A Review Too Far - The Big Short

This week our cinema geeks review Aeon Flux, Darkman, and The Big Short.First off is Aeon Flux, a live-action adaptation of the bizarre sci-fi animated series from the 90's where an erotic assassin (Charlize Theron) moves in to take out a ruthless dictator (Marton Csokas), but finds out that there is more going on in their dystopian society than she has been led to believe.After that is Darkman, an offbeat superhero movie starring Liam Neeson where he plays a burn victim who gains super-human strength thanks to an experimental medical procedure who goes on a quest to gain vengeance against the gang that tried to murder him.Finally, out in theaters, is The Big Short. An ensemble piece starring the likes of Christian Bale and Steve Carell, it is a dramatization of the sub-prime mortgage crisis that brought the world economy to its knees and attempts to parse the confusing terms and dishonest dealings of the banks that led to it.

A Review Too Far - Star Wars:The Force Awakens

This week our cinema geeks review The Phantom Menace, A New Hope, and The Force Awakens.First, Star Wars: Episode One, where Anakin Skywalker is discovered on planet Tatooine and is swept up in a struggle far beyond any scope he has dealt with before. After that is Star Wars: Episode Four, where Luke Skywalker stumbles across a pair of droids who lead him on a high stakes adventure to save a princess and destroy a battle station. Finally, out in theaters now, is Star Wars:Episode Seven, where a new generation discovers the Force and fights the heirs of the Empire, The New Order.

A Review Too Far - In the Heart of the Sea

This week our cinema geeks review The Canyons, Anastasia, and In The Heart Of The Sea.First up is the erotic thriller The Canyons where two couples deal with sex, Hollywood vapidness, and emotional abuse. After that is the Fox Animation Studios picture Anastasia where Meg Ryan plays the titular character who is trying to find her place in a world after the fall of the Romanovs. Finally, out in theaters now is In the Heart of the Sea, where a ship of whalers is waylaid by a monster whale who is intent on destroying them in the tale that inspired Moby Dick.

A Review Too Far - Krampus

This week our cinema geeks review Perfect Sense, Desk Set, and Krampus.In Perfect Sense, two lovers come together and drift apart thanks to a global disease that is stealing all our senses. After that is Desk Set in which Spencer Tracey and Kate Hepburn co-star in a romantic comedy about office efficiency. Finally, Krampus is a holiday horror film about a family trapped by an ancient evil that is slowly picking them off one by one.

A Review Too Far - Mockingjay, Part 2

This week, our Cinema Geeks dive back to the 90's and watch the odd couple action flick Leon: The Professional. After that come two cinema releases in time for the Holiday weekend... The 33, which is a dramatization of the Chilean mining disaster, and the final film in the Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay, Part 2.First up is Leon: The Professional in which Jean Reno stars as an immature hitman who is saddle with the burden of a child on the run (Natalie Portman) who is being chased by an unscrupulous DEA Agent (Gary Oldman) who is trying to silence her by any means necessary. Written and directed by Luc Besson, it is a film that has a surprisingly endearing, but painfully awkward relationship between Reno and Portman, and features a tremendous performance by Oldman.After that is The 33, in which a large international cast which includes Antonio Banderas, Juliette Binoche, and Gabriel Bryne attempt to recreate the tension and drama of the real life incident in Chile where thirty-three miners were trapped underneath a mountain and the efforts it took to save them.Finally, also in theatres, is the last film in the Hunger Games series, Mockingjay, Part 2, in which heroine Katniss plunges into the capital warzone to finally take down the villainous President Snow while battling enemies and allies alike.

A Review Too Far - SPECTRE

This week our Cinema Geeks review the hockey flick, Goon, move on to Bruce Li's Way of the Dragon, and finish with the lastest Bond film, SPECTRE.First of is Goon, in which Sean William Scott plays an affable bouncer who impresses a local hockey coach enough to make him a hired bruiser for first his, then his brother's teamsAfter that is the film written, directed by, and starring Bruce Li, Way of the Dragon, in which Li plays a martial artist sent to Rome to help protect a young woman's restaurant from the baffling machinations of a local criminal outfit... who hires Chuck Norris to deal with the problem.Finally, in theaters, is Daniel Craig picking up where he left off in Skyfall with the death of M (Dame Judi Dench) by tracking down the massive criminal enterprise that is SPECTRE, which has curious ties to Bond's own past.

