by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent So, the opening of CAPONE, written, directed and edited by Josh Trank, begins with “October 17, 1931.” A second and third set of title cards create confusion, since the last year of Al Capone’s life is 1947. In fact, when THE WIZARD OF OZ comes up in his private screening room? You might think it’s 1939, because that is the film’s release date. The title cards give it “a decade later” but audiences ...

Rocketman, Review: Messed-up multi-millionaire music-maestro Film-makers now need to ask themselves whether it makes good sense to churn out bio-pics with regular frequency. Does the genre hold enough promise to deliver quality cinema? In recent times, many of them are guilty of picking eminent personalities from films and music, with common traits, like troubled childhood, inability to handle fame and fortune, sexual mania or alternative sexual behaviour, and drug abuse. The phenomenon is co...

Venom, Review: High-breed Hannibal lecture Alien organisms are brought to earth by a mad industrialist who experiments by hosting them in human bodies, to form hybrid beings. These high-breeds feed on living humans, possess immense strength and can take over the human host at will, both in mind and body. What’s more, they can, and do, talk to the hosts in English, most of the conversations being lectures. Alien organisms inspired by Hannibal Lecter, a Hollywood cannibal who has been eat...

Dunkirk, Review by Siraj Syed: 300,000 stranded soldiers--Between certain death and uncertain rescue, a movie to cling on to It really happened. Give or take a few details, it really happened. Between 300,000 and 400,000 British troops were evacuated by British vessels from a beach in Dunkirk, France, in May 1940, amidst German submarine and aerial attacks. Dunkirk, the movie, is a visual roller-coaster on land, sea and air, where thrills are interwoven with chills, and dizzy heights blend wit...

by, Cameron Lui I just saw the re-screening of Mad Max and it was absolutely spectacular. A review is coming, but for now here are five fun components of the film that are hard to miss.    5 things we learned from Mad Max:   1. Tom Hardy wears more masks in his movies then Richard Hamilton in ’04. 2. Only Nicholas Hoult can pick up girls looking like the albino monk in “The Da Vinci Code.” 3. Charlize Theron can beat up Tom Hardy with one hand tied behin...

    Despite murmurs of criticism amongst festival regulars, George Miller’s “Mad Max” looks to be a thrilling two hour kickoff for Thursdays big day of films. The movie looks to be a 2 hour long chase filled with explosions, killer Tom Hardy one liners and A-list acting from the beautiful Charlize Theron. The film will be followed by Matteo Garrones “Il Racconto Dei Racconti”, which has created quite a bit of excitement in the film world. The cinematog...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   With the May release LOCKE, a veritable showcase for Tom Hardy's considerable talent, it is easy to overlook the long road to stardom. Not that LOCKE, written and directed by Steven Knight, is the star vehicle that put him on the map, but it shows how Hardy can carry a picture without enough supporting input from the ensemble. He plays Ivan Locke, who, in brief for various spoiler alert considerations, is a man with a concre...

  by Quendrith Johnson, Los Angeles Correspondent   Producer Megan Ellison turns 28 on Jan. 31. So far, her run has been exceptional in Hollywood. Before you begrudge her as second generation technology money since her father is Billionaire Oracle founder Larry Ellison, it is important to remember all the brash brass that has come to Hollywood before and made a mess.  The first of which is second generation moneyman Howard Hughes. His life is depicted for better or worse in...