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 »
MAGGIE MOORE(S)
MAGGIE MOORE(S) is a nifty neo-noir that deftly plumbs the seeping corruption underlying the dull quotidian of a small southwestern city, trading the usual stark contrast between light and shadow for an oppressive sort of omnipresent sunlight that shows everything but reveals nothing. Beginning with a murder in a seedy motel parking lot, it flashes… Read More »
MOVING ON — Paul Weitz Interview
Click here to listen to the interview. Paul Weitz, who directed Lily Tomlin in the criminally underappreciated GRANDMA a few years back, was delighted to be invited by her and her Grace & Frankie co-star, Jane Fonda, to write a script for them. The result is MOVING ON, a deeply human black comedy about… Read More »
GLASS ONION: A KNIVES OUT MYSTERY
At one point during Rian Johnson’s GLASS ONION, one of the character wails “What is reality?” It’s a fair question considering the plot twist that has just been revealed to the suitably colorful cast of characters, and one that neatly sums up why Mr. Johnson’s second installment in the casebook of Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig)… Read More »
THE GOOD NURSE
There are two villains in THE GOOD NURSE, the based on the true-crime book by Charles Graeber, and the first English-language film from Tobias Lindholm (ANOTHER ROUND, THE HUNT). One villain is the serial killer, Charlie Cullen (Eddie Redmayne) who worked for years as a nurse killing patients while raising suspicions, but never prosecutions, at… Read More »
SEE HOW THEY RUN
SEE HOW THEY RUN is a handsomely mounted period piece with a clever premise undermined by an irksome dithering about its tone and a rampant directorial lethargy. Calling out tropes from cinema and literary mysteries with the sort of wild abandon from which the pacing would have profited, this uneven comedy takes us to 1953,… Read More »
BODIES, BODIES, BODIES
BODIES, BODIES, BODIES answers the question “What if a group of friends, trapped in a house in the middle of nowhere, suddenly turned on each other?” Actually, the more salient question is what if a group of friends, with varying degrees of irritating personality disorders, found themselves in those circumstances, would anyone care who made… Read More »
VENGEANCE
Ostensibly a mystery, and a nifty one at that, VENGEANCE is much more. BJ Novak has spun a savage takedown of the media and elite presumptions, but one that is also considered, literate, and even a bit compassionate. At least on the level of allowing redemption of sorts for the silly creatures called human beings… Read More »
WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING
One senses that the novel of the same name on which WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING possessed some lovely prose. Certainly, when the narration includes lines from the book, there is the dark poetic ring of classic Southern Gothic reverberating from the musings on death intoned by the adult version of Kya (Daisy Edgar-Jones). Whatever philosophical… Read More »
THE TANGLE
Be advised. THE TANGLE is a hard-boiled techno-noir to which close attention must be paid. Fortunately, this intriguing bit of speculative fiction is also an enticing piece of filmmaking, making that requirement a pleasure. Rendered with a suitably moody chiaroscuro and a mid-century vibe, this murder mystery is plotted with fiendishly clever twists, while the… Read More »
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