Beginning, middle, and end—the three essential parts of a story. When a story, or in this case a movie, seems to be missing one of the three, it makes us wonder why, draws us in deeper into the story, and forces us to conjure our own ways of filling in the blanks. Sometimes leaving a story in the hands of the audience falls flat but in Z for Zachariah, the up-in-the-air twists and turns creates room for profound reflection.Ann (Margot Robbie) thinks she’s the last person on earth, the sole sur...

Wendy (Patricia Clarkson) loves words. She always has. Unfortunately, her job as a New York literary critic took precedence over building up her marriage. Yet, she’s still shocked when Ted (Jake Weber), her husband of 21 years, suddenly leaves her for another woman. This leaves Wendy in a pickle as she relied on him as a driver. Although the thought terrifes her, she decides to learn to drive in order to visit Tasha (Grace Gummer), her college-age daughter, in Vermont. Enter Darwan (Ben Kingsle...

I’m quite the sap for action films. I like the fast paced, heart-stopping sequences. In general, my life as a religious sister is pretty low key (one would certainly hope so, right?), so like many theater goers, I enjoy living vicariously through film for a couple of hours every once-in-a-while. And as a Mission Impossible fan since Jon Voight fell into the river with bloody hands back in 1996, my sense of anticipation was high. Rogue Nation does not disappoint.

If you’re a big fan of the ever-expanding Marvel cinematic universe, you’ll love the addition of Ant-Man to the mix. If you’re just out to see a movie and pick this one because it sounds weird and the show time is right, you’re in for some laughs but probably won’t be overly impressed by the standard super hero plot.

I grew up reading two or three Hardy Boys novels each week during the summer much to my Mom’s chagrin. She used to tell me to get my nose out of a book and go do something constructive, preferably outside. Max, a new film from Boaz Yakin (Remember the Titans), feels like a throw-back the adventures of Frank and Joe with some Lassie thrown in.

The funny, pill-shaped, nonsense-jabbering characters from the Despicable Me movies get their own screen time in Minions. Their purpose: to serve the most despicable master they can find. But it seems like they inadvertently keep causing the demise of those very masters with their hilarious ineptitude. From a T-Rex to Dracula to Napoleon, the well-meaning Minions just can't seem to keep “the boss” around for very long.

I’m already a fan of Pixar Animation Studios (I used their films as the basis for my Master’s thesis) so I didn’t need any pushing to go see Inside Out, the latest offering from the imaginations responsible for Up and Monster’s Inc. A long-time proponent that Toy Story (1995) is Pixar’s best film, I might have to re-look at that conviction in light of the absolute delight that is Inside Out.

I first saw the 1993 Jurassic Park movie on a really small TV screen, probably about 15 inches. There were five Sisters, including myself, crowded around this little TV. The picture was pretty bad according to today’s standards and the sound was in and out. Despite not having the big screen experience, I was scared out of my wits and jumped off my seat screaming at all the appropriate times but especially when the little girl found Samuel L. Jackson. I loved it.Fast forward 22 years to Jurassic...

A Gem for Family Movie Night

The fairy tale of Cinderella has been told many times on film, the most famous being Disney’s 1950 animated classic. The new Cinderella, directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Lily James and Cate Blanchet is a stunning tribute to the classic. Everybody knows the story and Branagh sticks closely to the traditional telling of the tale, mice as horses and pumpkins as carriages and all. What is truly delightful about this telling is that it feels like a morality play without the preachy part.