The Light Between Oceans Isn't The Brightest Bulb When It Comes to Cohesive Storytelling And Directing

When Disney and DreamWorks partnered up for a distribution deal back in 2009, visions of their future together were filled with hope and glory. And while some noteworthy effort emerged from Disney distributing DreamWorks movies for them over the past five years (most notably in top-notch Steven Spielberg efforts like Bridge Of Spies and Lincoln), mostly it led to forgettable films like Real Steel , The Help, Delivery Man and Need For Speed. Now, the final film in the two studios deal, The Light Between Oceans, ends their distribution arrangement on a sour note. At least we'll always have War Horse.

Bridge Of Spies Review

It's interesting to compare this summer's biggest film Jurassic World to its predecessor Jurassic Park, especially since it reveals the finer intricacies that make that 1993 motion picture such an involving feature. Not only does Steven Spielberg have a better eye for spectacle than Collin Trevorrow and his blue-soaked visuals (the T-Rex's entrance alone is a master course in pacing), but there's a brain on that movies shoulders, a cerebral streak that makes the world that characters like Alan Grant and Ellie Satler inhabit all the more enriching. Hell, that scene where John Hammond waxes poetic to Satler on why he wanted to make Jurassic Park in the first place over a dish of ice cream is one of the best moments in the entire film.

DreamWorks SKG To Leave Disney And Finally Reunite With Universal?

One of my all-time favorite books centering around Hollywood is The Men Who Would Be King by Nicole LaPorte, a fascinating look at the highs and lows of DreamWorks SKG, a movie studio created by David Geffen, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Steven Spielberg in 1994. The saga of that studio looks to be continuing today, as The Hollywood Reporter notes that DreamWorks is likely looking to bail on their current distribution deal with Disney and go over to Universal.

Penguins of Madagascar Is More Frantic Than Anything Else (Classic Write-Up)

Part of the humor of the main group (that group consisting of Alex, Marty, Gloria and Melman) that all three Madagascar movies center on is that despite being wild animals, their neuroses and problems have an endearing humanity to them. Juxtaposing that with more stylized material (namely that the four at walking talking animals) can make for some fun humor, especially when it involves the franchises penguins, who are smooth talking super spies of sorts who use their skills for mundane tasks such as gambling in Monte Carlo or digging a hole out of the Central Park zoo.

I Love You, Man Review (Classic Write-Up)

Now That We're Men!

A few minutes into I Love You, Man, I truly felt like I was watching something unprecedented. Here was an R-rated comedy that has its protagonist, Peter (Paul Rudd) be in a committed relationship....and the wife isn't treated as some kind of antagonist! His significant other, Zooey (Rashida Jones), is shown to be a well-rounded, nice person, who has a great dynamic with Peter. To boot, the film doesn't depict Peter as being "whipped" or less for having a healthy relationship with his fiancee.

Huzzah!! Steven Spielbergs Next Two Movies Have Been Announced!

He gets a lot of peculiar criticism from the cynical Internet community, but Steven Spielberg remains one of my favorite directors ever. His blockbusters movies alone would be enough to earn a place among the greats (Jurassic Park and Jaws were particularly impactful for me) but his ability to deliver the goods in dramas like War Horse just shows how expansive and talented the filmmaker is.

His expansiveness is on display again here in his next two movies, which have just been given dates.