UNCHARTED is like the first pitch meeting to potential financiers, which is odd since it’s been in development for almost a decade. What we have here is the broad outline of a plot full of twists, turns, and aerial stunts. What we don’t have is any sense of order or logic, even that of the… Read More »
THE ABANDON
One of the most intriguing sub-genres of sci-fi/horror cinema is that which is accomplished with few, if any, special effects. The best of these, such as COHERENCE or THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE, to name but two, are so thoughtfully conceived and intelligently crafted that the addition of gizmos, gadgets, or those ci-mentioned special effects would… Read More »
MARRY ME
MARRY ME falls into the category of mostly harmless. As a rom-com, it shadows its inspiration, NOTTING HILL, at a respectful distance in an exercise tailored to showcase its star/co-producer Jennifer Lopez as an actress and a singer fond of sparkly outfits. It’s bright, shiny, and no more serious than its premise of a superstar… Read More »
DEATH ON THE NILE
And so with DEATH ON THE NILE (2022), we learn about the man behind the moustaches. That would be Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s cerebral Belgian detective devoted to his “little grey cells” and keeping order in the world. The former gets short shrift, mention-wise, in this adaptation, while the latter rears its compulsive head in… Read More »
MOONFALL
MOONFALL is everything that a Roland Emmerich film should be. There are dazzling special effects. There are several plot threads happening simultaneously that occasionally show a puckish confluence. There are parent-child issues. And there is a huuuuuuuuuge story. This time, it’s the curious case of the moon shifting its orbit in a way that defies… Read More »
SCREAM
In a film that is dedicated to self-reference and meta self-awareness, my favorite snippet of SCREAM is a throwaway reference to “that guy who directed KNIVES OUT”. That, of course, is Rian Johnson, who had previously worked on THE LAST JEDI, thereby drawing the wrath of a section of Star Wars fans of all persuasions,… Read More »
THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH
It is as though Denzel Washington wanted his performance as the title character in Joel Coen’s THE TRAGEDY OF MACBETH were conceived and executed as a tribute to the famous sleepwalking scene played by Lady Macbeth. He speaks the lines not trippingly from the tongue, but rather mumbled with little emotional affect, albeit with admirable… Read More »
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA
HOTEL TRANSYLVANIA: TRANSFORMANIA is a relentlessly obvious and overplayed exercise in draining the last dregs from a moribund franchise. Let me put it this way. Adam Sandler, not known for discriminating taste in projects, took a pass on this material that continues the saga of Drac, the vampiric proprietor of the titular establishment that caters… Read More »
THE MATRIX: RESURRECTIONS
THE MATRIX RESURRECTIONS balances a vibrant cacophony of action with a criminally flabby script that takes far too long to get where it needs to go. It is a triumph of forthright, even giddy, self-awareness and nostalgia as Thomas Anderson (Keanu Reeves) once again enters the Matrix as a neophyte taking us along for the… Read More »
HOUSE OF GUCCI
HOUSE OF GUCCI is a ramshackle accretion of muddled plots studded with oddly incoherent character development and performances that range from stock (Al Pacino) to enigmatic (Adam Driver). This overlong effort takes a tale of sex, money, and power among the super rich and renders it into a dull slog brightened only by Lady Gaga’s… Read More »
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