Chris Chiarella

Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 24, 2023  |  2 comments
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Perfect for holiday weekend family time, Disney’s beloved Cinderella proffers a more traditional telling, distinct from the versions by Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm or even Rodgers & Hammerstein’s subsequent musical take on the story. It remains an emotionally satisfying and an all-too-human tale of an oppressed young woman forced to work as a servant in her own family home. On the night she reaches her lowest emotional ebb, she’s rewarded for her inherent kindness with a magical gift — conditions attached — that might just be enough to deliver her from her current predicament.

Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 23, 2023  |  0 comments
Easy to wrap. Easy to give. Easy to enjoy. Because the holidays are a perfect opportunity to share our love of movies and music, here are a few suggestions to brighten that someone’s season in new and different ways that can last all year.
Chris Chiarella  |  Nov 10, 2023  |  1 comments
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Could the acclaimed director of The French Connection still be relevant in the MTV era? That’s a big 10-4, with William Friedkin delivering another edgy tale of cops and robbers in 1985’s To Live and Die in L.A., this time set on the left coast, and even helming the Wang Chung music video for the title tune.

Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 27, 2023  |  2 comments
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Writer/director Jalmari Helander’s Sisu spins a thrilling, uberviolent work of fiction into something uniquely original by combining two bits of Finnish history — their gold rush plus the Germans’ retreat across the country in 1944.

Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 20, 2023  |  0 comments
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Under the guise of an invitation-only tournament for the world’s most elite fighters, the notorious crime lord Han is in fact planning something far more sinister. After some convincing from British intelligence, martial arts master Lee (Bruce Lee) agrees to participate, with the dual agenda of gathering the evidence needed for a government takedown plus revenge upon the man responsible for the death of his sister. A couple of newfound friends share Lee’s opposition to Han, but it will take more than these three to win this fight.

Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 12, 2023  |  Published: Oct 13, 2023  |  2 comments
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Privately, many of us have surely dreamed of being Ferris Bueller, although I’d wager that even more of us would simply love to have him for a best friend. In a career-defining performance from Matthew Broderick, no doubt aided by his stage background and with charisma to spare, the good-spirited Mr. Bueller plans one perfect day for himself, his girlfriend Sloane and his BFF Cameron before their next chapter begins.

Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 09, 2023  |  4 comments
A funny thing happened on the way to the multiplex.

See, when studios invest hundreds of millions of dollars in their intended tentpole movies, they’re betting that sufficient tens of millions of people will be buying seats and popcorn to offset these exorbitant costs.

One of the ways they hedge these bets is to feature familiar characters in sequels, remakes, reboots and other sorts of “franchises'' with (they assume) a certain built-in audience. Of course, the movies need to be of a certain level of watchability and even rewatchability to reach that goal, and therein lies the challenge.

Chris Chiarella  |  Oct 05, 2023  |  Published: Oct 06, 2023  |  4 comments
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Only a few moments into Across the Spider-Verse’s two-hour-and-20-minute runtime, we can begin to understand why this sequel to 2018’s Oscar-winning Into the Spider-Verse took almost five years to arrive. Dramatically bold and visually (and sonically) fearless, the movie is exhausting in the best possible sense, inviting the audience along on a mind-boggling adventure and daring us to keep up.

Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 22, 2023  |  4 comments
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Funny how some movies debut to great negativity; either due to controversy or harsh criticism, possibly both; and yet possess that certain something that enables them to transcend over time. Waterworld is a fine example, plagued by countless production woes and subsequent budget overruns, considered a flop despite its big box office, and now years later, a great many folks appreciate its charms and have even granted it cult status.

Chris Chiarella  |  Sep 13, 2023  |  1 comments

The Big Blue Boy Scout Reaches New Heights in 4K

To generations of fans the world over, Christopher Reeve simply was Superman. His look, his manner, his commitment to the dual role of lovable oaf Clark Kent of Smallville and Kal-El of Krypton defined the character and set the bar, perhaps impossibly high, for all who dared follow. And while these movies might not have always achieved that same high standard, Reeve and his co-stars have left a substantial cinematic legacy, commemorated in Warner’s Superman Film Collection: 1978-1987.

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