Review: See How They Run Is a Lightweight Mystery with Just Enough Charm
Meant to be a lighthearted romp, much like the production portrayed in the play being put on within the movie, See How They Run finds ways to be frothy without […]
Review: Jon Hamm Leans Into Comedy for Confess, Fletch, a Funny, Charming Take on the Classic Character
The world has been threatening to make a new Fletch movie (based on the comical mystery novels by Gregory McDonald) for many decades now (I remember Kevin Smith had one […]
Review: Prequel Pearl Offers Effective Horror Wrapped Up in One Flawless Performance
It’s a rare thing when a sequel is better than the original; rarer still when a prequel is better than an original film that was already pretty special. But here […]
Review: High School Sports Doc Hockeyland Profiles Friendship, Community and Competition on Ice
Directed by Tommy Haines, the documentary Hockeyland is about exactly what the title implies: a place where all things seem to revolve around high school hockey, whether you be player, […]
Interview: Filmmaker John Hamburg on Male Friendships in Me Time, Working with Legends and Writing a Script for Kevin Hart
Writer/director John Hamburg is a man made of comedy. In particular, his films seem to center on the often uncomfortable way we interact with friends and family, especially during times […]
Review: Kevin Smith Gets Nostalgic in Clerks III, but Delivers More of a Clip Reel
I have a crystal clear memory of seeing the original Clerks at the 1994 Chicago International Film Festival. I’d heard some things about it after its premiere nine months earlier […]
Review: French Actor Mathieu Amalric Moves Behind the Camera for Mysterious, Emotional Hold Me Tight
French filmmaker Mathieu Amalric is likely best known in the United States for his more than a hundred roles in front of the camera, including The Diving Bell and the […]
Review: In Margaux, a Smart Home Turns Predictably Deadly
Full confession: the only reason I watched this movie was because I thought it was from France. Turns out, the new film from director Steven C. Miller (First Kill, Line […]
Review: House of Darkness is a Sly and Seductive Horror Film from Writer/Director Neil LaBute
Justin Long is having a hell of a week in horror. Not only does he appear in the big release of the week, Barbarian (playing an absolute douche), he also […]
Review: Spinning Several Narrative Threads, Barbarian Gets Points for Creativity and Unpredictability
I’d estimate that of the 500-plus films I watch in a given year, it’s fairly easy to predict how 85 percent of them are going to end (or at least […]
Review: The Story of Film: A New Generation Explores the Last 20 Years in Global Filmmaking With Emphasis on Communities Often Ignored
Irish filmmaker Mark Cousins has expanded his earlier documentary exploration of the first century of filmmaking (The Story of film: An Odyssey, 2011) with his research on the last two […]
Review: A Wooden Puppet Dreams of Coming to Life While Disney’s New Pinocchio Never Does
It doesn’t happen often, but sometimes movies really depress me. I’m not talking about movies with depressing storylines of someone dying of a disease or breakup movies or any number […]