Christopher Llewellyn Reed's Blog, page 68

“Oyler” Review on “Hammer to Nail”

Unlike last week, I actually had a lot going on this week – check out my podcast with Dan Rodricks, my Dragon Digital Media TV show and my reviews of Brooklyn, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and Spotlight – but I still managed one review for Hammer to Nail, on Amy Scott’s terrific documentary Oyler. Enjoy!

Dragon Digital TV’s “Reel Talk” – with Chris Reed and Jed Dietz – on “Brooklyn,” “Room,” “Spectre” and the MD Film Festival

Welcome to the second episode of the 2015-2016 season of Dragon Digital Media‘s Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed (you can watch the first episode here). My guest this time was Jed Dietz, Founding Director of the Maryland Film Festival. We reviewed three films, as usual – Brooklyn, Room and Spectre – and added an additional segment where we discussed the history and films of the Maryland […]

“Roughly Speaking” Podcast with Rodricks: Reviews of “Brooklyn,” “Mockingjay, Part 2” and “Spotlight”

On today’s edition of Dan Rodricks’ Baltimore Sun “Roughly Speaking” podcast, I reviewed Brooklyn, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 and Spotlight. Here is the link. I come on at 55:41. You can also subscribe to receive these podcasts automatically (instructions at the bottom of the link’s page). Enjoy!

“Spotlight” Shines a Beacon on the Value of Good Journalism

Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015) In January, 2002, journalists at the Boston Globe published a lengthy exposé of the long-term abuse of children by Catholic priests in the Boston Archdiocese. Though the Catholic Church had long denied that it had a problem with pedophiles, claiming that the occasional molestation cases were merely the results of actions by individual priests, the depth of […]

In “Brooklyn,” Saoirse Ronan Owns the Town

Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015) Even in the times when Brooklyn – a new film by Irish director John Crowley (Closed Circuit), based on the 2009 best-selling novel of the same name, by Irish author Colm Tóibín – doesn’t quite work, it still firmly holds our attention, thanks to the mesmerizing central performance by lead (also Irish – Erin […]

“The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2” Burns Like a Peat Fire

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (Francis Lawrence, 2015) It has now long become de rigueur to take successful book series and prolong their cash-cow (or golden-goose … pick your animal metaphor) cinematic adaptations by splitting the final volume into two movies (to say nothing of Peter Jackson’s slicing and dicing of the slim Hobbit into three movies): […]

“Twinsters” Review on “Hammer to Nail”

This was a week where I was unable to attend any of the press screenings for films scheduled for release today. My apologies. Next Friday, November 20, I will review both The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 (which I will see next Tuesday) and Brooklyn (which I have already seen, and loved). For now, I point you to the review […]

“Roughly Speaking” Podcast with Rodricks: Reviews of “The Peanuts Movie” and “Spectre”

This morning, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film/Video, Stevenson University – reviewed Spectre and The Peanuts Movie for Dan Rodricks’ Baltimore Sun podcast, “Roughly Speaking.” Here is the link. We come on at 57:53. You can also subscribe to receive these podcasts automatically (instructions at the […]

In “Spectre,” Ghosts of 007’s Past Haunt the Series

Spectre (Sam Mendes, 2015) Back in 2006, when the folks at EON Productions released Casino Royale and introduced the world to Daniel Craig’s version of James Bond, it felt like a much-needed shot of adrenaline to the long-running 007 series, which periodically, over the years, grows tired and needs reviving. Craig, all sinewy muscle and killer fiber, bursting through his […]

In “Room,” a Marvelous Brie Larson Triumphs over Trauma

Room (Lenny Abrahamson, 2015) Based on the best-selling book of the same title, by Emma Donoghue, Room tells the harrowing tale of one woman’s survival through abduction, imprisonment, rape, motherhood and post-traumatic stress. Sound grim? Well, it is, but it is also beautifully life-affirming. As played by the marvelous young actress Brie Larson (Short Term 12), Ma – […]