Tommy's Honour (opens April 14th)

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

Stark coastline. Somber sky. The Scottish scenery echoes the simple, serious storytelling in TOMMY’S HONOUR. The true story of celebrated golfer Tommy Morris and the beginnings of the modern game of golf we know today, TOMMY’S HONOUR stars Peter Mullan (BRAVE HEART, WAR HORSE) as Old Tommy and Jack Lowden (DUNKIRK, '71) as Young Tommy.

The Victorian-era story follows “Young” Tommy Morris, son of noted Scottish golf caddy and greens-keeper “Old” Tommy Morris. With a natural knack for the game, Young Tommy sets his sights on a golf career beyond his father’s life of caddying – to be a golf pro. Both decorated players in their time, the Morris family men made a significant impact on the way that golf is played today. The film already won the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Feature Film.

Repost: Room (February 24th at the Case Western Reserve Film Society Strosacker Auditorium)

[ROOM screens Friday February 24th at 7:00 pm, 9:30 pm, and midnight at the Case Western Reserve Film Society Strosacker Auditorium.]

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

ROOM eloquently combines the tension and reality of a true-to-life crime story with dream-like storytelling. Inspired by 5-year-old Jack’s point of view on life in and out of captivity with his young mom, this dreamy quality is beautiful and entrancing. Only intensified by one of the world’s most immovable forces, a mother’s love.

The title, ROOM, is also the pronoun with which the main characters refer to the tiny backyard shed they are locked inside. Jack, played by Jacob Tremblay (THE SMURFS 2, BEFORE I WAKE), talks about room in the loving way that only a child could, “good morning room,” he says each morning. But his mother, played by Brie Larson (THE SPECTACULAR NOW, SHORT TERM 12, DON JON), is living in a hellish alternate reality, unlike the one she has painted for her son.

Harry & Snowman (opens today in Akron exclusively at The NIghtlight Cinema)

By Candice Lee Catullo

A charming family photo album of an extraordinary horse – Snowman – and a family that loved him, HARRY & SNOWMAN is a classic American story. To the children of the family, Snowman was a swimming partner, companion and pet. But to the rest of the world, and to Snowman’s owner Harry deLayers, he was a champion.

The two were a perfect match of underdogs. Harry deLayers was an immigrant from Holland who had fled his home country after WWII and the German occupation. He came to America with nothing and a few years later, he bought a horse from a trailer bound for the glue factory. He paid only $80 for Snowman.

Yarn (July 23rd and 24th at the Nightlight Cinema in Akron)

[YARN screens Saturday July 23rd at 5:00 pm and Sunday July 24th at 8:00 pm at the Nightlight Cinema in Akron, OH.]

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

YARN is the real-life global story of art, sheep and fuzzy string. But mostly it’s about people.

The fascinating study, which debuted at SXSW from Icelandic filmmaker Una Lorenzen, is a colorful treat for the crafty or the curious among us. Since I aspire to be both crafty and curious, I’ll admit to being predisposed to appreciate this documentary. That said, I think this film really does have a captivating and rosy quality that everyone can appreciate.

The Jungle Book

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

As the wolf’s jungle law goes: "The strength of the wolf is the pack, and the strength of the pack is the wolf." The strength of the THE JUNGLE BOOK is in the powerful spectacle, and the strength of the spectacle is the striking details.

THE JUNGLE BOOK is a fanciful telling of Rudyard Kipling’s book of the same name. It’s not the first time that someone has turned it into a movie, but it’s my favorite. In a world where a giant orangutan lives in an abandoned jungle temple, and every leaf on every tree a special effect, I imagine it would be a slippery slope for moviemakers to take shortcuts, leaps of judgment or think they could get away with cheating the audience. But they didn't. Every fake tree, every talking critter, every detail was treated with respect and seriousness – even when the story took dark turns, much deeper than the original Disney version in 1967.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

In 2002, the original MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING scored more than $241 million at the box offices – and is regarded as one of the most successful romantic comedies of all time. With success 14 years ago, and plenty of loyal fans, they decided to make a sequel with MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING 2. At least, I’m assuming it was just for the fans – because I don’t think it was because they had another great story idea.

This time, after a zany and harebrained discovery that Toula’s parents are not officially married, the story is about her parents renewing their own wedding vows after Toula’s dad (played by Michael Constantine) finds a missing signature on his own wedding certificate.

In the Heart of the Sea

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

You know how fishing stories tend to get bigger as they are re-told? Like how each time your grandpa tells that story, his arms stretch further and further out as the mythic fish grows in his memory. IN THE HEART OF THE SEA is another fishing story, just one of many stories inspired by one whale that swam the Pacific Ocean in 1820.

The true story of the Massachusetts whaling ship - named the Essex - that was sunk by a sperm whale first inspired Herman Melville to write the fictional adaptation “Moby Dick” in 1851. Later, in 2000, author Nathaniel Philbrick told the true story of the Essex in his non-fiction work “In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex.” This year, Director Ron Howard is telling the story with a big screen adaptation of Philbrick’s story, IN THE HEART OF THE SEA.

