By John H. Foote (****) In Theatres The great love story for the ages is said to be Romeo and Juliet. Frankly. I have always preferred Cyrano de Bergerac, written in 1897 by Edmond Rostand, a mature and brilliant love story that vastly soars past Romeo and Juliet. No question, Shakespeare created a magnificent piece…
By John H. Foote (***) In theatres now. Streaming in January. Some in the theatre world hold a superstition that to utter the title “Macbeth” or any lines from that play will doom the stage performance. Some actors hold this belief religiously, some do not. I was directing in the 80’s and 90’s and worked…
By Geoff Werthiem (***) Very few studios excel when it comes to “event movies” like Disney owned Marvel Studios. What started with Iron Man in 2008 grew into an extended franchise over 11 years, encompassing several comic book superheroes including Captain America, Thor and The Hulk. In 2012, with just 5 movies under their belt,…
By John H. Foote (****) In Theatres and Steaming on Netflix Black comedy has always been the best of the sub-genres of comedy for me. Taking a subject that is in no way funny (murder, nuclear explosions, divorce, a drunken Santa and now a meteor speeding towards earth) has always tickled my funny bone. My…
THE YEAR’S BEST MOVIES By John H. Foote Movies returned with a thundering triumph this year, exploding back on big screens. As we all slowly, hopefully, leave our basements and adjust our eyes to daylight, movie making and theatres are beginning to make a comeback, inching their way back to where once they ruled. Nothing…
By John H. Foote (**) Streaming on Netflix The American western has always been my favorite film genre. There is undeniable depth to the deceptive simplicity of westerns if you look for it. Sadly, not everyone does. They picture cowboys and Indians, bad guy wearing a black hat, good guy wearing white, and the marshal…
By John H. Foote (****) In theatres Let’s get right to it — it is a knockout, a masterpiece, brilliant on every level. And to the question everyone will ask: it is equal to the original? In fact, I think it’s greater. Steven Spielberg, finally creating his musical dream, has made an angrier, edgier, more…
By Alan Hurst Cards on the table: I’ve been a major fan of singer Anne Murray since she released “You Needed Me” in 1978. I think I knew about “Snowbird” (1970), “Danny’s Song” (1973), “Love Song” (1974) and her cover of the Beatles’ “You Won’t See Me” (1974), as well as her very 1970’s Canadian…
Directed by Ridley Scott (***) Now in theatres There is a scene in House of Gucci where we first see Lady Gaga as Patrizia, the character who will later marry Maurizio Gucci, and then years later, have him killed by two hitmen. She enters her father’s trucking depot wearing high heels and a skirt that…
By Geoff Wertheim (**) In theatres In recent years, the trend for franchises to refresh themselves is to have the characters constantly remark and reflect how awesome the original was, while pretty much recreating the original. They’re films made for the fans, by fans. We saw this with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Jurassic World,…