Review: LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special Indulges Fans in its Time-Hopping, Festive Storyline
It’s not as strong or funny as the two LEGO movies and it only runs about 40 minutes, but for some reason The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is exactly […]
Review: 17 Blocks Follows One Family Over Decades of Struggle, Tragedy and Healing
A multigenerational exercise in cinema verité, 17 Blocks proves to be a surprisingly emotional 20-year journey through the lives of a family living in the shadow of the nation’s capital. Directed […]
Review: Festive Musical Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey Packs in the Holiday Cheer
As the country heads into a holiday season unlike any other, it may be harder than ever to come by moments of genuine joy and delight. Thankfully, Netflix is doing […]
Review: Henry Golding Delivers a Warm, Nuanced Performance in Nostalgic, Tender Monsoon
It’s easy to forget that Henry Golding’s chiseled movie star looks and magnetic on-screen charisma have only been known to us for a few years; his breakout role, as the […]
Review: A Lazy Script and Over-Simplified Plot Keep Echo Boomers From Having Anything Interesting to Say
A lazy script, an absence of conviction and a lackluster execution make the debut feature from Columbia College alum Seth Savoy one of the lamest heist movies of recent memory. […]
Review: Only Margot Robbie Completists Need Invest in Forgettable Depression-Era Dreamland
Obviously, when Margot Robbie’s name gets attached to anything, I’ll take notice. But the strange little 2019 holdover Dreamland was a work I knew nothing about until a couple of […]
Review: Disappointing Ammonite Keeps Leads Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan from Digging Very Deep
I spent most of my time watching writer/director Francis Lee’s (God’s Own Country) new film Ammonite in awe of its lead character, Mary Anning (Kate Winslet). She’s a reserved but well-respected, […]
Review: Single-Note Come Away Treats Classic Children’s Stories as Fodder for Derivative Dreck
For as much vitriol is being shot this week at the emotional dishonesty of a film like Hillbilly Elegy, I find that crime far more on display in a work […]
Review: Mank Delves into the Process, Memories and Later Years of a Classic Hollywood Screenwriter
The first thing you should do before seeing David Fincher’s Mank is re-watch (or watch for the first time, you cinema philistine) 1941’s Citizen Kane and maybe even do a little […]
Review: Freaky Reinvents the Body-Swap Comedy with a Bloody, Dark and Wicked Take
Sometimes with movies, being given what you want is preferable to being given what you need. I remain a great admirer of the Happy Death Day movies because they delivered […]
Review: Werner Herzog’s Fireball: Visitors from Darker Worlds Inspires with Big Questions, Grand Visuals
Whenever Werner Herzog directs and narrates a documentary that involves vast landscapes and/or ancient religions, sign me up. Co-helmed with Clive Oppenheimer, Fireball: Visitors From Darker Worlds involves the pair […]
Review: A Conservative’s Memoir Clashes with a Liberal’s Filmmaking in Confused, Superficially Emotional Hillbilly Elegy
I’m not here to judge the best-selling memoir of J.D. Vance or his conservative politics the way others seem to do in their reviews of the film adaptation of Hillbilly […]