By Celisa Calacal, Life & Culture Editor
• March 21, 2016
The decision of directors Byron Howard, Rich Moore and Jared Bush to tackle issues of prejudice through the animal world was a gutsy move — one that ultimately paid off.
There would have been a suitable audience for “Gods of Egypt” had it managed not to bury its crowd-pleasing production design in a mess of a story. But the film’s ultimate destination is undoubtedly the burial chamber or underneath the sands of the ceaseless desert wind.
“Zoolander 2” could have been clever. It could have been witty, with consistently funny jokes or a compelling story. But it has none of these things, and it is ultimately a movie that is just as offensively dumb and pointlessly inane as its main characters.
While it appears now as though this film is making an effort to make the NFL game safer, “Concussion” unearthed for much of the football-watching world the damage head injuries can have and negligence the NFL showed for many years.
There is a genius to his humor, his writing and his love of the cinema that is all his own. “The Hateful Eight” is an undeniable testament to an auteur’s command of his art, though it is only enjoyable for the most ardent of his fans.
Simultaneously invoking shock at the excesses of Wall Street and shedding light on the 2008 financial crisis, one of the least understood crises in U.S. history, “The Big Short” prompts a re-evaluation of American capitalism and an insight into the cutthroat nature of the financial sector.
By Tyler Obropta, Contributing writer
• February 2, 2016
Though it champions a story structure that’s been used many times before, “The Finest Hours” is a rescue story buoyed by some terrific maritime action sequences and very good acting performances.
This story is clearly intended to be a moving tribute to the brave American soldiers who, despite their losses, clearly triumphed over an armed militia with superior numbers and weaponry.
A masterful blend of acting and filmmaking, "Carol" is unlike anything on the big screen right now. It offers a refreshing take on same-sex relationships and is sure to shed a little more light on the issue of equality in the world today.
There are few works in recent memory that are more profoundly chilling than “The Revenant.” After watching the film, it’s hard not to be left shivering, haunted by a frigid, hostile wilderness and the hot blood that paints it.