Now In Theaters
Boy Erased
Joel Edgerton's adaptation of a gut-wrenching real-life memoir about a kid forced to 'pray the gay away' because his parents declare divine providence says he's on his way to hell through this learned homosexual behavior is a stark reminder we are not all on the same page in this country regarding sexuality. "Dog help us all."
Biography/Drama - 114 Minutes
Joel Edgerton's adaptation of a gut-wrenching real-life memoir about a kid forced to 'pray the gay away' because his parents declare divine providence says he's on his way to hell through this learned homosexual behavior is a stark reminder we are not all on the same page in this country regarding sexuality. "Dog help us all."
Biography/Drama - 114 Minutes
Burning
Burning is not political, nor is it a true mystery or dramatic unrequited romance; it is contemporary Korea through the eyes of a 'have not' as he stares in befuddlement at the Jay Gatsbys buzzing around him. Director Chang-dong Lee creates a mesmerizing, metaphor-laden story by way of Murakami and Faulkner, a most impressive lineage.
Drama/Mystery - 148 Minutes
Burning is not political, nor is it a true mystery or dramatic unrequited romance; it is contemporary Korea through the eyes of a 'have not' as he stares in befuddlement at the Jay Gatsbys buzzing around him. Director Chang-dong Lee creates a mesmerizing, metaphor-laden story by way of Murakami and Faulkner, a most impressive lineage.
Drama/Mystery - 148 Minutes
Bohemian Rhapsody
Freddie Mercury may have broken the mold, but his biopic does not. Rhapsody is far more engaging when it’s about the music, about how the eponymous tune came to be, about how We Will Rock you figured out its foot stomps and claps. When it comes to band dynamics, their ups and downs, Freddie’s ego, and Freddie’s sexuality, the film comes off as cookie cutter and episodic. We’re here for the tunes, not the facts.
Biography/Drama/Music - 134 Minutes
Freddie Mercury may have broken the mold, but his biopic does not. Rhapsody is far more engaging when it’s about the music, about how the eponymous tune came to be, about how We Will Rock you figured out its foot stomps and claps. When it comes to band dynamics, their ups and downs, Freddie’s ego, and Freddie’s sexuality, the film comes off as cookie cutter and episodic. We’re here for the tunes, not the facts.
Biography/Drama/Music - 134 Minutes
Wildlife
Is wanting to scream, “Pull your head out of your ass!” at the screen a bad thing for the audience? At least it’s a form of caring. Where more mundane cinema will leave you docile and numb, Wildlife is going to spin you up.
Drama - 104 Minutes
Is wanting to scream, “Pull your head out of your ass!” at the screen a bad thing for the audience? At least it’s a form of caring. Where more mundane cinema will leave you docile and numb, Wildlife is going to spin you up.
Drama - 104 Minutes
The Price of Everything
Nathaniel Kahn creates a peek behind the curtain experience at the contemporary art world, which comes off as a sleazy business full of snake oil salesmen - including the buyers, the dealers, the auction houses, and even the artists. That metal bunny rabbit and gold toilet do not cost $50 million because they are the best art Earth has to offer; there are people out there whose job it is to ensure the prices remain egregious - all to keep the money wheel spinning.
Documentary - 98 Minutes
Nathaniel Kahn creates a peek behind the curtain experience at the contemporary art world, which comes off as a sleazy business full of snake oil salesmen - including the buyers, the dealers, the auction houses, and even the artists. That metal bunny rabbit and gold toilet do not cost $50 million because they are the best art Earth has to offer; there are people out there whose job it is to ensure the prices remain egregious - all to keep the money wheel spinning.
Documentary - 98 Minutes
Halloween
A sequel remake so like the original, they didn’t even change the name. Michael Myers hacks and slashes his way through female babysitters in the same neighborhood from 40 years ago creating nostalgia rather than scares.
Horror/Thriller - 106 Minutes
A sequel remake so like the original, they didn’t even change the name. Michael Myers hacks and slashes his way through female babysitters in the same neighborhood from 40 years ago creating nostalgia rather than scares.
Horror/Thriller - 106 Minutes
First Man
Damien Chazelle studies the humble, quiet man behind the mission. The history book facts are all here, but First Man works as a character study rather than moon thriller - what makes Neil tick, how does he summon nerves of steel when the rest of us would panic to become that notorious "whitey on the moon".
Biography/Drama/History - 141 Minutes
Damien Chazelle studies the humble, quiet man behind the mission. The history book facts are all here, but First Man works as a character study rather than moon thriller - what makes Neil tick, how does he summon nerves of steel when the rest of us would panic to become that notorious "whitey on the moon".
Biography/Drama/History - 141 Minutes
Venom
While the film has its fair share of eye rolls and gimmicks, its experimental atmosphere and desire to offer us just enough of a superhero ironic spin is enough to make Venom a decent addition to the club. You should take it in the same way you do exhibits at a Ripley’s Believe It or Not or the freak show tent at the traveling circus, with morbid amusement and cheap thrills.
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi - 112 Minutes
While the film has its fair share of eye rolls and gimmicks, its experimental atmosphere and desire to offer us just enough of a superhero ironic spin is enough to make Venom a decent addition to the club. You should take it in the same way you do exhibits at a Ripley’s Believe It or Not or the freak show tent at the traveling circus, with morbid amusement and cheap thrills.
