j. k. simmons

Hugh Jackman leads an ensemble cast in the latest film from the director of Thank You for Smoking and Academy Award nominee Up in the Air.

Simple and Cutesy, Ash Brannon’s adaptation of Zheng Jun’s graphic novel, Tibetan Rock Dog, may not be winning any awards anytime soon, it’s quite clearly a target for younger audiences but its unfussiness has an enduring quality that will…

Arriving in UK cinemas less than a week after it swept every gong going at the Golden Globes, it’d be easy get carried away by all the hype surrounding La La Land. After all, this is writer/director Damien Chazelle’s follow-up to the…

After two disappointing outings as an antihero - in 2003’s disastrous Daredevil and this year’s overblown Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice - Ben Affleck must be hoping it’s third time’s the charm with this clunky and transparent attempt…

My theory is that Terrence Fletcher, the band class dictator in Whiplash, is an imaginary character, a metaphor for the artist’s inner voice, the wicked voice, the one that whispers, “You’re a fraud.”  The sadistic music teacher, played…

It is a universal truth that some people want to be seen as special.  Whether they have a certain talent or a unique air around them, it is a fact that everyone has a trait that they hold like a badge of honour.  This idea serves as the…

It starts not with a whimper, but a bang. And a crash. And Andrew Neiman demonstrating his rudiments to Shaffer Conservatory maestro Terence Fletcher. Whiplash isn’t for wasting time. Damien Chazelle’s second feature makes a point of…

"From the producer of Paranormal Activity and Insidious" - that's the sentence used in the trailer and on the poster for Dark Skies and that may be the sentence that puts most people off. It's a link that's been horribly overused in recent…

Going astray -- just one more time January, in the US, is seen as Hollywood's dump-the-rubbish month. And that may be true, but it has its plus side. Movies that come out at this time are pleasantly free of Oscar pretension. You can let…

Gritty, pumped and stylish Contraband has great action thriller DNA. Over the course of 100 or so minutes, the film ties the viewer’s stomach in knots refusing to release until the very end, as things go about as bad as they can go in the…