There is much to admire about Emma Thompson in DEAD OF WINTER, not the least of which is the way she captures the cadence and the spirit of the Minnesota accent with the same effortless skill that embodies the rest of her performance. Virtually silent for most of her time on screen, she is simply… Read More »
THE LONG WALK
Stephen King started writing THE LONG WALK when the Vietnam War was still raging, and echoes of its impact on the psyche of the United States reverberate through the film version. In a near future dystopia, young men in the prime of life, struggling in a country economically ravaged by war, voluntarily sign up for… Read More »
THE CONJURING: LAST RITES
It’s as though all involved with THE CONJURING franchise know that it’s running out of steam. Rather than just end it, though, they have devised THE CONJURING: LAST RITES, using that old movie adage of show, don’t tell, in order to give us irrefutable proof of same. This entry limps through its paces in a… Read More »
LURKER
What we learn in Alex Russell’s LURKER is that Eve Harrington, while successful in her manipulations in ALL ABOUT EVE, is a mere piker compared to Matthew Morning, Russell’s protagonist in his taut thriller. Exploring themes of love, obsession, and the symbiotic relationship between fan and star, this psychological character study of desperation with a… Read More »
THE FANTASTIC 4: FIRST STEPS
It is with no small measure of relief that I am able to say Marvel’s THE FANTASTIC 4: FIRST STEPS finally succeeds in bringing one of my childhood favorites to the screen. This iteration centers itself on the lively dynamics of the Richards-Storm-Grimm clan of biological and logical family such that the quartet’s greatest superpower… Read More »
EDDINGTON
Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON will confirm your worst fears and provoke a few new reasons for anxiety about how the world really works. This brilliant use of microcosm as macrocosm is a brutal satire that does not permit the surcease of even nervous laughter or the respite of supernatural forces at work. No, this hell on… Read More »
F1: THE MOVIE
F1: THE MOVIE teaches us that it’s not the Grail, as the old saying goes, it’s the quest. In this case, the natural high that Sonny Hayes (eminently likable Brad Pitt) experiences when he drives a race car. Amid the mild melodrama and occasional predictability of the script, the film as a whole delivers on… Read More »
DANGEROUS ANIMALS
There’s something refreshing about the sharks featured in DANGEROUS ANIMALS >not< being the villains of the piece. Instead, they are presented on their own terms as majestic creatures of the deep who would really, really rather not deal with humans in any way shape or form, and that includes lunch. Instead, we have a human… Read More »
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: THE FINAL RECKONING feels just a little too long, but that’s okay. It’s as though all involved were not quite ready to say goodbye in what may or may not be the last foray by Tom Cruise as Ethan Hunt. To be honest, neither are we, and by we, of course, I mean… Read More »
HURRY UP TOMORROW
The phrase that floats to mind most relentlessly while watching HURRY UP TOMORROW is self-indulgent. The film, which follows a musician over the course of a fraught few days, lingers insistently on its star, Abel Tesfaye aka The Weeknd, a handsome man with a fine stage presence caught in a script he co-authored that seeks… Read More »
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