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi - 112 Minutes
A Star Is Born
Cooper’s A Star Is Born is engaging, crafted with skill, and may even have you accuse someone of cutting onions in the theater. Jack and Ally are made for each other which is why the first half is one of the best film’s of the year. It’s the more melodramatic and plot-saturating second half which dims the magic of the first half’s glow.
Drama/Music/Romance - 135 min
Cooper’s A Star Is Born is engaging, crafted with skill, and may even have you accuse someone of cutting onions in the theater. Jack and Ally are made for each other which is why the first half is one of the best film’s of the year. It’s the more melodramatic and plot-saturating second half which dims the magic of the first half’s glow.
Drama/Music/Romance - 135 min
Night School
Night School may carry over the director, breakout star, and crew from Girls Trip, but it left everything behind - especially the laughs.
Comedy - 111 min
Night School may carry over the director, breakout star, and crew from Girls Trip, but it left everything behind - especially the laughs.
Comedy - 111 min
The House with a Clock in Its Walls
Horror director Eli Roth, playing nice here with a family film, channels the early '80s classics (E.T., The Goonies) to tell a story of another outcast kid coming to terms with a new situation. Themes champion individuality, families come in all shapes and sizes, and a most intriguing idea about coping with tragedy - move forward or go back?
Comedy/Family/Fantasy - 104 Minutes
Horror director Eli Roth, playing nice here with a family film, channels the early '80s classics (E.T., The Goonies) to tell a story of another outcast kid coming to terms with a new situation. Themes champion individuality, families come in all shapes and sizes, and a most intriguing idea about coping with tragedy - move forward or go back?
Comedy/Family/Fantasy - 104 Minutes
Blaze
Blaze feels like an Ethan Hawke passion project, the kind where a filmmaker hears about a legend, digs in to find out more, and discovers a movie underneath it. He’s right. Blaze’s story and Ben Dickey are made for the camera and Hawke’s country-western opera offers a realistic slice of Americana by a guy who appears to respect it, not a poseur intent on exploitation.
Biography/Drama/Music - 127 Minutes
Blaze feels like an Ethan Hawke passion project, the kind where a filmmaker hears about a legend, digs in to find out more, and discovers a movie underneath it. He’s right. Blaze’s story and Ben Dickey are made for the camera and Hawke’s country-western opera offers a realistic slice of Americana by a guy who appears to respect it, not a poseur intent on exploitation.
Biography/Drama/Music - 127 Minutes
The Predator
Shane Black exchanges Ahhnold, suspense, and horror for an embarrassing mess. The goofy family drama, the busload of psych cases that could, and Olivia Munn as an ass-kicking evolutionary biologist may make you feel shame for ever liking the original.
Action/Adventure/Horror - 107 Minutes
Shane Black exchanges Ahhnold, suspense, and horror for an embarrassing mess. The goofy family drama, the busload of psych cases that could, and Olivia Munn as an ass-kicking evolutionary biologist may make you feel shame for ever liking the original.
Action/Adventure/Horror - 107 Minutes
A Simple Favor
Imagine Doris Day and Marlene Dietrich day-drinking, confiding secrets, and generating conspiracy theories. Sounds pretty intriguing right? If only given the chance.
Comedy/Crime/Drama - 117 Minutes
Imagine Doris Day and Marlene Dietrich day-drinking, confiding secrets, and generating conspiracy theories. Sounds pretty intriguing right? If only given the chance.
Comedy/Crime/Drama - 117 Minutes
Peppermint
Jennifer Garner does Death Wish better than Bruce Willis, but Peppermint offers nothing new to the genre other than a gender switch.
Action/Drama/Thriller - 102 Minutes
Jennifer Garner does Death Wish better than Bruce Willis, but Peppermint offers nothing new to the genre other than a gender switch.
Action/Drama/Thriller - 102 Minutes
Kin
At one point, James Franco whips it out and pisses all over a gas station floor - that about sums up Kin. A movie about a firearm fetish masquerading as an indie road trip drama; the longest 102 minutes of my life.
Action/Sci-Fi - 102 Minutes
At one point, James Franco whips it out and pisses all over a gas station floor - that about sums up Kin. A movie about a firearm fetish masquerading as an indie road trip drama; the longest 102 minutes of my life.
Action/Sci-Fi - 102 Minutes
Operation Finale
Director Chris Weitz wants the mood to hover toward intrigue rather than despair. A story about Adolf Eichmann’s World War II atrocities can easily make the audience choke up and douse us in the heaviest of drama. Not so here, Weitz includes jokes and deliberate mood lighteners creating a precarious levity to avoid offering up a weeper.
Biography/Drama/History - 122 Minutes
Director Chris Weitz wants the mood to hover toward intrigue rather than despair. A story about Adolf Eichmann’s World War II atrocities can easily make the audience choke up and douse us in the heaviest of drama. Not so here, Weitz includes jokes and deliberate mood lighteners creating a precarious levity to avoid offering up a weeper.
Biography/Drama/History - 122 Minutes
Now On DVD
