There is so much to love in THE ACCOUNTANT 2, or, rather, THE ACCOUNTANT2, recognizing the mathematical nature of the eponymous character’s profession. There’s a clever plot involving human traffickers, a Federal Agent walking a fine line between the letter of the law and a consequentialist philosophy of effective law enforcement, and a brother act… Read More »
DROP
DROP is truly remarkable for being such a well-crafted thriller until suddenly it’s not. And in such a way that all the good that comes before, of which there is much, self-destructs so thoroughly that it becomes not just irksome but also insulting. And this is a shame for everyone involved. Before we get to… Read More »
LOCKED
LOCKED, the American re-make of Argentina’s 4X4, is an interesting premise beautifully acted, skillfully directed, but ultimately stymied by a script that mires itself in a repetitive second act that doesn’t so much expand as aggravate. The premise, a sad sack of a petty criminal gets trapped inside a luxury SUV tricked out as a… Read More »
BLACK BAG
BLACK BAG is a scathingly brilliant take on truth, lies, and the sanctity of marriage, and the perfect vehicle for Cate Blanchett and Michael Fassbender. A good marriage that is, such as the one enjoyed by George Woodhouse (Fassbender) and Kathryn St. Jean (Blanchett), British spies with the highest security clearance They are the perfect… Read More »
WOLF MAN
WOLF MAN starts out promisingly enough establishing a theme of generational trauma and the eeriness of the wild wood while neatly exploring the hunter-becoming-the-hunted idiom. Full points to the excellent cinematography that captures the opalescent otherworldliness of the mist-shrouded Oregon wilderness, and a cast that takes the story seriously, it’s just a shame that said… Read More »
PRESENCE
Steven Soderbergh’s signature style is one of cool detachment to his characters. His films tackle people in crisis, but the tone is always one of an ersatz cinema verité witness to what is happening to them. In PRESENCE, he has channeled that aesthetic into a ghost story told from the spirit’s point of view. Literally.… Read More »
ALIEN: ROMULUS
ALIEN: ROMULUS may be the strongest entry into the franchise since the original. Certainly, this taut thriller provides strong characters, and an even stronger sense of dread, concentrating on the horror of the unknown that turns out to be as unstoppable as it is homicidal. The high-minded philosophical musings found in PROMETHEUS, for example, are… Read More »
LONGLEGS
With LONGLEGS, writer/director Oz Perkins has created an original tale of horror set in the 1990s while staying true to familiar tropes. There’s an unhinged suspect, a series of family slaughters that don’t ring true to a murder/suicide scenario, and a neophyte FBI agent at the center of the case in ways she didn’t see… Read More »
MAXXXINE
At one point in MAXXXINE, a character says that it’s all about money. But that’s not true, at least not in this story of Maxine Minx (Mia Goth), born Miller, who has reached the top of the adult film industry, but at 33, knows that the clock is ticking on her career in porn. And… Read More »
IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS
IN THE LAND OF SAINTS AND SINNERS is a melancholy study of the futility of violence. Set in the war-torn Northern Ireland of 1974, it features a performance by Liam Neeson that is considered, measured, and infinitely eloquent for its silences in a story that eschews politics as it finely observes the consequences of choices,… Read More »
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