Room (opens in Akron December 4th at the Nightlight Cinema)

[ROOM opens in Akron on Friday December 4th at the Nightlight Cinema.]

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

ROOM eloquently combines the tension and reality of a true-to-life crime story with dream-like storytelling. Inspired by 5-year-old Jack’s point of view on life in and out of captivity with his young mom, this dreamy quality is beautiful and entrancing. Only intensified by one of the world’s most immovable forces, a mother’s love.

The title, ROOM, is also the pronoun with which the main characters refer to the tiny backyard shed they are locked inside. Jack, played by Jacob Tremblay (THE SMURFS 2, BEFORE I WAKE), talks about room in the loving way that only a child could, “good morning room,” he says each morning. But his mother, played by Brie Larson (THE SPECTACULAR NOW, SHORT TERM 12, DON JON), is living in a hellish alternate reality, unlike the one she has painted for her son.

Room

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

ROOM eloquently combines the tension and reality of a true-to-life crime story with dream-like storytelling. Inspired by 5-year-old Jack’s point of view on life in and out of captivity with his young mom, this dreamy quality is beautiful and entrancing. Only intensified by one of the world’s most immovable forces, a mother’s love.

The title, ROOM, is also the pronoun with which the main characters refer to the tiny backyard shed they are locked inside. Jack, played by Jacob Tremblay (THE SMURFS 2, BEFORE I WAKE), talks about room in the loving way that only a child could, “good morning room,” he says each morning. But his mother, played by Brie Larson (THE SPECTACULAR NOW, SHORT TERM 12, DON JON), is living in a hellish alternate reality, unlike the one she has painted for her son.

Pawn Sacrifice

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

Based on the true story of chess prodigy Bobby Fischer, PAWN SACRIFICE is a calculated portrait of the legend both on and off the chessboard. Bobby Fischer was a chess super star – a rare breed if there ever was one. He achieved celebrity status in 1972, widely considered to be the best player of all time even today.

The movie begins with a young Bobby, living in Brooklyn. He was a natural from the beginning. Just a young boy, he sat in his room playing chess against himself. Bobby played so much and so intently, that his mother took him to a psychiatrist. And that was the foundation for Bobby’s life.

Southpaw

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

SOUTHPAW’s ringside boxing scenes are the least brutal part about this movie. Don’t take that the wrong way – the fight scenes are plenty raw and bloody (really bloody) – but the story outside the ring is dark, gritty, and bleak.

The story opens on the Light Heavyweight boxing champion of the world in his prime, undefeated at 43-0, where luxury oozes with swollen eyes and stitches. The scene is modern, crude and gaudy. And it’s all about the champion, Billy Hope, played by an extremely fit Jake Gyllenhaal (NIGHTCRAWLER, BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN, DONNIE DARKO). A product of New York City orphanages, Hope is a rags to riches poster child and a tough-as-nails bruiser. He shares everything with his wife Maureen played by Rachel McAdams (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS, THE NOTEBOOK). They are absolutely perfect together, right down to the matching tattoos, and lend a tenderness to an otherwise garish atmosphere.

Pitch Perfect 2

Review by Candice Catullo

For me, the tone of PITCH PERFECT 2 is set perfectly by it’s two most dramatic commentators, Gail and John. Played by Elizabeth Banks (HUNGER GAMES) and John Michael Higgins (BEST IN SHOW), the overzealous and politically incorrect a cappella super fans embody the intended theatrical whimsy of the PITCH PERFECT series. Plus, they really are funny.

First, a comparison to the original PITCH PERFECT movie (2012). The sequel stuck with essentially the same cast, including the core singing group – The Barden Bellas – with some minor additions and no major players missing from this sequel. Most of the running jokes were also back, which leads me to believe the game plan was to stick with what worked.

The Age of Adaline

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

THE AGE OF ADALINE is clouded with a dark but sentimental nostalgia. Through the dreamy haze, we meet Adeline in San Francisco in the year 2014.

The narrator explains: Adaline, played by Blake Lively (GOSSIP GIRL), was in a car accident in 1935. Through a series of unlikely events – and a healthy does of movie magic – Adaline’s body stops aging. Even Adaline cannot comprehend the preposterous sci-fi magic that paused her lifespan, and she spends her life hiding her condition for fear of being analyzed and criticized. In 2014, she is going by the alias Jenny and is living a mostly solitary life.

The Longest Ride

Review by Candice Lee Catullo

This film, based on Nicholas Sparks’ 2013 novel by the same name, is the most recent in a long string of Sparks’ big screen adaptations. After ten movies, it seems like it's down to a science – the science of really good-looking actors writing love letters and getting caught in the rain.

THE LONGEST RIDE is the love story of a sorority sister and a bull rider. Britt Robertson (DAN IN REAL LIFE, SCREAM 4) plays Sophia, a Manhattan-bound art history student at Wake Forrest University. Sophia’s sorority sisters drag her along on an outing to the local bull riding competition – to meet hot bull riders, obviously – where she meets North Carolina rancher and professional bull rider Luke, played by Scott Eastwood (FURY, TROUBLE WITH THE CURVE, INVICTUS). They meet and seemingly fall instantly in love.