Film Reviews from 2012
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from 2009
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from 2006
Faith and Film “Inside Llewyn Davis” explores the folk music scene of Greenwich Village in 1961. Llewyn Davis (Owen Isaac) is a folk singer trying to make it on his own after his partner commits suicide. In “Her,” Spike Jonze does a clever job of exploring the aspects of love. Can one fall in love with a non-human voice? While this idea may seem farfetched, people currently have virtual relationships with others they have never met. Is it such a stretch to think someone could develop an emotional attachment with a voice programmed to respond to the operator’s needs? Reviews by Tom Condon, OP. |
Faith and Film “Saving Mr. Banks” tells the story of P.L. Travers, author of “Mary Poppins.” Director John Lee Hancock maintains the right tone to keep “Saving Mr. Banks” from becoming overly sentimental. The mood of the film is actually darker than I expected… Much of the credit here goes to Emma Thompson’s nuanced performance as Travers. After two straight years of Oscar-winning films (“The Fighter” and “Silver Linings Playbook”), director David O. Russell is on a roll. His latest film, “American Hustle,” brings together four actors from his previous films: Amy Adams, Christian Bale, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP. |
Faith and Film “Philomena” recounts a true story of a woman’s search for the child she gave up for adoption 50 years earlier. The movie is powerful and disturbing; I can’t get it out of my head. “Dallas Buyers Club” takes us back to 1985 when the AIDS epidemic was young, terrifying, and largely known as the “gay disease.” This film is notable for the performances of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto. “Nebraska” requires patience. It’s not fast-paced. But neither are drives across the Great Plains nor small-town Midwestern life. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP. |
Faith and Film No doubt many have already heard of this powerful film. Everything you’ve heard is true. It is intense, brutal, and at times extremely hard to watch… The violence of the beatings may be hard to bear, but they must be acknowledged as part of our nation’s history. The film is the incredible, true story of Solomon Northrup (Chiwetel Ejifor), a free man of color, living in Saratoga, New York, in the 1840s. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “Captain Phillips” is the riveting, true story of an American cargo ship hijacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia in East Africa in 2009. Tom Hanks plays Richard Phillips, a New Englander who captains the ship when a band of armed pirates comes aboard. Director Paul Greengrass also did a great job with a similar true story, “United 93,” about the hijacking of the jet on 9/11 that crashed in Pennsylvania. Although the audience already knows the outcome, he is able to keep them on the edge of their seats. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “Enough Said” is a romantic comedy/drama starring Julia Louis-Dreyfus and James Gandolfini. Most of us know Gandolfini’s work as Tony, the mob boss, from the HBO series “The Sopranos.” His performance here as the shy Albert, who doesn’t always know how to express himself, makes this film worth watching. “Gravity” tells the story of two astronauts (Dr. Ryan Stone, played by Sandra Bullock, and Matt Kowalsky, played by George Clooney) working on a space mission in which something goes terribly wrong. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film Based on its posters and trailer, you might expect “Spectacular Now” to be a “feel good” movie about young romance. On the contrary, this new movie is much more serious. It tells the story of Sutter Keely, a 17-year-old high school senior with a drinking problem. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “Blue Jasmine” is the latest movie from Woody Allen. Critics have compared it to Tennessee Williams’ classic “Streetcar Named Desire.” Like “Streetcar,” “Blue Jasmine” also tells the story of a woman who is forced to move in with her sister after an unfortunate turn of events… There’s been a tremendous amount of buzz about “The Butler,” the new movie chronicling the story of Cecil Gaines, White House butler to seven presidents from the 1950s-1980s. The buzz has centered on everything from media superstar Oprah Winfrey’s first movie role in years to the actors cast to play the presidents and first ladies. Read reviews by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film In the early morning hours of Jan. 1, 2009, a young, unarmed black man named Oscar Grant was shot and killed by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) police in Oakland, California. Horrified onlookers from a commuter train recorded this incident on their cameras. The videos went viral on the internet. “Fruitvale Station” tells the story of this tragedy. “The Conjuring” is based on a real incident. Ed and Lorraine Warren were psychic investigators in New England in the second half of the 20th century. Among many cases, they investigated the haunting made famous in “The Amityville Horror.” They worked closely with the Church, often consulting with priests, and, on occasion, bringing them in as exorcists. Read reviews by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “Before Midnight” is the third installment of films over a 20-year span about the relationship between an American writer, Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Celine (Julie Delpy), a French woman he meets by chance and falls in love with. Audiences were first introduced to the young couple in 1995’s “Before Sunrise,” in which they meet on a train and spend a night in Vienna. Now we meet Jesse and Celine as a 40ish couple who are spending the summer with friends in a beautiful Greek village. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film In the last few years, young adults have flocked to what have been called “gross-out” comedies. I was drawn to “This Is the End” because of its good reviews, but mostly because I was interested in its subject matter. As the title implies, the movie is about the apocalypse. Were there religious overtones in a gross out movie? I wanted to find out. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “Star Trek: Into Darkness” is a terrific summer movie. It’s a big movie, with great special effects, a gripping plot, and a breathless pace. It features a cast of familiar characters, still growing into their roles. There is a menacing villain. If that weren’t enough, there is a Biblical theme, including death and resurrection. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “To the Wonder,” the new film by American filmmaker Terrence Malick, is very much a companion piece to his earlier film, the Oscar-nominated “Tree of Life.” While “Tree” explores faith in a family dealing with loss, “Wonder” deals with faith in the lives of a couple, Neil (Ben Affleck) and Marina (Olga Kurylenko), as well as a priest, Fr. Quintana (Javier Bardem). The first of the big superhero/comic book movies hitting theaters between now and Labor Day, “Iron Man 3” never takes itself too seriously. Reviews by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film As summer draws near, the movie studios will deluge theaters with big-budget action and comic book movies. It’s nice to spend a couple of hours in the world of the independent film. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “42” is the number of the jersey worn by the great Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947 when he played for the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is still worn by MLB players on the opening day of the season every year. “42” is also the name of the new movie which chronicles this significant moment. Whether you’re a baseball fan or not, there are many good reasons to see “42.” Read review by Tom Condon, OP |
Faith and Film “Amour” is a critically acclaimed film, which just won the Oscar for foreign language film. Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuel Riva) are retired music teachers in their 80s who live in a Paris apartment. Anne’s health deteriorates after a series of strokes, and Georges devotes himself to taking care of her. Read review by Tom Condon, OP |