First, we must speak of trailers that give too much away, something that dampened the exquisite terror of SPEAK NO EVIL for me. Its trailer deprives those who see it of the joy in discovering the twists and turns the story uses in order to turn the film into something other than what we expect… Read More »
LOOK INTO MY EYES
The unseen terrain explored in Lana Wilson’s LOOK INTO MY EYES is not what lies on the other side of this mortal veil. In this immensely moving documentary, she takes on something much more profound. She is examining in sometimes raw detail the nature of faith juxtaposed with the overwhelming need for certainty, or at… Read More »
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE is a ramshackle effort trading on goodwill and nostalgia. What made the original so disarming and anarchic 36 years ago burbles to the surface from time to time, but as a whole, it is a mawkish thing following formulas that that original eschewed with raucous glee. We find Lydia Deetz (Winona Ryder) older… Read More »
BLINK TWICE
With BLINK TWICE we traverse the sticky territories of toxic masculinity, cultural power structures, and the apology industry that has grown out those first two phenomena. While it’s script by E.T. Feigenbaum and director Zoë Kravitz sometimes hangs together with spit and baling wire, there is no denying the gut punch it delivers with suspense… Read More »
THE CROW
The word that best describes THE CROW is moribund. Even during the ecstatic orgy of bloodletting that caps this reboot of Alex Proyas’ 1994 film, it is somnambulant as it goes through its paces charting the lengths to which true love can push a young man when faced with the devil. Or his charming associate… Read More »
DIDI
DIDI, meaning younger brother in Mandarin, starts as the typical coming-of-age story, but quickly builds into something bigger. This semi-autobiographical film by Sean Wang takes us to Fremont, CA in the summer of 2008, when its eponymous 13-year-old character, Chris “Wang Wang’” Wang (Izaac Wang) is spending a quietly tumultuous August failing at life but… Read More »
ALIEN: ROMULUS
ALIEN: ROMULUS may be the strongest entry into the franchise since the original. Certainly, this taut thriller provides strong characters, and an even stronger sense of dread, concentrating on the horror of the unknown that turns out to be as unstoppable as it is homicidal. The high-minded philosophical musings found in PROMETHEUS, for example, are… Read More »
BORDERLANDS
There are some sins that are simply unforgivable, and wasting Cate Blanchett is one of them. Yet, that is precisely what BORDERLANDS, based on the video game, has done. This sub-par fantasy/sci-fi adventure features lackluster effects, static action sequences, and a rambling plot that manages to be both moribund and irksome at the same time. … Read More »
IT ENDS WITH US
IT ENDS WITH US, based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, follows blandly in the grand tradition of the Women’s Films of Hollywood’s Golden Age. In it, we meet the effulgently monikered Lily Bloom, a woman with a troubled childhood who is returning home through the exquisite New England autumnal landscape to bury her father.… Read More »
DEADPOOL AND WOLVERINE
It is a fine line to walk, loving a pop culture phenomenon with all your being, yet being able to make mad sport of it at the same time. Thus is DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, the ultimate fanboy and fangirl experience of the Marvel Universe that manages to be both wickedly funny and curiously reverent. Deadpool… Read More »