2021 was The Year that New Movies Were Everywhere. Back in theaters. Premiering on Netflix. Streaming on HBO Max, a notable evolution that synced at-home WB releases with theatrical showings for 30 days. The moviegoing experience used to involve picking a movie and a moviehouse in which to see it (and snack selections, of course). […]
The King’s Man
Love them or hate them, the first two Kingsman movies, Kingsman: The Secret Service and Kingsman: The Golden Circle, reveled in a giddy, stylized brand of hyperviolence that made them stand out from more traditional spy films. However, the third entry in the franchise, The King’s Man, lacks its predecessors’ sense of irreverent fun. Part […]
The Tender Bar
The Tender Bar is a structural, tonal mess – but a damn likable one. George Clooney, directing his seventh film, leaves a sloppy trail of memories and moments in the life of writer J.R. Moehringer, who we see as a kid growing up fast on Long Island, and then as a hopeful journalist figuring out […]
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Several years ago, when it was announced that Spider-Man would be incorporated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s ever-expanding franchise of superheroes, it was the third time in recent memory that a new live-action version of the wall-crawler was bound for the big screen. Given the circumstances, fans could be forgiven for feeling some Spidey fatigue. […]
Nightmare Alley
Director Guillermo Del Toro is known for building dark fantasy worlds in films like The Shape of Water and Pan’s Labyrinth. His latest, Nightmare Alley, takes him to a place he’s never gone before, a story based entirely in reality. That this is a reality in which characters take advantage of the tendency of suckers […]
Vietnam: Fast Forward
What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of Vietnam? The Vietnamese themselves know what it is. “War.” And around the world, especially in the West, the dominant images people have of Vietnam are of bombing raids, smoldering villages and, perhaps, helicopters departing an evacuated U.S. Embassy. The documentary Vietnam: Fast Forward, […]
The Hand of God
While lying awake one night in the bedroom they share, Fabietto faces a question from older brother, Marchino: Would he rather have sex with their gorgeous, flirtatious Aunt Patrizia or have soccer legend Diego Maradona play for their hometown team. Ah, a conundrum made for a teenager. What else would a young man in 1980s […]
Single Mother by Choice
So how did you spend the pandemic? Did you launch a new side-hustle? Explore a new hobby? Bake an awful lot of bread? Selina Ringel had a baby, and co-wrote and starred in a movie. And did it all at once. Single Mother by Choice is the appealing, and impressive result. Directed and co-written by […]
Drive My Car
In some of the most effective storytelling, there is precision. Not just in the details, dialogue, and settings, but also in how a tale is told. In Drive My Car, celebrated filmmaker Ryûsuke Hamaguchi emphasizes the “how”, creating an elegant, reflective movie that moves beyond plot and conversation to examine – and enjoy – the […]
Outlier
“I’m only doing this for your own good.” Most of us first hear, and learn to distrust, those words as children. This is for my own good? Eating liver, sitting through Sunday school, going to this crummy sleepaway camp? No thanks. The line can be infuriating coming from a parent. It’s terrifying coming from a […]
Lotawana
Forrest has gone adrift – literally. Unsure of where he’s heading in life, he’s decided to head nowhere. Retreating to a small sailboat on a big Missouri lake, he meanders, living off his small savings and whatever catfish he can catch. And then he meets a pretty young woman, Everly. And things take a new, […]
Look Away, Look Away
Ah, sleepy, magnolia-scented Dixie. You know, old times there are not forgotten. And maybe that’s the problem. Patrick O’Connor’s documentary Look Away, Look Away takes a cold, clear-eyed look at the Deep South, race relations and cultural warfare. And keeps its focus by narrowing it down to one issue, the Confederate flag, and one place: […]
Implanted
Imagine that little voice from Google Maps lives inside your head. Except, instead of telling you when to turn left, it tells you everything. Go to sleep, Wake up. Eat lunch. Kill that man. Wait, what? That’s the idea behind Implanted, a smart movie from director Fabien Dufils that deftly mixes plausible science-fiction with Bourne […]
Hell or High Seas
Just because you’re out of uniform doesn’t mean you’re out of danger. The sad truth about our men and women in the armed services is that they’re more likely to die at home from suicide than on the battlefield from enemy fire. Every day, more than 20 veterans take their own lives. And that doesn’t […]
Eternals
Marvel Studios has a habit of handing the reins for its latest comic-book franchises to accomplished filmmakers whose previous work is mostly in indie film or TV. From James Gunn with Guardians of the Galaxy to Joss Whedon with The Avengers to Joe and Anthony Russo with Captain America: The Winter Soldier, this approach has […]
Marionette
Marionette has all the hallmarks of a horror movie: a creepy kid, a gloomy setting, and a central character with some serious baggage. Yet, the film is far more interested in psychological chills and philosophical musings than it is in jump scares or gore, an approach that mostly works in its favor. Based on co-writer […]
Ron’s Gone Wrong
Ron’s Gone Wrong arrives wrapped in a shiny package of bright animation and zany humor, but the filmmakers have more on their minds than showcasing the madcap adventures of a defective robot. The story is a combination of very of-the-moment observations about the potentially negative impacts of social media and a timeless message about friendship […]
Bergman Island
As Chris and Tony make their way from mainland Sweden to the beautiful shores of Fårö Island, there’s an unmistakable sense the journey is transportive. Maybe it’s the general difficulty of the trip – traversing narrow roads, locating a port, parking on a boat, and floating casually to the island – but it’s hard to […]
Needle in a Timestack
Nick (Leslie Odom, Jr.) and Janine (Cynthia Erivo) are deeply in love – or at least that’s what Needle in a Timestack wants us to believe. The couple lives in a near-future where time travel is not only possible but something the rich do for fun. This leads to so-called “time shifts” that change the […]
Mass
There are few topics more galling and volatile than gun violence, no emotional terrain more ravaging than the murder of a child, and no venue more uncomfortable to explore all of the above than a small, sterile room. In a feat that is equal parts daring and frustrating, Mass centers both its narrative and its […]