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 […]
Review: Burial Features a Brutal, Fact-Based but Fictional World War II Mission
In Burial, the second feature from writer/director Ben Parker (2016’s The Chamber), we are dropped into a story that takes place during a period in World War II history that’s […]
Review: In McEnroe, the Tennis Great Reflects on a Career Driven by His Exacting Strategy and Explosive Temper
Told with more compassion and pathos than perhaps even John McEnroe would grant himself, the documentary McEnroe profiles one of the greatest tennis players the game has ever produced. With […]
Review: Fassbinder Gets a Gender-Swapped, Wickedly Funny Update in Peter von Kant
In the 1972 Rainer Werner Fassbinder film The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, the lead character was a female fashion designer who ungracefully bows out of a relationship with […]
Review: Javier Bardem Is Slick, Measured and Marvelous in Spanish-Language Workplace Comedy The Good Boss
Spain’s submission for Best International Feature of 2021 (it was even shortlisted) and the winner of six Goya Awards (it was nominated for a record 20), writer/director Fernando León de […]
Review: Breaking Features John Boyega in a Harrowing, Heartbreaking Central Role
In 2017, Brian Brown-Easley walked into a Wells Fargo branch in Marietta, Ga., and, after withdrawing the last $25 to his name, told the bank teller he was carrying a […]
Review: Neil LaBute’s Erotic Thriller Out of the Blue Doesn’t Reinvent Film Noir, But Still Entertains
Whether I want to or not, I’m always curious what playwright and filmmaker Neil LaBute (In the Company of Men, Nurse Betty, The Wicker Man remake) is up to, and […]
Review: Aiming for Comedy in Male Insecurity, Me Time Never Hits the Target
Over the years, writer/director John Hamberg has explored men from a unique perspective. Often with very funny results, he has posed questions about male friendships and relationships and wondered why […]