 Amazon Studios, 2020. "Les Misérables" is maybe an unfortunate title for this electric thriller that will confuse viewers who are expecting to see Jean Valjean and a few song and dance numbers. But in telling a more modern story, themes of inequality, class oppression and street-level rage eerily feel like echoes from Victor Hugo's classic novel, and send home the message that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
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New movies this week: 'It,' 'Home Again,' 'Viceroy's House' and 'The Oath' in theaters Sept 89/8/2017  Warner Bros. Pictures, 2017. 2017 has turned out to be one of the worst years in history at the box office, and the last two weekends in particular have ranked among the worst in 16 years. A Stephen King classic and a romantic comedy hope to turn things around and get the box office back on track.
Here are reviews of all of the films opening up this Friday, September 8th, 2017: Movie reviews: 'John Wick 2,' 'Paterson' and 'Julieta' offer choices this weekend, Feb. 102/10/2017  Lionsgate, 2017. Several new movies from various genres open today, ensuring that there is something sure to tickle your fancy this weekend. A highly anticipated sequel headlines the week at the box office, but two smaller movies are also making their way into theaters this week.
Here are reviews of the movies opening on Feb. 10, 2017:  Music Box Films, 2016. Poor Ove (pronounced "Oh-vay", and played with empathy by Rolf Lassgard), can't even die. A grumpy, stubborn and rude old man, Ove also recently lost the love of his life, his wife Sonja (the mesmerizing Ida Engvoll), and all he is trying to do is to meet her in the great beyond. He has bought a rope to hang himself, but he keeps getting interrupted. Finally when he is given just a damned minute, the rope snaps. He angrily returns it to the store he bought it from. Can't a man just kill himself in peace these days?
This is the setting for the touching, sometimes overly sappy "A Man Called Ove" (opening today, Oct 7). It's darkly funny with an enlarged heart, just like its rough, weathered subject.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 2 hours 20 minutes, Rated R Starring: Aleksey Serebryakov, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov Co-Written & Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, The Banishment, The Return) Leviathan (opening today) is a powerful, well-written drama that was just recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It comes to us from Russia, and it's no surprise that the film was included as one of the best international entries this year.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 1 hour 35 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salee Written & Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike, The Silence of Lorna, L'enfant) Two Days, One Night (opening today) is the latest effort from the filmmaking duo, the Dardenne brothers, a Belgian directing tandem responsible for one of the best films of 2012, The Kid with a Bike. With their latest effort, they once again show their brilliance in creating small, human stories rich with raw emotion. It stars Marion Cotillard, whose stripped-down performance just earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Foreign
Run Time: 1 hour, 57 minutes, Rated R Starring: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cecile De France, Kelly Reilly Written & Directed by Cedric Klapisch (My Piece of the Pie, Russian Dolls, Paris) Chinese Puzzle (or "Casse-tete chinois," opening today) is an examination of how, despite growing older, one does not necessarily grow up. It follows a group of middle-aged people who, basically, act like children, in this fantastical and whimsical romantic comedy.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Animated, Foreign, Comedy, Drama
Run Time: 1 hours, 20 minutes, Rated PG Sub-titled version and dubbed version featuring voices of : Forest Whitaker, Lambert Wilson, Lauren Bacall, Mackenzie Foy, Pauline Brunner, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Jeffrey Wright Based on the book by Gabrielle Vincent Directed by Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner Once you see Ernest and Celestine (opening today), you will understand why this French-Belgium animated beauty was nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year's Academy Awards. You may also wonder why it didn't win. A simple, clever, classic tale of friendship and tolerance, it just feels invigorating to experience a family-friendly work of animation not churned out by Disney or one of the other big Hollywood studios.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes, Rated R Starring: Paulina Garcia, Sergio Hernandez, Gonzalo Maza Co-Written & Directed by Sabastian Lelio (Christmas, La sagrada familia, El ano del tigre) Chile's submission for this year's Academy Awards was the beautiful Gloria (opening locally today), a film starring Paulina Garcia in the title role. She is a middle-aged woman dealing with the hardships of life and love, a woman who solidly could identify with the phrase "growing older, but not up."  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes, Not Rated Starring: Tony Servillo, Sabrina Ferilli, Giorgio Pasotti, Carlo Verdone Co-Written and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place, The Family Friend, One Man Up) As stated in the Italian film, La grande bellezza(translated in English to "The Great Beauty", and opening today at the Detroit Film Theater), everything ends with death. Ah, but before death, there is life. In this film, director Paolo Sorrentino's stunning, near-visual masterpiece is full of life, a deep inhale of the beauties that surround us and the wonderful colors of our past. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the featured film critic appearing on WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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