Having quaffed a drink laced with something that will shortly knock him cold, Napoleon Solo (Henry Cavill) does the sensible thing. He gathers some throw-pillows and carefully places first them, and then himself, upon the nearest sofa. Once, he explains to the person responsible for slipping him the mickey, he hit his head during the… Read More »
Dreary DARK PLACES
DARK PLACES is awash with dark moodiness as it tells a raggedy story that suffers from a failure of to find a narrative structure as strong or as compelling as the performance of his star, Charlize Theron. Based on the novel by Gillian Flynn, on whose novel of the same name GONE GIRL was based,… Read More »
ZERO DARK THIRTY
ZERO DARK THIRTY starts, tellingly, with a dark screen and audio clips from 9/11. Air traffic control chatter, 911 calls, and the anguished, astonished voices of people who have no frame of reference for what is happening to and around them. In doing so, the film compels the viewer to relive that day not with… Read More »
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION Rocks
MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: ROGUE NATION is lean, mean, and seriously fun. There is not a wasted moment for fans of high-energy, slickly plotted action flicks of the popcorn variety, as this installment of the franchise finds the Impossible Mission Force shut down by the government, but not out of business. Not by a longshot. Their last official… Read More »
PIXELS System Crash
If I had to single one thing out as being the saddest moment in PIXELS, it would have to be when Michelle Monaghan, as a newly dumped wife is forced to find solace from Adam Sandler as she is weeping and drinking chardonnay from a sippy cup on the floor of her closet.
THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT’s Heart of Darkness
In retrospect, the excesses of Abu Ghraib were all too accurately predicted by the now infamous behavioral experiment conducted in 1971 by Stanford professor, Dr. Philip Zimbardo (Billy Crudup). The dramatization as THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT wisely takes the clinical approach, employing the detachment of the scientific method in recreating the events that are as… Read More »
Amy Schumer is No TRAINWRECK
Turning gender roles neatly on their heads, Amy Schumer has created a screwball comedy of considerable substance. Taking sure aim at the abomination of the formula rom-com, she satirizes not just the genre, but the state of contemporary single-hood. Starring in a script of her own devising, she is fearless, relentless, and completely unapologetic as the titular hot mess, also named Amy, with commitment issues and a healthy libido.
A Philosophical IRRATIONAL MAN
Some of Woody Allen’s best films deal with the problem of absolute ethics in a world that is full of moral ambiguity. CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS beings the epitome of his musings on the subject, with lesser, but no less satisfying efforts such as MATCH POINT continuing the dialogue. In IRRATIONAL MAN, Allen has crafted another… Read More »
LILA & EVE Rewrites Revenge
As a portrait of perfect grief, LILA & EVE is unmatched. Blessed with a performance by Viola Davis as Lila, this is one of the best ever filmed. She is fierce, edgy, and heartbreaking as a single mother in a harrowing study of the limits of sanity in the face of unutterable tragedy. Unlike the… Read More »
A MINIONS of Diminishing Returns
It must have seemed like such a good idea. Take the loveable little yellow minions from DESPICABLE ME and star them in their own movie. Certainly the eponymous MINIONS features much of what made them so irresistible. There’s that burbling mélange of human and Minion-esque language. The ebullient nature, the eagerness to please, and that… Read More »
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