the record, the closing line of Some Like It Hot ; " Well, nobody's perfect! " remains the funniest line ever captured on camera). Sunset Boulevard, then, may be his crowning achievement.        Sunset Boulev

The Fast & The Furious Franchise  (2001-2015) A Retrospective & Review by Grant Kanigan Vin Diesel & Paul Walker cross the finish line in The Fast and the Furious     As Owen Shaw, (Luke Evans), explains to Dominic Toretto in Furious 6 , it's inspiring to see "A street kid, start[ing] out stealing DVD players in East L.A., [and] end[ing] up heisting $100 million in Rio," years later. It's also ridiculous, absolutely illogical and completely insane. Yet, with a diverse cast led by a capable Vin Diesel, The Fast & The Furious has also become one of the most successful franchises in cinematic history. Before I review the brilliantly entertaining seventh entry, I'd like to take a few paragraphs to walk through the films leading up to the latest instalment, and explore how a simple racing flick released in 2001 spawned a multi- billion dollar franchise: The Fast & the Furious, (2001) Directed by: Rob Cohen Written by: Gary Sco