In a perfect world, Bronco Billy would hop in his Gran Torino, run the gauntlet to bring a million dollar chico across the border, and along the way encounter a kind of smoldering romance that bridges on Madison County. Long before drones became a cinematographer’s best friend, Clint Eastwood chose …
My interest was piqued thanks to a friend’s family who adores C.S. Lewis almost as much as I do Jerry. They guided me through a couple of Narnia sequels, but their everlasting zeal failed to translate when it came to this ill-staged big screen bump-up. Alas, I am at my …
Luis Garcia (Lou Gossett), a once influential and now unresponsive Cuban musician living out his days in a dementia-induced fog, is afforded one last whirl at life when his nursing home places him in the care of callow, well-intentioned pre-med student Mina (Ana Golja). She replenishes his dietary regimen with …
A woman who had traveled some distance to New York to attend one of dancer-choreographer Merce Cunningham’s performances later contacted a music critic to complain. It seems the show was so bad that the amount it cost — train ticket, babysitter, etc. — left her feeling gypped. The critic agreed …
Dr. Strange, General Zod, Spider-Man, and Beast join forces to play real-life superheroes Thomas Edison (Benedict Cumberbatch), George Westinghouse (Michael Shannon), Samuel Insull, (Tom Holland), and Nikola Tesla (Nicolas Hoult) in a race to introduce electricity to the civilized world. Vigilantly designed and lit, if not photographed; director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s …
We begin in 1956, 83 years after families from the Church of Ireland found a home for themselves in North America. The pious villagers live in poverty, save for Agatha Earnshaw (Catherine Walker), the one prosperous landowner of the lot. (Is that Agatha’s signature scrawled across the bottom of a …
The legend of La Llorona —the “weeping woman” who, upon learning of her husband’s infidelity, revenge-killed their two small children — is said to have been the foremost generator of nightmares among impressionable Hispanic toddlers. But when the two children of CPS employee Anna (Linda Cardellini) show up for school …
A rent-a-judge kicks off the hearing by staring down the barrel of the camera and asking her clients (and thus the audience) if they know what happens when a child is sent to family mediation services. The litigation continues for a full fifteen expository-fueled minutes, with mom’s barrister painting a …
No sooner does 11-year-old new girl in school Amy (Fathia Youssouf) spy classmate Angelica (Médina El Aidi-Azouni) busting a few moves in the laundry room than she wants to be part of her clique, an elitist foursome looking to become an internet sensation by auditioning for a local dance contest. …
The title is Australia’s slang equivalent to the American phrase “batshit crazy,” and ex-con Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) earns the appellation in spades. He’s the kind of friend you want to hide the box cutter from when he suddenly decides to pay an unannounced visit. Fresh out of the slammer, Pommie …
It would be hard to top Fred Schepisi's Roxanne as the #1 film adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s nasally enhanced romance, but the latest from Joe Wright (Atonement, The Soloist) comes close. Time and again Peter Dinklage has proven to be more than just another Billy Barty, a character actor accepting …
Spike Lee’s biggest accomplishment was assembling a cast of seasoned Hollywood veterans to bring to life his saga of four African-American survivors of the Vietnam War (and son) who reunite in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), ostensibly to track down the remains of their squadron leader, Stormin’ Norman (Chadwick Boseman). …
Will Ferrell plays his standard issue wide-eyed naif, an amiable simp who can find the good in just about any situation, save one: the sudden reappearance of his wife’s guilt-stricken greaser ex (Mark Wahlberg), eager to reheat a dead romantic soufflé. Two moments stand out in this battle between alpha …
Mark Wahlberg recently apologized to God for appearing in Boogie Nights. Satan’s currently warming up a tier in hell for him and the funky bunch of willing participants in this crime against cinema. As in the first installment, there’s a superbly executed avalanche gag, this one involving a snow-blower consuming …
One’s appreciation of this regulation cable biodoc hinges on one’s interest in the subject matter, not the medium. Director Steven Cantor begins by establishing a focus of attention — in this case, ballet pin-up boy Sergei Polunin — before hopping a ferry to his childhood home in Ukraine and then …