Year: 2017

Dench shines in an uneven ‘Victoria and Abdul’

Jeff Mitchell

“Victoria and Abdul” – In 1887, Abdul Karim’s (Ali Fazal) life dramatically changed.  A British officer selects him to present a coin to Queen Victoria (Judi Dench) at Buckingham Palace.  Along with another local from Agra, India – Mohammed (Adeel Akhtar) – Abdul sets sail for England for a ceremonial event, which seems like an awfully long journey for just a three-minute role during a royal dinner, but when in Rome….err, London. While on the palace grounds, a few officials specifically instruct the two newcomers to avoid looking into the…

‘The Disaster Artist’ is a triumphant comedic companion to ‘The Room’

Jeff Mitchell

“The Disaster Artist” – “I did not hit her.  It’s not true.  It’s b*******.  I did not hit her.  I did not.  Oh, hi Mark.” – Johnny (Tommy Wiseau), “The Room” (2003) For legions of “The Room” (2003) fans, the aforementioned, nonsensical line of dialogue is just one of 99 moments of cult cinema goodness crammed into a 99-minute runtime.  Written, directed, produced, promoted, and starring Tommy Wiseau, “The Room” offers a surreal experience that really cannot be compared to any other, but its popularity – via midnight screenings in…

Four essential Michael Douglas movies from the 1980s on Netflix and/or Amazon

Jeff Mitchell

Michael Douglas celebrates his 73rd birthday on Sept. 25.  Happy Birthday, Mr. Douglas! For young fans, Douglas is known as Dr. Hank Pym in “Ant-Man” (2015) and “Ant-Man and the Wasp” (2018), but this Hollywood legend has starred in great films for decades. Looking back to the 1980s, here are four essential Michael Douglas films that you can catch on Netflix and/or Amazon right now. “The Star Chamber” (1983) – After years of watching guilty men enter their courtrooms and unfairly walking free, a group of judges form their own…