Steve Prokopy
Review: A Star-Crossed Romance Nearly Becomes Something to Fall for in The Violent Heart
From the writer/director of the supremely strong and naturalistic First Girl I Loved, Kerem Sanga, comes another work about a romance that seems fated not to work, with far more […]
Review: With a Bad Case of a Split-Personality, I Care A Lot Makes it Hard to Care About Much At All
Another offering this week that features shitty people doing shitty things to less fortunate people is writer/director J Blakeson’s I Care A Lot, in which Rosamund Pike plays professional, court-appointed […]
Review: Body Brokers Tracks a Revolving Door of Addicts, Treatment Centers and the Scheme to Profit Off Both
The latest from writer/director John Swab (Run with the Hunted), Body Brokers opens with a statement about the Affordable Care Act made in the law that health insurance companies must […]
Review: Two Men Put Everything on the Line in the Cat-and-Mouse Story of Silk Road
There are several films out this week about people who made a lot of money finding loopholes (usually legal, but not always) in the system and exploiting them (see also: […]
Review: A Madcap Noël Coward Play Gets a Problematic, Loveless Adaptation in Latest Blithe Spirit
Although it has been a while since I’ve revisited the 1945 David Lean adaptation of Noël Coward’s play Blithe Spirit, I’ve always counted it as one of my favorite early […]
Review: Caught in a Time Loop, The Map of Tiny Perfect Things Asks Us to Appreciate the Little Moments
Added to the list of recent movies about adventures in time-looping is the latest from director Ian Samuels (Sierra Burgess Is a Loser) and writer Lev Grossman (based on his […]
Review: Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar Is a Ridiculous—and Ridiculously Funny—Trip
As I giggled my way through Barb & Star Go To Vista Del Mar, the Bridesmaids follow-up by co-writers Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig (who also star), I realized that it […]
Review: Despite Erratic Storytelling, The Mauritanian Is a Compelling Glimpse into Life in Guantanamo Bay
Directed by noted documentarian (One Day in September) and feature filmmaker (The Last King of Scotland) Kevin Macdonald, The Mauritanian centers on the horrific true story of Guantánamo Bay detainee […]
Review: A Modern Western, Cowboys Puts Family Dynamics to the Test
Set in small-town Montana, Cowboys, the latest from writer/director Anna Kerrigan (Five Days Gone), concerns a family in crisis largely because its patriarch, Troy (Steve Zahn), is a good man […]
Review: Judas and the Black Messiah Is an Inspiring, Infuriating Chronicle of Activism and Betrayal
Sometimes, all of the pieces of a film just come together and fit so beautifully that the resulting work is more intense and beautiful than the sum of its parts. […]
Review: A Zealot in Search of a Mission in Haunting, Eerie Saint Maud
After creating a series of effective shorts in recent years, writer/director Rose Glass’ debut feature, Saint Maud, is finally getting released stateside after being delayed a year because of you […]
Review: Women Isolated Physically and Emotionally Find Connection, Affection in The World to Come
He’s not even the star of this movie, but I have to say, Christopher Abbott has had a hell of a past 12 months as far as compelling performances go. […]