CANDYMAN wants to do more than creep you out with mere gore. To that end, this sequel to the original does more than ignore the three subsequent films in that previous franchise, though it does, like those other films, drench the screen in blood from time to time. Here, though, the true horror that it… Read More »
THE NIGHT HOUSE
In THE NIGHT HOUSE, star/producer Rebecca Hall dares to give us a female protagonist who does not ask us to like her. In fact, she all but dares us not to. Yet, in a brilliant performance that combines pain and vitriol, she makes us empathize with a new widow who may or may not be… Read More »
REMINISCENCE
There is a persistent torpor to REMINISCENCE, a film that tries to be many things and fails for the most part. Rife with visuals that evoke a disquieting dreamlike state, the story, an ersatz neo-noir set mostly between sunset and sunrise, drones along with the cinematic equivalent of a mosquito’s interminable buzz on a humid… Read More »
CRYPTOZOO
CRYPTOZOO is a touching throwback to the animated films of the late 60s and early 70s in both style and in substance. Set in that time frame, it is full of idealism about the possibilities of human society and wonder at the natural world, while also tempered with poignant cynicism about both. Writer/director Dash Shaw… Read More »
JOHN AND THE HOLE
JOHN AND THE HOLE is a film that demands that its audience draw its own conclusions rather than spell out what has driven a 13-year-old boy to trap his family in an abandoned bunker. Dancing adroitly between reality and metaphor, this psychologically disturbing story is told in muted colors and hushed tones, the better to… Read More »
JUNGLE CRUISE
Disney surprised us all when it turned one of Disneyland’s attractions, Pirates of the Caribbean, into a top-notch action/adventure/comedy. Alas, Disney has surprised us again, but with JUNGLE CRUISE, based on one of the venerable attractions from that ci-mentioned theme park, it’s more along the lines of disappointment. We relive that attraction in due course,… Read More »
JOE BELL
A key moment in the fact-based JOE BELL comes early one as the titular character (Mark Wahlberg), a working-class man from a small town in Oregon, is told by his adolescent son, Jadin (Reid Miller) that he is being bullied at school for being gay. It’s two revelations, and Joe doesn’t miss a beat telling… Read More »
MANDIBLES (Mandibules)
In MANDIBLES, Quentin Dupieux takes us on a road trip with two lovable innocents and an outsized housefly. Why there is an outsized housefly in the trunk of a dilapidated Mercedes just waiting to be discovered/rescued/exploited by this pair of misfits is never explained, nor does it need to be. This latest excursion by Dupieux… Read More »
BLACK WIDOW
Braids, French and other, loom large in the visuals of BLACK WIDOW, and it is an apt metaphor. The ultra-femininity of long, flowing hair rigorously trained into orderly rows of tightly disciplined tresses echoes the rigorous training given to ultra-feminine assassin-turned-Avenger Natasha Romanoff, the eponymous super-heroine in this her first spinoff from the Marvel Universe.… Read More »
TOO LATE (2021)
TOO LATE is a noir fable about the dark side of show biz. Deadpan and droll in its exploration of monsters and their enablers, it doesn’t so much expose anything new about what people are willing to do in order to succeed as present it with a puckish flair and a wicked sense of irony.… Read More »
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 7
- Next Page »