Here are the reviews from today’s show:
300: Rise of an Empire may not be a perfect sequel but it is a very good one. The film does much of what a follow-up should, complicating the story and raising the stakes. This picture sets up the series for a third installment and hopefully we don’t have to wait another seven years before it arrives.
Non-Stop is a mediocre movie. For fans of Liam Neeson’s action pictures, this is acceptable as an afternoon matinee time waster but the film could have just as easily have been a direct-to-DVD feature starring Nicolas Cage or Jean Claude Van Damme.
About Last Night is a flawed movie because of its reliance on the comedy of Kevin Hart but the central relationship between Michael Ealy and Joy Bryant is engaging enough to make the movie work. This is an enjoyable romance and a worthwhile remake.
Grand Piano is a terrific thriller. The movie may play fast and loose with reality but it commits to the premise and the story moves along so fast and is so involving that its improbabilities are barely noticeable. This is an exciting and slickly made picture and director Eugenio Mira proves himself to be a filmmaker to watch.
Phone Booth is a well-made thriller with a great concept that is well executed. However it may have dated, the core conceit of the movie holds up and the picture builds so well and is so involving that its anachronisms are overcome.
Full reviews are posted in the Sounds of Cinema review archive.