KUNG FU PANDA 3

Director Jennifer Yuh Nelson’s Kung Fu Panda 3 reunites “Po” (Jack Black) with his biological father, “Li Shan” (Bryan Cranston) in an enjoyable, heartwarming third installment of the Dreamworks franchise. (BKP: 4.5/5) Review by Associate Editor Brigid K. Presecky When “Master Shifu” (Dustin Hoffman) announces his retirement, he hands the reigns over to Po …… Continue reading KUNG FU PANDA 3

BY THE SEA

A painfully slow drama about an estranged couple vacationing on the French seaside who begin to mend their marriage when they find common interest in spying on the newlywed couple next door. Written, directed, and starred in by Angelina Jolie Pitt, By the Sea is a wholly underwhelming film with too little story and too… Continue reading BY THE SEA

2014: Penny’s Top Picks

Best Feature Film of 2014: Selma Runner Up: Birdman Best Director of 2014: Ava DuVernay (Selma) Runner Up: Alejandro González Iñárritu (Birdman) Best Documentary of 2014: Gringo Trails Runner Up: Life Itself Best Foreign Language Film of 2014: Aftermath Runner Up: Winter Sleep Best Actress of 2014: Amy Adams (Big Eyes) Runner up: Angelina Jolie (Maleficent) Best… Continue reading 2014: Penny’s Top Picks

MALEFICENT

Angelina Jolie is magnificent in this Disney remake of Sleeping Beauty, a classic fairy tale now told anew from the POV of the female villain (the eponymous “Maleficent”). Kudos to screenwriter Linda Woolverton (who also gave us the screenplays for Beauty & the Beast, The Lion King etc), as well as Robert Stromberg (a first-time director who… Continue reading MALEFICENT