By John H. Foote (****) Remember Beanie Feldstein from Lady Bird (2017)? She played the best friend alienated by Lady Bird herself, though they manage to reconcile before a valued friendship is lost forever. She is also the sister of Oscar nominee Jonah Hill and if her brilliant performance in this film is any indication,…
By John H. Foote (***) What if Superman had been a bad guy? What if used those powers for selfish reasons, to conquer, to kill, to destroy? We saw in Superman II (1981) the awesome power of General Zod, hellbent on destruction, bringing down armies on his way to encounter the Man of Steel. Brightburn…
By John H. Foote (**) Like so many of the recent releases from Disney, this film is critic proof. There is a built-in audience of those curious to see what Guy Ritchie has done with the hugely successful animated film of 1992, made flesh and blood for 2019. Add to the mix the die-hard Disney…
By Nick Maylor I began playing the guitar at age 14. Although pop punk bands like Blink-182 and Green Day were the primary motivators for me to pick up the instrument, I quickly became enamoured with the blues. Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eric Clapton, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix and B.B. King soon worked their way into…
By John H. Foote The movie season is divided into three specific categories. From January through April we have the dumping ground, the months the studios release their films that they are unsure of. From time to time we get a Captain Marvel to shake things up, but usually audiences are still going to see…
By John H. Foote Charlize Theron silenced her many critics with one of the greatest performances ever given in Monster (2003), portraying serial killer Aileen Wuornos. Seething with rage, Theron disappeared into the role, creating one of the most compelling performances of the last fifty years. In the years since she has run hot and…
By Nick Maylor There were a lot of promises to deliver upon with the 22nd installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Having left the theatre less than half an hour ago, I can say confidently that Avengers: Endgame delivers on all of them. While I did not get everything I wanted to see in the…
By John H. Foote (***) When I heard the casting for this film, directed by Garth Davis, I admit I groaned. Moody Joaquin Phoenix as Jesus Christ? Odd but undeniably gifted Rooney Mara as Mary Magdalene? It seemed doomed to failure and ridicule. The Weinstein Brothers stood firmly behind the film until their world came…
By John H. Foote (Bomb) As portrayed by Ian McShane, bartender, owner of the Gem Saloon, murderer and terrifying presence in Deadwood, Al Swerengen is one of TV’s greatest creations. Dangerous, often a vile man, he has moments when he shows great kindness for those less fortunate than he is, though we know he will butcher…
By John H. Foote (***) Special engagement at Bell Lightbox. As a spoiled, manipulative, narcissistic grunge rock star Becky Something, actress Elisabeth Moss offers further proof she might be the finest actress of her generation. Fearlessly portraying this young woman like a raging harpy, a tornado of bad behaviour, the actress slips under her skin…