Atomic Blonde, Review by Siraj Syed: Blonde, Lorraine Blonde “Bond, James Bond” is the most famous self-introduction in spy movie history, courtesy Sean Connery playing Ian Fleming’s Cold War time British secret agent 007. Fifty-five years on, Charlize Theron has picked a graphic novel by Anthony Johnston to invent herself as Lorraine (blonde) Broughton, the present day ‘equivalent’ of not only Bond, but John Wick and Jason Bourne, with a dash of Mad Max, severel...

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, Review by Siraj Syed: Mind-boggling 2,734 VFX shots in 136 mins French director Luc Besson has made the most expensive French/European film ever. It is also the most expensive independent film, at about $200 million. From initial responses, it looks like the film will fall far short of recovering its cost, and that will be a pity. Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets adds a new, fresh feel to the sci-fi, interplanetary, inter-galactic, alien...

by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent When the original KING KONG was released by RKO in March of 1933, some of the trade ads included a tie-in between Kong’s big bang box office receipts and the failed banks of the Great Depression roaring back to profitability. It was a nostalgia sell, a heart-tug for a pre-code Hollywood monster romp, the likes and scale of which had never been seen on the silver screen. In a quick recap, Merian C. Cooper was turned down at Paramount, th...

10 Cloverfield Lane, Review: Hollowcaust Ultra-thin story line, with some slick moments in the first half, is how one can sum up 10 Cloverfield Lane. A psychological, science fiction, holocaust, suspense tale, the film needed a rock solid unravelling. Instead, it goes off on an indulgent tangent, and you come out wondering, “So this was what it was all about?” It is the second film in the Cloverfield franchise. The film was developed from a script titled The Cellar, but while und...

By Maria Esteves – October 17, 2012   The 50th New York Film Festival 2012(NYFF50) Closing Night World Premiere of FLIGHT by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis commenced Sunday, October 14, 6:00 PM at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall. Presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, red carpet arrivals included industry executives, festival directors, celebrity guests, cast and crew from FLIGHT (Brian Geraghty, Bruce Greenwood, Denzel Washington, Don Cheadle, Jam...

By Maria Esteves – October 19, 2012 The 50th New York Film Festival 2012 (NYFF50) presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center Closing Night World Premiere of FLIGHT, by Academy Award winning director Robert Zemeckis commenced Sunday, October 14, 6:30 PM at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall, New York. FLIGHT is compelling, heroic and a suspense thriller about a commercial airline pilot Captain Whitaker (Denzel Washington) with extraordinary skills who struggles with issues of c...

By Maria Esteves – October 17, 2012 The 50th New York Film Festival 2012 (NYFF50) presented by the Film Society of Lincoln Center Closing Night World Premiere press screening of FLIGHT, by Academy Award-winning director Robert Zemeckis was held at the Walter Reade Theater, Sunday, October 14, 9:00 AM. A live press conference immediately followed with director Zemeckis, screenwriter John Gatins, casts members John Goodman, Don Cheadle, Melissa Leo, Bruce Greenwood and Academy Award-winnin...