By: debbie lynn elias The only thing one ever need know when they see the name “Matthew McConaughey” on a movie’s titles or on the theater marquis is that his performance will be first-rate. Doesn’t matter the genre, the director, the screenwriter, the remaining cast; with McConaughey attached you are
By: debbie lynn elias Thank you director Peter Segal, Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Jon Bernthal and Kevin Hart for giving me a great early Christmas present with GRUDGE MATCH. The fictional story of former boxers Henry “Razor” Sharp and Billy “The Kid” McDonnen, Razor and Kid haven’t spoken in
By: debbie lynn elias There is sage wisdom within the story of AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY. Directed by John Wells and written by Tracy Letts based on his play of the same name, AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY is a tour de force in acting on all counts. There is not a weak
By: debbie lynn elias I am in awe of THE INVISIBLE WOMAN. On every level – from script to performance to period perfect production design and costuming to stunning cinematography, one is transported through time to the world of Charles Dickens and more particularly, that of his love, his mistress,
By: debbie lynn elias Prim, proper, enigmatic, stoic with perfectly clipped pronunciation, elocution and delicious rudeness, as P.L. Travers, Emma Thompson is front and center commanding every scene in SAVING MR. BANKS. Described by Thompson as being “the most extraordinary combination of things”, Travers “wasn’t consistent in any way. You
By: debbie lynn elias Nothing short of brilliant as Walter Elias Disney in SAVING MR. BANKS, Tom Hanks took his own trip into the past preparing for the film and his performance. As much a fixture as Mickey Mouse to generations of children who grew up on weekly visits with
By: debbie lynn elias Making this the jolliest holiday of the year, SAVING MR. BANKS is, quite frankly, practically perfect in every way. Timeless magic destined to become a classic, SAVING MR. BANKS is based on the true account of the making of Mary Poppins, the story behind the story;
By: debbie lynn elias Could SAVING MR. BANKS have been made by anyone but Walt Disney Studios? Probably not; especially when one considers the film was shot at not only the Disney studios in Burbank, which have remained relatively unchanged since 1961 when this story takes place, but also at
By: debbie lynn elias I last spoke with Peter O’Toole at the 2011 TCM Film Festival. It was the morning of his hand/foot print ceremony at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. It was also the same morning – and time – as my interview with Angela Lansbury. Juggling the two was not
By: debbie lynn elias Written and directed by Eric Heisserer, who here makes his directorial debut, HOURS is one of the final films of Paul Walker and the one of which he was most proud. Close to Walker’s heart, his passion and dedication to the story results in a tour
