“There was one of two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other”. ~ Harriet Tubman I’m not one for slavery era movies any more. The story has to be pretty damn catchy in general to pull me in and it had best […]
Read More From The “A Sojourner’s Truth” File…By Sean E. Ali2017 BBC Films/Perfect World Pictures/Working Title Films/Cross Street Films/Focus Features/Universal Pictures Directed by Stephen Frears Produced by Tim Bevan/Eric Fellner/Beeban Kidron/Tracey Seeward Screenplay by Lee Hall Based on “Victoria & Abdul” by Shrabani Basu I have no idea if British cinema invented the period costume drama (that is a genre, right?) but they know how […]
Read More Victoria & Abdul2017 Universal Pictures/Cross Creek Pictures/Imagine Entertainment/Quadrant Pictures/Vendian Entertainment/Kylin Pictures Directed by Doug Liman Produced by Brian Grazer/Brian Oliver/Tyler Thompson/Doug Davison/Kim Roth Written by Gary Spinelli Having pretty much devoted himself to action movies for the last decade or so it’s easy to forget that Tom Cruise was once regarded as one hell of a dramatic […]
Read More American Made2016 Fox 2000 Pictures/Chernin Entertainment/TSG Entertainment/20th Century Fox Directed by Theodore Melfi Produced by Donna Gigliotto/Peter Chernin/Pharrell Williams/Jenno Topping/Theodore Melfi Screenplay by Alison Schroeder/Theodore Melfi Based on “Hidden Figures” by Margot Lee Shetterly There are two stories of heroism running side-by-side in HIDDEN FIGURES. There’s the one we all know because it’s been so documented, […]
Read More Hidden Figures1983 The Ladd Company/Warner Bros. Directed by and Screenplay by Philip Kaufman Produced by Irwin Winkler/Robert Chartoff\ Based on “The Right Stuff” by Tom Wolfe Music by Bill Conti Cinematography by Caleb Deschanel One of the reasons why THE RIGHT STUFF stands out in my memory is because I saw it during its original theatrical […]
Read More The Right Stuff2016 TFI Films Production/Mars Films Directed by Julien Rambaldi Produced by Pauline Duhault/Olivier Delbosc/Marc Meissonier Screenplay by Julien Rambaldi/Kamini/Benoit Graffin I think that it’s more than safe to say that 2016 has been one hell of a year. It’s a year that I have no doubt will go down in history. Most of you […]
Read More The African Doctor2016 Walt Disney Pictures/ESPN Films/Mirabai Films Directed by Mira Nair Produced by John Carls/Lydia Dean Pilcher Screenplay by William Wheeler Based on “The Queen of Katwe: A Story of Life, Chess and One Extraordinary Girl’s Dream of Becoming a Grandmaster” by Tim Crothers If you’ve been reading my reviews on a regular basis you’ll doubtless […]
Read More Queen of Katwe2017 Participant Media/DiBonaventura Pictures/Summit Entertainment/Closest to the Hole Productions/Leverage Entertainment Directed by Peter Berg Produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura/Mark Vahradian/Mark Wahlberg/Stephen Levinson/David Womark Screenplay by Matthew Michael Carnahan/Matthew Sand Story by Matthew Sand Based on “Deepwater Horizon’s Final Hours” by David Barstow/David Rohde/Stephanie Saul If Irwin Allen had made DEEPWATER HORIZON he’d have given us […]
Read More Deepwater Horizon2013 Regency Enterprises/Film4/Plan B Entertainment Directed by Steve McQueen Produced by Brad Pitt, Dede Gardner and Bill Pohlad Screenplay by John Ridley Based on “Twelve Years A Slave” by Solomon Northup Music by Hans Zimmer Cinematography by Sean Bobbitt Edited by Joe Walker Let me say this up front so that you won’t waste your […]
Read More 12 Years A Slave2004 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Produced and Directed by Irwin Winkler Written by Jay Cocks DE-LOVELY is a good example of the way musicals are made nowadays. Audiences have to have a ‘reason’ for why the people in the movie suddenly break out in song and dance. I myself have spoken with many people who hate musicals because […]
Read More De-Lovely