Now In Theaters
Dear Evan Hansen
Ben Platt has a voice from heaven singing songs not as divine as his tale of social anxiety and untruths spirals out of control. It takes a brave filmmaker to alter beloved material - Godspeed Stephen Chbosky.
Musical/Drama - 137 Minutes
Ben Platt has a voice from heaven singing songs not as divine as his tale of social anxiety and untruths spirals out of control. It takes a brave filmmaker to alter beloved material - Godspeed Stephen Chbosky.
Musical/Drama - 137 Minutes
Candyman
Just like its older sibling, the new Candyman, both sequel and spiritual resurrection, the surface level shows off the immediate consequences of name calling and subsequent butchery, but not even hiding underneath, but frequently taking center stage, are messages regarding societal causes and consequences of deliberate ghettoization, gentrification, social isolation, and police brutality. Candyman has a lot to say, and the trademark hook hand and blood splatter are merely plot gimmicks to get us there.
Horror/Thriller- 91 min
Just like its older sibling, the new Candyman, both sequel and spiritual resurrection, the surface level shows off the immediate consequences of name calling and subsequent butchery, but not even hiding underneath, but frequently taking center stage, are messages regarding societal causes and consequences of deliberate ghettoization, gentrification, social isolation, and police brutality. Candyman has a lot to say, and the trademark hook hand and blood splatter are merely plot gimmicks to get us there.
Horror/Thriller- 91 min
The Night House
Most folks will latch on to the spine-tingling feelings director David Bruckner produces and/or Rebecca Hall’s wonderful performance of making it look like she’s really hugging someone even though it’s a bunch of air, but I can’t move past the script which can't unravel its own code.
Horror/Thriller - 108 min
Most folks will latch on to the spine-tingling feelings director David Bruckner produces and/or Rebecca Hall’s wonderful performance of making it look like she’s really hugging someone even though it’s a bunch of air, but I can’t move past the script which can't unravel its own code.
Horror/Thriller - 108 min
CODA
Nothing about this Sundance winner should be fresh. It's a remake. We've seen this small fishing town before. We know this exasperated teacher. Oh look, a teenage girl attempts to balance family responsibilities against what she really wants to do in life. But CODA is fantastic - it feels new, lived in, and offers something for all.
Drama/Music - 111 Minutes
Nothing about this Sundance winner should be fresh. It's a remake. We've seen this small fishing town before. We know this exasperated teacher. Oh look, a teenage girl attempts to balance family responsibilities against what she really wants to do in life. But CODA is fantastic - it feels new, lived in, and offers something for all.
Drama/Music - 111 Minutes
Annette
Is Leos Carax a Cannes auteur retaining his crown of provocateur supreme or is he just a gasbag? The answer depends on how you react to Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and a stop-motion puppet child as they sing through a whirlwind romance turned Shakespearean tragedy.
Drama/Musical/Romance - 139 Minutes
Is Leos Carax a Cannes auteur retaining his crown of provocateur supreme or is he just a gasbag? The answer depends on how you react to Adam Driver, Marion Cotillard, and a stop-motion puppet child as they sing through a whirlwind romance turned Shakespearean tragedy.
Drama/Musical/Romance - 139 Minutes
Jungle Cruise
As safe and by the numbers as any potential Disney franchise. Will please all but amaze none.
Action/Adventure/Comedy - 127 Minutes
As safe and by the numbers as any potential Disney franchise. Will please all but amaze none.
Action/Adventure/Comedy - 127 Minutes
Old
Preposterous and unsettling, Old is middle-of-the-road Shyamalan. Neither a return to greatness nor a target of mockery - let's all appreciate there is a filmmaker out there habitually taking risks on outlandish ideas where he misses as much as he scores. Cinema is all the better for it.
Drama/Mystery/Thriller - 108 min
Preposterous and unsettling, Old is middle-of-the-road Shyamalan. Neither a return to greatness nor a target of mockery - let's all appreciate there is a filmmaker out there habitually taking risks on outlandish ideas where he misses as much as he scores. Cinema is all the better for it.
Drama/Mystery/Thriller - 108 min
Gunpowder Milkshake
The epitome of style over substance - gorgeously shot and framed in such a way for cinephiles to sit up and take notice. Also outrageously knee-capped by a skeletal script with a throwaway plot.
Action/Adventure/Thriller - 114 min
The epitome of style over substance - gorgeously shot and framed in such a way for cinephiles to sit up and take notice. Also outrageously knee-capped by a skeletal script with a throwaway plot.
Action/Adventure/Thriller - 114 min
Black Widow
Action and explosions aplenty, but Black Widow is a family drama at heart. The film soars with the accusatory glares around the dinner table, not with the car chases and big booms.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 133 Minutes
Action and explosions aplenty, but Black Widow is a family drama at heart. The film soars with the accusatory glares around the dinner table, not with the car chases and big booms.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 133 Minutes
Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)
When you see who showed up, the show they put on, and the musical communion shared by an entire, frustrated section of New York City, you will understand why they skipped the moon landing.
Documentary/Music - 117 Minutes
When you see who showed up, the show they put on, and the musical communion shared by an entire, frustrated section of New York City, you will understand why they skipped the moon landing.
Documentary/Music - 117 Minutes
The Forever Purge
I cannot say if you can only see one Purge film, then see this one. However, if you can only see one blood splatter dystopian nightmare this weekend and The Boss Baby is sold out, then The Forever Purge is the one for you. Happy 4th of July America.
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi - 103 Minutes
I cannot say if you can only see one Purge film, then see this one. However, if you can only see one blood splatter dystopian nightmare this weekend and The Boss Baby is sold out, then The Forever Purge is the one for you. Happy 4th of July America.
Action/Horror/Sci-Fi - 103 Minutes
The Boss Baby: Family Business
Parents won't nap through it and the kids will laugh. The not so revolutionary, but entirely capable Boss Baby sequel is a solid escape from oppressive summer heat and a chance to chuckle at goofy one-liners which neither challenge nor lowball anyone watching.
Animation/Adventure/Comedy - 107 Minutes
Parents won't nap through it and the kids will laugh. The not so revolutionary, but entirely capable Boss Baby sequel is a solid escape from oppressive summer heat and a chance to chuckle at goofy one-liners which neither challenge nor lowball anyone watching.
Animation/Adventure/Comedy - 107 Minutes
2021 AFI DOCS Film Festival
Another year and another cavalcade of documentary revelry. Find out my problems with the gala Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night selections, which films knocked my socks off, and a highly subjective and incomplete list based on which films left their marks.
Another year and another cavalcade of documentary revelry. Find out my problems with the gala Opening Night, Centerpiece, and Closing Night selections, which films knocked my socks off, and a highly subjective and incomplete list based on which films left their marks.
Now On DVD
