Posts Tagged ‘reviews’
Film Shorts
KRISTIAN LINOPENING: Rosewater (R) Jon Stewart makes his directing debut with this drama about real-life journalist Maziar Bahari (Gael García Bernal) and his ordeal in an Iranian prison while covering the pro-democracy uprising. Also wit...
Lights On
Stellar performances and a solid script make this potential melodrama serious entertainment.COLE WILLIAMS
When Noni (Gugu Mbatha-Raw) first sings, she’s a little girl in a talent competition performing Nina Simone’s “Blackbird.” She comes in second place, and her passionate stage mom Macy Jean (Minnie Driver) tells her to t...
Deep Barley Roots
Before Rahr, Peticolas, and Deep Ellum, North Texas had Wagenhauser – and several other craft and industrial-scale breweries.EDWARD BROWN
The release of North Texas Beer is timely. As co-authors Paul Hightower and Brian Brown state in their introduction, the beer industry has grown exponentially in North Texas over the past two years. Against the backdrop of this...
Film Shorts
KRISTIAN LINOPENING: The Great Invisible (PG-13) Margaret Brown’s documentary interviews survivors of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. (Opens Friday in Dallas) Big Hero 6 (PG) Disney’s latest animated film is about a young invento...
Film Shorts
KRISTIAN LINOPENING: Nightcrawler (R) Jake Gyllenhaal stars in this thriller as a creepy loner who becomes a freelance crime journalist taking videos of accidents, police chases, and crimes in progress. Also with Rene Russo, Riz Ahmed, Ann...
Fly Away
Michael Keaton returns, and Birdman soars into the sky.KRISTIAN LIN
Remember the conversation in Neighbors this past summer, when Seth Rogen and Zac Efron’s characters argued about whether Michael Keaton or Christian Bale was the better Batman? It was telling — Rogen’s character is old en...
Spazzio Out
This newish Arlington eatery does Italian right.LAURIE JAMES
Spazzio’s Italian Cantina seems to be suffering from an identity crisis. The original name, Spago Pizza and Vino, apparently infringed on a Wolfgang Puck trademark. Despite the confusion, this newish family-owned eatery has q...
Film Shorts
KRISTIAN LINOPENING: St. Vincent (PG-13) Bill Murray stars in this comedy as a misanthropic war veteran who agrees to babysit an 11-year-old boy (Jaeden Lieberher) who moves in next door. Also with Melissa McCarthy, Naomi Watts, Chris O’...
Tank Busting
The World War II drama Fury is exhausting and not in a good way.KRISTIAN LIN
I rather liked David Ayer’s last film, the 2012 found-footage cop drama End of Watch. The financial success of that movie has allowed him to make Fury, a World War II film on a much bigger budget. Unhappily, the current movie...
Amazing Amy
Gone Girl: Marriage is hell. Especially this one.Kristian Lin
By now, lots of ink has been spilled about how Ben Affleck’s years as a pop-culture punchline have suited him for the lead role in Gone Girl as a man who is demonized by the public and the media. The truth is, he probably did...