adaptation

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Black Mass’ Does Not Celebrate Whitey Bulger

Film: Black Mass Starring: Johnny Depp, Joel Edgerton Directed by: Scott Cooper My faith in Johnny Depp has been restored. At its best, Black Mass is a platform for Depp to showcase every ounce of acting talent his recent works have denied him the opportunity to use. The smirking oddball actor who bounced around Pirates […]

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Homesman’ Offers First-Rate Storytelling

Film: The Homesman Starring: Hillary Swank, Tommy Lee Jones Directed by: Tommy Lee Jones In a world overrun with over-the-top CGI epics, The Homesman serves as a reminder that sometimes the simplest stories are also the most compelling. Directed and co-written by Tommy Lee Jones, The Homesman tells the story of an unlikely adventure that […]

‘American Sniper’ Teaser Is Everything You Want In A Great Movie Preview

Strap in, film fans. This one is a doozy. Most movie fans also love trailers, and those who don’t often complain that many previews for coming attractions spoil major reveals that would be better left for those experiencing the film in full. I don’t disagree with that argument, but I do believe it’s entirely possible […]

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Gone Girl’ Disturbs, Compels and Astonishes

Film: Gone Girl Starring: Rosamund Pike, Ben Affleck Directed by: David Fincher Boy meets girl, they fall in love, get married and live happily ever after. That’s what we have been taught through cinema ofttimes. We are usually shown the couple overcoming the myriad of trials and tribulations that weigh on marriage like–forgive the pun–a […]

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Maze Runner’ Is Surprisingly Good

Film: The Maze Runner Starring: Dylan O’Brien, Kaya Scodelario Directed by: Wes Ball Inability to end without setting up a sequel aside, The Maze Runner is the best YA adaptation to hit the screen in years. I have never read The Maze Runner, but I am a firm believer that a film is truly good […]

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘Jamie Marks Is Dead’ Offers A Unique Supernatural Story

Film: Jamie Marks Is Dead Starring: Cameron Monaghan, Noah Silver Directed by: Carter Smith Jamie Marks Is Dead finds new ground in the realm of adapted supernatural young adult fiction, but it’s not enough to create a thrilling viewing experience. The title of Carter Smith’s latest film is as much a fact as it is […]

New ‘Gone Girl’ Trailer: Did Ben Affleck Murder His Wife?

There comes a point in the promotional run for almost every film when it seems the studio has become so desperate to ensure box office success that they’re willing to spoil a movie’s third act to boost YouTube views. This is not the case with David Fincher. Every film he has made has been accompanied […]

‘White Bird In A Blizzard’ Trailer: Shailene Woodley Has A Sexual Awakening (And A Missing Mom)

White Bird In A Blizzard serves as the third film to star Shailene Woodley in the last year. It is also the third adaptation the former Secret Life Of The American Teenager star has appeared in during that same time. I’m not sure if she likes books, or if she feels the stories in them […]

MOVIE REVIEW: ‘The Giver’ Offers Nothing Of Value

Film: The Giver Stars: Brenton Thwaites, Jeff Bridges Genre: Drama/Sci-Fi Working off a screenplay written by Michael Mitnick and Robert B. Weide, director Phillip Noyce has delivered a frustrating and, at times, downright awful adaptation of Lois Lowry’s most beloved young adult novel. The Giver offers a vision of the future that feels a bit […]

UTG Interview: ‘The Giver’ Author Lois Lowry and Film Stars Brenton Thwaites, Odeya Rush

Earlier this month I had an opportunity unlike any other up to that point in my writing career. For nearly thirty minutes I was able to sit next to author Lois Lowry and discuss her classic novel, The Giver, as well as the recent film adaptation. I also spoke with the film’s stars, Brenton Thwaites […]

‘Testament of Youth’ Trailer: Alicia Vikander Will Not Let WWI Get The Best Of Her

The history of cinema is littered with dozens, if not hundreds of films based on the struggles of people who lived through World War II. It’s far more rare that films on the first world war make their way to mainstream audiences, but next year that is exactly what will happen when Testament Of Youth […]

‘As God Says’ Trailer: Takashi Miike Adapts Bloody Popular Comic

At the end of last month, we learned that there is an adaptation of  Takashi Miike‘s Audition pending. The response was mixed at best. Now, at the end of this month, we’re much more excited for an adaptation by, not of, Miike. As God Says was a 2011-12 comic book written by Muneyuki Kanshiro and drawn by Akeji Fujimura that, […]