Author: Jeff Mitchell

Cranston fights an implausible story in ‘Wakefield’

Jeff Mitchell

“Wakefield” – “I’m totally bewildered by the situation that I created for myself.” – Howard Wakefield “A short story is the shortest distance between two points.  A novel is the scenic route.” – Robert J. Sawyer Howard Wakefield (Bryan Cranston) is a married man who lives in a big, beautiful house nestled in an affluent suburb with his wife, Diana (Jennifer Garner), and their twin girls.  He is a law firm partner.  She is an assistant curator at the county museum.  Their lives appear in perfect order, one that the…

“Pirates” provides some fun and overwhelms with overdone, bloated special effects

Jeff Mitchell

“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales” –  Javier Bardem has recently played a pair of truly iconic villains.  As Anton Chigurh in “No Country for Old Men” (2007), this truly unrelenting boogieman sometimes uses a silent captive bolt pistol to murder his prey at close range throughout west Texas.   Bardem also plays Silva in “Skyfall” (2012), and this former MI6 operative returns to haunt and kill his former boss, M (Judy Dench), while James Bond (Daniel Craig) attempts thwart this memorable baddie’s very personal attack. In each…

‘Paris Can Wait’ might cause impatience

Jeff Mitchell

“Paris Can Wait” – Cannes is a dream for anyone who loves movies. Well, this coastal city – located in the south of France and just down the road from Nice – is a dream for anyone, whether he or she enjoys movies or not. (Although, who could possibly fall into the latter category, really?) Of course, Cannes hosts the annual Festival de Cannes – a.k.a. The Cannes Film Festival – and Anne and Michael Lockwood (Diane Lane, Alec Baldwin) are completing their stay at the aforementioned event. They just…