Year: 2017

Get musical with three John Carney gems on Netflix

Jeff Mitchell

It is no secret that some of director John Carney’s films own musical themes.  This former bass player from The Frames has carried his musical beat to the big screen, and the transition from stage to movies has been seamless. If you are sitting at home, your toes are a tapping and the wish for a great movie is rushing over you, look no further than Netflix and these Carney gems.  All three pictures are not traditional musicals, but their central themes revolve around music and song.   Oh, after viewing…

‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ kicks this reboot into high gear

Jeff Mitchell

“Spider-Man: Homecoming” – Without watching “Captain America: Civil War” (2016), the thought of another Spider-Man reboot screams the words: completely unnecessary.  On the other hand, Tom Holland’s playful performance as your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man in the aforementioned Captain America picture did lend plenty of excitement for a new big screen adventure with the famous wall crawler.  “Spider-Man: Homecoming” does not disappoint, and for Marvel fans, it is deeply intertwined with the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe). As the film opens, we are taken back eight years into the past just after…

Hawkins delivers an Oscar-worthy performance in ‘Maudie’

Jeff Mitchell

“Maudie” – “I’ll get a job or something.” – Maud Lewis Maud (Sally Hawkins) is soft spoken, pleasant and kind, and for fun, she spends an occasional evening at a club, enjoying a drink and dancing by herself.  One night at the aforementioned club, she soaks up laughter and music but without socializing or speaking to anyone.  Maud fills her time that evening surrounded by people, smiles and feels content, but she is terribly isolated in the crowd. She lives rent-free at her Aunt Ida’s (Gabrielle Rose) home, and on…