Posted in: Review

Tonic

Welcome to a life in the night of the city. That’s the idea for some terrific movies, in which a harried man on the run stumbles from danger to danger, eccentric to eccentric. Carol Reed’s Odd Man Out, with its story of a wounded IRA member fleeing the authorities, was one. Martin Scorsese’s After Hours, […]

Posted in: Review

My Sister’s Wedding

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blah. That’s the not-quite-rhyming recipe for My Sister’s Wedding, a get-me-to-the-altar comedy that never really engages its audience. Its story revolves around put-upon middle child Allison, trying hard to make sure her kid sister’s nuptials run smoothly. It shouldn’t be that hard. The wedding is at the family […]

Posted in: Review

Unconformity

Unconformity is the story of Alex, a rock-climbing geologist. Too bad the movie never soars too high, or digs too deep. An inoffensive, but not particularly memorable drama, the film begins with Alex, a doctoral student, facing personal and professional crises. A seemingly friendly classmate has stolen her ideas; her advisor is exploiting her work. […]

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How to Rob

There is New York noir, all rainy streets and dark alleys. There’s L.A. noir, where the bright sunshine just makes the shadows deeper. And then there’s Boston noir. How to Rob is the latest entry, in a venerable tradition that ranges from The Friends of Eddie Coyle to The Town. And it shares some of […]

Posted in: Review

Rickshaw Girl

Naima’s life in rural Bangladesh is nearly impossible. And then it gets worse. Her father becomes gravely ill, and loses his job as a rickshaw driver. Her mother is fired from her work, as well. Her father’s medicine is expensive, and there’s no money coming in. So, young Naima decides, it’s time she went out, […]

Posted in: Review

Murder, Anyone?

Murder, Anyone? is a movie about two people trying to write a movie called Murder, Anyone? It’s a tricky, inside-out idea that ends up being more fun than you’d expect. The story, by the late Gordon Bressack, features two aging writers, George and Charlie. They’ve decided to write an “avant-garde, surrealistic, mind-bending, neo-noir thriller.” But […]

Posted in: Review

You Resemble Me

Terrorists aren’t born. They’re made. But how? The fascinating drama You Resemble Me has some ideas. Bring a child into a poor, dysfunctional, on-the-fringes family. Have her grow up beaten and bouncing around foster care. Add in sexual abuse, and then a drift into prostitution and drugs. And then let her watch, riveted, as a […]

Posted in: Review

I’ll Find You

The movie — about a wartime romance, a wrenching separation, and a tireless quest – is called I’ll Find You. But the truly interesting discovery at its heart —at least, potentially — is the reappearance of its director. Martha Coolidge made her debut in the 1970s, when female filmmakers weren’t just criminally underrepresented – like […]

Posted in: Review

The Valet

They’re the people you don’t see. They clean your home and watch your kids. They mow your lawn and deliver your food. They’re not truly invisible, obviously. But do you ever really look them in the eye? The Valet gives one of them a starring role. Antonio is a parking attendant in Los Angeles and […]

Posted in: Review

Forbearance

Crises test our characters. But they reveal them, too. Josh and Callie Sunbury have been married for twenty-odd years, and they’ve fallen into a routine. He works a hated factory job, while trying to keep his family’s small Idaho farm afloat. She teaches at the local high school. They barely talk except to argue. And […]

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