A realistic, refreshingly unsentimental working-class drama with a spot-on, Oscar-nominated performance by its star, Marion Cotillard, makes Two Days One Night one of the more thought-provoking and emotional films of 2014. Sibling Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre...
by Vincent Leo · Published February 17, 2015 · Last modified December 5, 2019
Fifty Shades of Grey adapts E.L. James’s massively popular book, only truly notably significant because it brought about BDSM subject matter into the mainstream. With everything depicted already having been filmed in pornography that’s not...
1957’s 12 Angry Men provides the inspiration for this Chinese art-house interpretation by first-time feature director and co-writer Xu Ang. The circumstances: a young man is adopted into a wealthy family is accused of murdering his...
Dr. Ron Knight (Huskey) is a Los Angeles hypnotherapist who sees clients in his home, trying, often to little avail, to put his patients under and hopes that suggestion can cure their vices when they...
Set in New York in 1981 (its most violent year, naturally), Abel Morales (Isaac, The Two Faces of January) is an up-and-coming fuel distributor looking to close the deal on some prime property to give...
Tim Burton (Dark Shadows, Alice in Wonderland) surely must have heard many of his casting choices in films over the years, with a plethora of young actresses with pasty skin and big eyes, as reminiscent...
by Vincent Leo · Published December 28, 2014 · Last modified January 28, 2019
For me, James Cameron’s Titanic has always been a tale of two halves. The first half — the setup — is schmaltzy and not particularly well written. The second — the disaster movie — is balls-out,...
The Interview is perhaps more notable for the controversy it inspired than for anything that it contains within the course of its run time, as it not only caused an organization of hackers to infiltrate...
2010s / Comedy / Family / Fantasy
by Vincent Leo · Published December 24, 2014 · Last modified July 13, 2018
From the appearance of the terrible pratfall-filled trailer, Paddington would appear like one of those anthropomorphic misfires in the vein of Kangaroo Jack or Yogi Bear. The film had some dubious press in the late days of its production...
2010s / Action / Adventure / Fantasy / War
by Vincent Leo · Published December 17, 2014 · Last modified July 8, 2018
This is the one that finally broke me. J.R.R. Tolkien’s “The Hobbit” has the secondary title of “There and Back Again”, which certainly rang true for many readers, who enjoy going back to the...
Reviews from film writer Vince Leo, covering all eras and genres of films from classics to the latest releases.
Film reviews from Vince Leo, from classics to new releases, since 1996.
