"Everest" Review - Written by Tim Hellman

'EVEREST': Three and a Half Stars (Out of Five)

Disaster flick, based on actual events; detailing the fatal attempts of two exhibition groups, to summit Mount Everest. It was directed by Baltasar Kormakur and written by William Nicholson and Simon Beaufoy. The film stars Jason Clarke, Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin, Sam Worthington, John Hawkes, Emily Watson, Robin Wright and Keira Knightley. It's a slow moving, but ultimately intense, mountain climbing adventure flick; not great, but definitely worth the watch.

The film takes place in 1996; and follows a very experienced mountain guide, named Rob Hall (Clarke). Gyllenhaal plays Scott Fischer; another very skilled guide, who led another group up Everest. Other climbers included a doctor named Beck Weathers (Brolin), and a mailman named Doug Hansen (Hawkes). The movie details their disastrous attempts, to reach the summit that spring (and come back down), as well as many others.

The first half of the movie is extremely slow-paced, it did help me to get to know, and care for, a lot of the main characters though. The second half of the film is both suspenseful and visually spectacular (it especially looks beautiful in 3D). It's also pretty depressing; and I was surprised to learn which characters survived, and which didn't. The directing is decent, and I like most of the main cast (especially Gyllenhaal). It's not the most consistently thrilling adventure flick, but it is entertaining enough.

Official Sixty Second Trailer for Best Picture Nominee "The Imitation Game"

The Weinstein Company recently send us a sixty second trailer for for "The Imitation Game". The film recently received eight Oscar nominations Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

"The Imitation Game" stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock), Keira Knightley (Begin Again), Matthew Goode (Stoker) and Mark Strong (Zero Dark Thirty). "The Imitation Game" is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: http://theimitationgamemovie.com/.

Plot Synopsis:

During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany's World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives.

"The Imitation Game": Sixty Second Trailer

Coming of Age Comedy "Laggies" Heads to DVD & Blu-Ray

Lionsgate recently announce the upcoming DVD & Blu-Ray release of "Laggies". The film stars Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise), Chloë Grace Moretz (If I Stay, Carrie, Kick-Ass franchise), Ellie Kemper (Bridesmaids, TV’s “The Office”) and Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Way Way Back).

Special features on the DVD Blu-Ray includes • Audio Commentary with director Lynn Shelton, “Lagging On with Lynn Shelton” featurette, “Shooting Seattle: The Look of Laggies” featurette and Deleted Scenes.

"Laggies" hits stores on 2/10/2015.
Plot Synopsis:

Keira Knightley (The Imitation Game, Pirates of the Caribbean franchise) headlines the cross-generational comedy, Laggies, arriving on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital HD) and DVD (plus Digital) February 10th from Lionsgate Home Entertainment. Theatrically released by A24 and referred to as “a feel-good, crowd-pleasing comedy” (The Playlist), the hilarious rom-com also features Chloë Grace Moretz (If I Stay, Carrie, Kick-Ass franchise), Ellie Kemper (Bridesmaids, TV’s “The Office”) and Sam Rockwell (Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, The Way Way Back). Knightley and Moretz shine in this feel-good comedy about two unlikely friends: Megan, a 28-year-old who’s not ready for adulthood, and Annika, a 16-year-old who wonders if there’s life after high school. Panicked after her boyfriend proposes, Megan hides out in the house Annika shares with her single dad (Rockwell). As their paths intertwine in surprising and hilarious ways, Megan and Annika help each other to stop lagging…and start living! Packed with bonus features including an audio commentary with the director, deleted scenes and two featurettes that delve behind-the-scenes of the making of the film, Laggies will be available on Blu-ray and DVD for the suggested retail price of $24.99 and $19.98 respectively.

Official Stills for the Upcoming WWII Film "The Imitation Game"

The Weinstein Company recently released stills for the upcoming release of WWII film "The Imitation Game. The upcoming film stars Benedict Cumberbatch(Sherlock), Keira Knightley(Begin Again), Matthew Goode(Stoker) and Mark Strong(Zero Dark Thirty). "The Imitation Game" hits theaters on November 28th.

For more information on this film, you can visit the film's official website at: http://theimitationgamemovie.com/.

Plot Synopsis:

During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing (Benedict Cumberbatch) to investigate a reported burglary. They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of ‘gross indecency’, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing. Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany's World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, THE IMITATION GAME follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives.

"Begin Again" Review - Written by Tim Hellman

'BEGIN AGAIN': Four Stars (Out of Five)

Musical romantic comedy flick written and directed by John Carney; who also wrote and directed the critically acclaimed 2007 Irish musical 'ONCE'. Mark Ruffalo and Keira Knightley star in the movie (Knightley also did all of her own singing) as an alcoholic music executive and a singer/songwriter who collaborate on a music album; they record all live over the summer (in New York City). It costars Hailee Steinfeld, Catherine Keener, James Corden, CeeLo Green, Mos Def and Adam Levine (in his film debut). I found the movie to be really entertaining and emotionally uplifting as well.

Ruffalo plays Dan Mulligan, a recently unemployed music label executive who lives in New York City. Dan is separated from his wife, Miriam (Keener), and hasn't signed a successful music artist in seven years. He also has a teenage daughter, named Violet (Steinfelf), and is an alcoholic, due to his depression. Knightley plays Gretta, a singer/songwriter who recently broke up with her longtime boyfriend, Dave (Levine). The two moved to New York because Dave was signed to a record label. He quickly let the success go to his head though and had an affair with a music label associate. Dan discovers Gretta playing one of her songs at a bar, in East Village, and immediately thinks she's the person who will help him get out of the rut he's in. The two soon decide to produce an album together.

I like 'ONCE', a lot, because I really like the music and think the movie was filmed beautifully. I like this film for the same reasons; the music is great and the film looks amazing. It's also just a cool feel-good movie. I really enjoyed it, a lot, while I was watching it. Like 'ONCE', it's not a film I'll take a lot away from but it's still a really fun time at the movies. It's also one I look forward to seeing again, like a good song that you can't wait to hear again! To me that's a good movie.