Entertainment

“The Battle of the Five Armies” is the third in a trilogy of Peter Jackson films based on “The Hobbit,” a children’s novel by J. R. R. Tolkien. In the edition I have on my shelf, “The Hobbit” is just 287 pages long. For fans of Tolkien, using three chapters to tell the tale has prolonged the pleasure. For other less fanatic moviegoers, this film will at least be found entertaining.

It takes 144 minutes to tell the last 50 pages of the novel with this film. The producers wanted this last installment of the series to bridge the gap between the Hobbit and the Lord Read More

“Exodus: Gods and Kings,” Director Ridley Scott’s take on the epic Bible story of the Exodus, will not be replacing “The Ten Commandments” anytime soon. Or as my husband said, exiting the theater, “Cecil B. DeMille’s legacy is safe.”

Exodus: Gods and Kings is shot in dark tones and features a great many poorly lit scenes. The visuals are as ominous as the score. Some of the lines are mumbled. The finer details are lost in the murkiness on the screen. Perhaps that is all intentional. We never quite know what is going on in these shadows. And Moses never quite knows what Read More

Today, we are opening The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies. On Friday, we will open Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb.

 We will hold The Theory of Everything and Exodus until Christmas Eve and open Wild and The Interview on Christmas Day.

The buzz in Hollywood is whether or not Sony Pictures will actually open The Interview due to the fallout and Internet hacking with and by the North Koreans. The film plot follows two journalists played by Seth Rogen and James Franco whom the CIA recruits to assassinate Kim Jong-un. The North Koreans have Read More

“The Theory of Everything” tells the story of Steven Hawking and his first wife, Jane, who met while they were students at Cambridge. The movie is based on Jane Hawking’s memoir, Travelling to Infinity: My Life with Steven. With the help of the memoir, we gain insight into a more human and emotional side of the famous physicist.

Movie poster for ‘The Theory of Everything.’ Courtesy/Reel Deal Theater

Hawking was diagnosed with a form of ALS in 1963 while working on his doctorate. He and Jane had, by then, fallen in love. The diagnosis came with the news Read More

This Friday we are opening The Theory of Everything and Exodus. Penguins of Madagascar, and Hunger Games: Mockingjay: Part 1 will hold for another week. Birdman and Horrible Bosses 2 will end this Thursday.

I saw Birdman last night and it probably is in my top three favorite films so far this year. This film is one you want to see on the big screen as it is set within the vestiges of the rambling old St. James Theater (est. 1927) in New York City which in its youth premiered the likes of Oklahoma, The King and I, and Hello Dolly. It really sets the stage Read More