Reviews — In Reel Deep

Review: 'Inherent Vice'

Paul Thomas Anderson does his damnedest with some difficult source material, but there's just too much for one man to handle. We've found his breaking point.

Comedy, Drama, ReviewsSteve CiminoDecember 31, 2014joaquin phoenix, josh brolin, Katherine Waterston, Martin Short, owen wilson, paul thomas anderson

Review: 'Selma'

At a time when racial strife is everywhere, Selma is practically required viewing. It reminds us of our past and illuminates our present; it is filmmaking at its finest.

Drama, ReviewsSteve CiminoDecember 29, 2014Ava DuVernay, Carmen Ejogo, David Oyelowo, oprah winfrey, tim roth, tom wilkinson

The 10 Worst Movies of 2014

From woeful period pieces to romantic misfires, these are the worst movies of 2014.

'Top Five'

Chris Rock finally translates his exceptional talent to the big screen.

Comedy, ReviewsAndrew JohnsonDecember 23, 2014Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Gabrielle Union, Hassan Johnson, J-B- Smoove, jay pharoah, Jerry Seinfeld, Leslie Jones, rosario dawson, Sherri Shepherd, tracy morgan

Review: 'The Imitation Game'

Alan Turing's life story and Benedict Cumberbatch's exquisite performance help The Imitation Game rise above the biopic formula.

Drama, ReviewsSteve CiminoDecember 22, 2014benedict cumberbatch, Charles Dance, keira knightley, mark strong, matthew goode, Morten Tyldum

'Exodus: Gods and Kings'

Ridley Scott delivers grand scale and impressive visuals, but shows little conviction to storytelling.

Action and Adventure, Military and War, ReviewsAndrew JohnsonDecember 21, 2014Aaron Paul, ben kingsley, christian bale, joel edgerton, john turturro, Maria Valverde, sigourney weaver

Review: 'Ida'

Agata Trzebuchowska and Agata Kulesza shine in Paweł Pawlikowski's Ida, the story of a young orphaned nun who receives a shocking revelation about her deceased parents.

Drama, Foreign, ReviewsSteve CiminoDecember 21, 2014Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Paweł Pawlikowski

'The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'

The Hobbit the Battle of the Five Armies completes Peter Jackson's failure to replicate his Lord of the Rings success.

Action and Adventure, Fantasy, ReviewsAndrew JohnsonDecember 19, 2014cate blanchett, Evangeline Lilly, ian mckellen, martin freeman, orlando bloom, peter jackson, richard armitage

Review: 'Wild'

Reese Witherspoon shines in Wild, a passion project about a young woman who hikes over a thousand miles to forget her rocky past.

Drama, ReviewsSteve CiminoDecember 9, 2014Jean-Marc Vallee, Laura Dern, Nick Hornby, reese witherspoon

'The Hunger Games: Mockingjay -- Part 1'

Building tension for the grand finale comes at the expense of a truly standalone tale.

Action and Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Reviews, Science FictionAndrew JohnsonDecember 1, 2014Donald Sutherland, elizabeth banks, Francis Lawrence, Jeffrey Wright, jennifer lawrence, julianne moore, liam hemsworth, Philip Seymour Hofffman, stanley tucci, woody harrelson

'RoboCop'

With pointed, relevant themes, the RoboCop remake manages to be one of the rare few that doesn't feel superfluous.

Action and Adventure, Reviews, Science FictionAndrew JohnsonNovember 30, 2014Abbie Cornish, gary oldman, Jackie Earle Haley, jay baruchel, joel kinnaman, Jose Padilha, Michael K- Williams, Michael Keaton, samuel l- jackson

'Maleficent'

Maleficent is not evil in Disney's reimagining of The Sleeping Beauty, but she isn't particularly memorable either.

Fantasy, Kids and Family, ReviewsAndrew JohnsonNovember 22, 2014angelina jolie, Elle Fanning, Robert Stromberg, sharlto copley

Review: 'Birdman'

Alejandro González Iñárritu's Birdman spends too much time forcefully lampooning Hollywood and wastes excellent performances from Michael Keaton and Edward Norton.

Comedy, Drama, ReviewsSteve CiminoNovember 18, 2014Alejandro González Iñárritu, Amy Ryan, Edward Norton, Michael Keaton, Naomi Watts

Review: 'Foxcatcher'

Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher examines the relationship between John du Pont and the Schultz brothers, and the horror that occurs when the most broken of the three loses his grip on reality.

Drama, ReviewsSteve CiminoNovember 12, 2014Bennett Miller, channing tatum, Mark Ruffalo, steve carell

'Interstellar'

Christopher Nolan's latest has serious flaws, but it also has a heart and a soul that redeems it.

Action and Adventure, Drama, Reviews, Science FictionAndrew JohnsonNovember 11, 2014anne hathaway, Bill Irwin, casey affleck, christopher nolan, David Gyasi, Ellen Burstyn, jessica chastain, john lithgow, matt damon, Matthew McCounaghey, michael caine, Topher Grace, wes bentley

'The Theory of Everything'

Director James Marsh's story about Stephen and Jane Hawking takes a disappointing turn in to trite biopic territory.

Drama, Reviews, RomanceAndrew JohnsonNovember 8, 2014David Thewlis, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Harry Lloyd, James Marsh, Simon McBurney

Review: 'Fury'

David Ayer picks at the bonds formed during war by placing us within the claustrophobic interior of a Sherman tank during World War II.

Military and War, ReviewsSteve CiminoNovember 7, 2014brad pitt, David Ayer, Jon Bernthal, logan lerman, michael pena, Shia LaBeouf

Review: 'Nightcrawler'

Nightcrawler isn't exactly a coming-out party for the already excellent Jake Gyllenhaal, but it is a sadistic romp that may provide the young actor with some statues for his mantle.