A Review Too Far - Our Brand Is Crisis

This week our cinema geeks review the Steve Martin comedy The Three Amigos, Netflix's Beasts of No Nation, and the political drama Our Brand Is Crisis.First up is The Three Amigos in which Martin, along with Chevy Chase and Martin Short, plays in a trio of silent movie stars who, though a misunderstanding, become embroiled in a local land war between bandits and the downtrodden people of a small Mexican village. After that is another of Netflix's forays into cinema with the child soldier drama Beasts of No Nation which tells the tragic story of a boy forced to join a guerrilla group as it rampages throughout the African Bush in support of a rebel army. Finally, out in theaters is Our Brand Is Crisis, in which Sandra Bullock plays a political strategist sent to Central America to assist a pro-US presidential candidate in getting elected over his liberal counterpart, and the lengths that she and her team go to in order to win said election.

A Review Too Far - Steve Jobs

This week our Cinema Geeks review Stanley Kubrick's classic horror film, The Shining, move on to Darren Aronofsky's freshman effort, Pi, and finish with out in theaters now, Danny Boyle's take on tech guru Steve Jobs.First up is The Shining, the iconic horror masterpiece that stars Jack Nicholson as a troubled writer who is slowly driven mad by a haunted hotel. More a slow burn thriller than a jump-scare slasher, The Shining is a beautifully shot film that's just brimming with atmosphere.After that is Pi, the first film directed by modern auteur Darren Aronofsky. A simple scifi thriller about math and the essence of the universe, Pi is a tremendously impressive freshman effort both in terms of direction and what could be done with its minimal budget. Well worth a watch even if it does have rough edges.Finally, we tackle the big screen dramatic biography of legendary tech guru Steve Jobs, here portrayed by Michael Fassbender in all his arrogance and sweeping vision. Set on three specific days in his life, Steve Jobs portrays the cultural icon both for good and for ill, often to the extremes of his charisma and avarice. Great performances, direction, and pacing serve to make this a strong film in all our books.

A Review Too Far - Crimson Peak

This week our Cinema Geeks review A Clockwork Orange, Twixt, and Crimson Peak~First up is Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange where Malcolm McDowell plays a sociopathic youth rampaging through suburban London in a dystopian future for Sex and Ultraviolence plague the city. Caught after murdering a woman, McDowell's Alex is sent to prison where he is enrolled in an experimental mind control program design to make him reject his natural impulses through negative conditioning. A film that doesn't shy away from its basic premises, A Clockwork Orange is classic Kubrick that is as brave as it is groundbreaking.After that is Francis Ford Coppola's Twixt in which Val Kilmer plays a hack horror writer who stumbles upon a small town murder mystery that could involve vampirism and serial killings. Shot on a low budget and burdened by bad writing and plot holes, Twixt is an interesting experiment, but only that.Finally, out in theaters now, is Crimson Peak, a Gothic Horror Romance where Mia Wasikowska plays an heiress author who is swept of her feet by a beggared baronet (Tom Hiddleston) and taken to his decaying manor on the moors of rural England where ghosts haunt the grounds, slowly driving her mad. A very faithful recreation of the literary genre its homaging, Crimson Peak is beautiful in set and art design, but frays a bit around the edges of story and character arcs.

A Review Too Far - Pan

This week our Cinema Geeks review Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Silence of the Lambs, and Pan.First up is Kevin Costner and his most certainly not period accent as he takes the title role in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves where he and his band of Merry Men, including fish out of water Azeem (Morgan Freeman) and Will Scarlet (Christian Slater), take on scene-stealing Alan Rickman who really tears into the role of the Sheriff of Nottingham. A big budget blockbuster, Prince of Thieves definitely shows its seams, but still manages to please thanks to the eternal charm of the dedicated members of the supporting cast.After that is the film that let Anthony Hopkins scare a generation and firmly entrench his place in pop culture as the eternally creepy Hannibal Lecter, matching wits with Jodie Foster's FBI Agent, Clarice Starling, who is desperate to track down the infamous serial killer Buffalo Bill before he flays the skin from another poor soul. Though dated by today's Thriller standards, Silence was certainly ground-breaking for its time and is pretty much Johnathan Demme's most beloved film.Finally, out in theaters now is Pan, a dramatic re-imagining of J.M.Barie's iconic "boy who never grew up," this time as an origin story that shows young Peter as a WW2 Orphan who is whisked away to Neverland to slave in Blackbeard's (Hugh Jackman) Pixim mines but escapes with the help of fellow prisoner Hook (Garrett Hedlund). The two (three with Smee) head off into the wilds until they are captured by warrior princess Tiger Lily (Rooney Mara). Watch out for Punk and Grunge standards as pirate songs and obvious CGI special effects tainting an already weak story.