As it has been outlined on this website before on films like Get On Up, biographical films have their formulas and rules. In addressing the origins and rise to fame of reclusive author J.D. Salinger, Rebel in the Rye faces the familiar dramatization tightrope walk between sugarcoated hero worship and biting character study. The creative choices made by Danny Strong, in his debut directorial effort, swirl between an engaging warm hug and an indifferent cold shoulder.
Read MoreEdgar Wright's new film Baby Driver falls in the category of sub-genre of action films that I like to call "kinetic films." Hear that genre definition, how Baby Driver fits the bill as ideal summer entertainment and more as I present the spoken form of my full review of the film accompanied by an interactive whiteboard lesson via the ShowMe app. Enjoy the latest video review in my "Movie Classroom" series on this website's YouTube channel:
Read MoreThe films of Edgar Wright pulse with a signature flair for visual comedy built on wildly imaginative stylings in the areas of music, framing, camera movement, sound effects, and editing. His creative trickery wins for looks, but it also constantly advances the storytelling at hand. For that and so much more, Baby Driver is first-rate example of a kinetic film and joins the top ranks of Wright’s filmography.
Read MoreCombine the oft-used expression "a picture is worth a thousand words" with the idiom "a fly on the wall," and you will have the contagious vigor that is "Elvis & Nixon." The most famous loose collar in the land meets the most-buttoned up Commander-in-Chief of this generation in a comedy of jovial possibilities. There is better-than-good chance that not a lick of "Elvis & Nixon" is true, but that doesn't ruin the fun of examining a documented moment of star-crossed brevity.
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