I was genuinely pleased (and surprised) at how effective a creepy little thriller What Lies Below turned out to be. I went in blind, just the cover art and a brief description to hint at things to come. And I … Continue reading
I blind watched a newish digital rental called Bacurau, a Brazilian film of some indeterminate genre. I’d heard it talked about and it’s been given good reviews. So I gave it a shot, intrigued by the mystery, and spent more … Continue reading
American Skin is an angry, powerful film that does suffer from being as subtle as a sledgehammer. Its capital M Message is heavy-handed and direct. But the film is also powerful, very well acted, and shot with a blunt economy. … Continue reading
Skyfire is a film that will please pyromaniacs and that’s probably about it. If you come for the fire! FIRE! and those lava bombs that seem deliberately aimed and the LAVA! THE HOT LAVA! then you might get just enough … Continue reading
One Night in Miami has the ambitious idea of placing four iconic African Americans in a motel room and letting the drama flow. Set in 1964 after Cassius Clay (soon to be Muhammad Ali) wins his heavyweight belt, he meets … Continue reading
Outside the Wire is a serviceable enough action/war movie that, in between firefights, wants to say something about war. Whether it accomplishes that in its overly long runtime is debatable. Set in the near future, America is running peacekeeper operations … Continue reading
Promising Young Woman seems to be one type of movie before slyly becoming another and then another. The log-line of the flick makes it sound like a sordid feminist (or maybe pseudo-feminist) revenge flick that’s all about sick visceral thrills. … Continue reading
Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets is exactly the movie I will think about the next time I enjoy a Wes Anderson movie and someone else finds it insufferably twee and self-indulgent. Because this movie is just that: an insufferable … Continue reading
Pieces of a Woman is a pretty great depressing, despondent movie that’s the feel sad movie of January. And it’s well worth the watch if you want to see some good acting and writing. The film is about a tragic … Continue reading
Horizon Line is one of those survival movies about people trapped in high-concept, improbably scenarios. This time its people trapped on a small plane but others have been people trapped on a ski lift, in the middle of the ocean, … Continue reading