Vanderbilt wrote and directed the powerhouse film that is Nuremberg. Using The Nazi and the Psychiatrist by Jack El-Hai as it’s basis, Vanderbilt grounds the film in facts and strong performances. Front and center in those performance is Russell Crowe who turns in what is arguably his best performance in years. Crowe plays Hermann Goring,…
Tag: russell crowe
Land of Bad (2024) – William Eubank
Land of Bad is a crisp military actioner. With a solid cast that includes two Hemsworth brothers, Liam and Luke, Russell Crowe and Milo Ventimiglia, the film takes us on a high-tension, tightly-crafted mission that sees a Delta Force team, and it’s accompanying drone (and operator) on the run after things go pear-shaped. The Delta…
The Pope’s Exorcist (2023) – Julius Avery
For something that claims to be based on the actual documented cases of the Chief Exorcist of the Vatican, Father Gabriele Amorth, one would expect something smarter, scarier, and perhaps not as trope-ridden as what viewers are given with The Pope’s Exorcist. The film gives us Russell Crowe as Amorth, not quite chewing scenery, but…
The Mummy (2017) – Alex Kurtzman
I won’t lie, I loved the idea of Universal’s Dark Universe, a multi-cinematic excursion that ties all the classic Universal monsters together in some new dynamic way. But when I heard the reviews beginning to pour in about the first entry, which subsequently killed any plans for continuing the proposed universe I stayed away. Until…
Robin Hood (2010) – Ridley Scott
Director Ridley Scott does away with the romp and romantic adventure that has permeated the Robin Hood myth down through the ages, and through a number of onscreen iterations to tell a more historical-based version of the tale. He packs it with stars, but the lack of derring-do may have kept audiences away, who knew…
The Quick and The Dead (1995) – Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi brings his frenetic style of zooming cameras and powerful camera angles to the western genre with a tale of revenge riding across the plains into an unforgiving town. Sharon Stone who looks absolutely stunning in western getup stars as Ellen, a woman bent on vengeance. She rides into a frontier town to take…
The Nice Guys (2016) – Shane Black
With the exception of The Predator, I love me some Shane Black. From the moment I first saw Lethal Weapon, I knew I had found a writer (and later a director) that I would enjoy following. Keeping in the vein of his other film, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, The Nice Guys plays with the detective…
Gladiator: 20th Anniversary 4k Review
It’s hard to believe that Gladiator is twenty years old. I can still recall the evening I saw in the theatre, and how the group of friends and I simply loved it. Ridley Scott proved what an amazing and technical director he was, and continues to be, Russell Crowe became a new hero to many…
L.A. Confidential (1997) – Curtis Hanson
Before we dive in to this one, I want to admit that yes, this one is sullied now because of Kevin Spacey, it doesn’t however change the fact that this is a fantastic film. Chinatown is the next big recommendation from DK Canada’s The Movie Book, but as I’ve covered it previously I jumped right…
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) – Peter Weir
Based on the series of books by Patrick O’Brian, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is the final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of The Pirates of the Caribbean. I’ve only read a few of the books, but love them, and they are…
The Mind Reels 