THE UNTOLD TRUE STORY THAT CHANGED THE COURSE OF HISTORY. In 2015, Adam McKay successfully depicted the 2008 financial crisis in The Big Short; this is another satirical look at a dark chapter in American political history. The rise of Dick Cheney gets a completely irreverent treatment, with amusingly dim-witted and mean-spirited performances by Sam … Continue reading Vice
HE DOESN’T NEED WORDS. Sometime in the future, a mute Berlin bartender (Alexander Skarsgård) with an Amish past is dating a waitress (Seyneb Saleh); when she disappears, his search leads him to a black market bazaar… Most critics were reminded of Blade Runner (1982), but Duncan Jones saw this futuristic thriller more like a ”spiritual … Continue reading Mute
I had the opportunity to see this film at an early stage; it had been screened only at the film festivals in Venice and Toronto. I enjoyed it very much, but felt a little conflicted afterwards, something that stayed with me over the night and was reflected in a too-hasty original review for this … Continue reading Three Billboards: Pain and Redemption
THEY KNOW WHAT SCARES YOU. The Bowens are moving into a new house, but it doesn’t take them long to realize that it is haunted by sinister forces; then, their six-year-old daughter vanishes… A completely redundant remake in 3D of the 1982 horror classic that never gets scary enough and wastes some of its potential. … Continue reading Poltergeist
AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY OF HOW FAR WE GO TO FIGHT FOR OUR FAMILY. In the early 1980s, Kenny Waters (Sam Rockwell) is sentenced to prison for a murder; his sister (Hilary Swank) knows that he’s innocent and goes to law school to be able to clear him in court. Based on a real-life case, this … Continue reading Conviction
A COMEDY ABOUT ACTING YOUR AGE AND OTHER ADULT DECISIONS. Ten years after graduating from high school, Megan (Keira Knightley) still doesn’t know what to do with her life, but a chance encounter with a teenage girl (Chloë Grace Moretz) is the first step toward change. Sometimes it feels like every American indie film follows … Continue reading Laggies
HEROES IN HALF SHELL! After being attacked by a gang of ninjas that are plaguing New York City, reporter April O’Neil (Judith Hoag) is rescued by four mutant ninja turtles intent on destroying the gang and its mysterious leader. A popular adaptation of the 1980s comic book that also borrows ingredients from the 1987-1996 animated … Continue reading Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
FRANK WANTED THE HOLIDAYS TO BE PICTURE PERFECT. WHAT HE GOT WAS FAMILY. When all of his four sons and daughters cancel on him at the last minute, widower Frank Goode (Robert De Niro) embarks on a road trip to surprise them… but they all keep secrets from him. In the Italian 1990 original, Marcello … Continue reading Everybody’s Fine
WORST. BABYSITTER. EVER. Slacker Noah Griffith (Jonah Hill) is talked into babysitting three kids for a friend of his mom’s, but the night turns into a wild adventure. The director of Pineapple Express (2008) delivers another mad romp, an Adventures in Babysitting (1987) for a new decade. It’s a very busy film, with drug deals, … Continue reading The Sitter
FIRST CONTACT. LAST STAND. In 1873, Jake Lonergan (Daniel Craig) wanders into a small Arizona town, unable to remember what he’s been through… and then aliens attack. There’s nothing wrong with the visual effects or the cast in this spectacular summer blockbuster; Craig is even trying to channel his inner Clint Eastwood. But one has … Continue reading Cowboys & Aliens
THE LAST PLACE YOU’D EVER EXPECT TO FIND YOURSELF. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is about to end his three-year stint at a helium-3-harvesting plant on the moon, when strange things begin to happen at the lunar station. The directing debut of Duncan Jones is a bit of science fiction in the mold of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Solaris, … Continue reading Moon
A NEW COMEDY ABOUT PEOPLE WHO WILL DO ANYTHING TO GET FAMOUS… OR STAY FAMOUS. After separating, travel journalist Lee Simon (Kenneth Branagh) and his wife (Judy Davis) enter the singles scene, but Lee in particular learns the pitfalls of trying to find happiness. Director Woody Allen satirizes all the absurd aspects of fame, but offers … Continue reading Celebrity
Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) is pressured by his own deteriorating health, as well as the emergence of a new supervillain (Mickey Rourke) who teams up with a rival arms dealer (Sam Rockwell). Most critics thought too highly of the original and now they’re underestimating the sequel. Downey, Jr. is still the heart and center of … Continue reading Iron Man 2
