This is a tough one to classify and an even tougher one to analyze, but ultimately a fulfilling one to view. The latest from Nocturnal director Nathalie Biancheri, Wolf tells the story of a young man named Jacob (George MacKay,…
Now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Mayor Pete is director Jesse Moss’s follow-up to his exceptional, award-winning documentary Boys State. In the tradition of campaign trail films like The War Room and Knock Down the House, Mayor Pete takes audiences inside…
This one surprised me, I’ll fully admit. Marking the directing debut of Oscar-winning actor Halle Berry, Bruised is set in the world of mixed martial arts, centering on a former UFC fighter named Jackie Justice (Berry), who was on her…
It’s either a crime drama, a comedic commentary about the filthy rich, or an anarchic takedown of the ruling classes by the working class. Or a bloated combination of the three. However you ingest director Ridley Scott’s second film of…
Writer/director Mike Mills is a solid filmmaker who always seems to think he needs a bit of a gimmick in his storytelling to make it interesting. I suppose if you look at it, all movies feature some gimmick, but Mills’…
Full of life, color and soaring music courtesy of Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton), Disney’s latest animation celebration, Encanto, tells the story of the Madrigal family. They live in a magical house in the mountains of Colombia, in the hidden village of Encanto,…
Richard Williams was a man with a plan—an actual written-down plan, dozens of pages long—for each of his many children, mapping out their lives as a path toward guaranteed success. These plans allow for no wiggle room and are forged…
The use of nostalgia in movies is a curious thing, if for no other reason than there are two camps of thought in how (or even if) it should be used at all. In that vein, Star Wars: The Force…
What I’d expected to be a fairly lightweight behind-the-scenes look at the relatively short-lived presidential campaign of South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg turns out to be something far more substantial than his mild-mannered, even-tempered persona might have you believe…
One of the most talked-about films of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was Mass, the writing/directing debut of actor Fran Kranz, which thoughtfully examines the journey of two sets of parents whose children were directly involved in a high school…
The strange and often heartbreaking autobiographical journey of 2019’s The Souvenir continues with writer/director Joanna Hogg’s more empowering sequel The Souvenir Part II, which follows the filmmaker’s stand-in Julie (Honor Swinton Byrne). Julie is still reeling from the death of…
The second I saw the Oscar-nominated filmmakers Fernando Meirelles (City of God) and Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, The White Tiger) credited as producers, I suspected there might be something special about 7 Prisoners, the second feature from writer-director Alexandre…
London-born Rebecca Hall has long been on my list of the most talented actors working today. In fact, I maintain that her 2016 portrayal of reporter Christine Chubbuck in the biographical drama Christine was the finest dramatic performance of any…
In creator/artist Jack Kirby’s original “Eternals” comic books, these immortal heroes have been living on Earth, steering, guiding, helping humans evolve for thousands of years and protecting us from mankind’s oldest enemy, The Deviants. And although they were able to…
Before he made action pieces like Skyscraper and the current Red Notice, writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber made Dodgeball and We’re the Millers, so his comedy roots are strong. (He also helmed Central Intelligence, but I never claimed all of his…
When is a bizarre vampire story not exactly a vampire story? Or is it? Welcome to the world of Dead & Beautiful, from Dutch filmmaker David Verbeek (Full Contact, R U There), which concerns five attractive, affluent, Asian, 20-something friends.…
Hot damn, do I love this movie. Built on a recipe of high energy, creative violence, style for days, the coolest cast of the year, a propulsive soundtrack, and spaghetti Western tropes flipped on their ass, The Harder They Fall…
We continue a series of interviews for one of the most talked about films of this year’s Sundance Film Festival: the writing/directing debut of actor Fran Kranz, Mass. The film thoughtfully examines the journey of two sets of parents whose children…
One of the most talked-about films of this year’s Sundance Film Festival was the writing/directing debut of actor Fran Kranz, Mass, which thoughtfully examines the journey of two sets of parents whose children were directly involved in a high school…
At the recent Chicago International Film Festival, Japanese writer/director Ryusuke Hamaguchi (Happy Hour, Intimacies) had something of a moment when two most recent films played at the event to much praise. The epic, three-hour Drive My Car is a tragic…
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