STEVEN SPIELBERG Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB. United Kingdom/USA, 2017. Amblin Entertainment, DreamWorks, Participant Media, Pascal Pictures, Star Thrower Entertainment, River Road Entertainment. Screenplay by Liz Hannah, Josh Singer. Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, Amy Pascal, Steven Spielberg. Music by John Williams. Production Design by Rick Carter. Costume Design by Ann Roth. Film Editing by Sarah Broshar, Michael Kahn. Academy Awards 2017. Golden…
Tag: Tom Hanks
The Circle
B (out of 5) Emma Watson is barely surviving in a crappy temp job when her friend calls her up and tells her that she has gotten her an interview at the Googlesque communications company where she works, a technological theme park whose main product seems to be pure connectivity. Watson gets the job and is…
Everything Is Copy
BBBBB (out of 5) Nora Ephron died in 2012 at the age of 71 of leukemia, and the shocking news of her death was compounded by the revelation that her illness was something she had kept from her family and friends for years. For a woman whose constant use of the titular mantra, one she learned from…
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2
BB (out of 5) It’s been thirteen years since a charming, independently produced comedy about an ethnic wedding became the most profitable film of all time, and so much has changed: the adorable Portokaloses are now a tight-knit clan who can’t stay out of any of their family members’ business. Okay, so not much has…
Bridge Of Spies (2015)
STEVEN SPIELBERG Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB. USA/Germany, 2015. DreamWorks, Fox 2000 Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Participant Media, TSG Entertainment, Amblin Entertainment, Marc Platt Productions, Studio Babelsberg. Screenplay by Matt Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen. Cinematography by Janusz Kaminski. Produced by Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, Steven Spielberg. Music by Thomas Newman. Production Design by Adam Stockhausen. Costume Design by Kasia Walicka-Maimone. Film Editing by…
Larry Crowne
0.5 (out of 5) A film so disastrous it has to be seen to be believed. Tom Hanks is a longtime employee at a Walmart-like store who is devastated when he gets fired due to downsizing, told that his lack of a college education is the reason why he has not been prioritized above employees with…
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
BBB (out of 5) Moments of hilarious spontaneity almost overcome a weak script in this delightful romantic comedy. Nia Vardalos plays Toula, a geeky Chicago waitress who works at her father’s Greek restaurant until the day she decides to spiff up her looks, boost her confidence and start up a career of her own in travel…
Toy Story 3 (2010)
LEE UNKRICH Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBB.5. USA, 2010. Walt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios. Story by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich, Screenplay by Michael Arndt. Produced by Darla K. Anderson. Music by Randy Newman. Production Design by Bob Pauley. Film Editing by Ken Schretzmann. Academy Awards 2010. Golden Globe Awards 2010. In 1995 the Pixar studio set off a cinematic revolution when they…
Cloud Atlas
BB.5 (out of 5) A scientist in the late nineteenth century is beset by illness while on an ocean voyage; a composer in England in the 1930s becomes assistant to a cantankerous legend in his field; a reporter in 1970s America investigates the shady dealings of a nuclear power corporation; a struggling publisher in 2012…
The Simpsons Movie
BB.5 (out of 5) Television’s longest running sitcom, and one of the warmest, wittiest skewerings of popular American culture, gets its shot at the silver screen with this lovely adventure which basically plays like a feature length episode. Homer really screws up royally when his lazy attitude towards Springfield’s attempts to clean up its environmental…
Joe Versus The Volcano
BB.5 (out of 5) Oscar-winning screenwriter John Patrick Shanley (Moonstruck) makes an ill-conceived directorial debut with this forgettable comedy. Tom Hanks plays a corporate drone who finds out from his doctor that he has a terminal illness and will die within months. Immediately following this he is approached by strange men who tell him that…
Punchline
BBB (out of 5) Sally Field gives a spirited performance as a bored housewife who realizes that her observations on suburban living make for great standup fare. She pursues a career in the field by attending amateur nights, and eventually finds herself squaring off with a failed med student turned comic (Tom Hanks) who at first…
