Now In Theaters
2019 AFI DOCS Film Festival
Documentaries are not only good for your soul, they make you interesting at parties. Go see them.
Documentaries are not only good for your soul, they make you interesting at parties. Go see them.
The Dead Don't Die
This is deadpan writer/director Jim Jarmusch disguising deeper messages underneath layers of pop culture one-liners, puns, and a genre homage. Our world is changing, not for the better, and if we’re not careful, all the dead people are going to wake up and eat us.
Comedy/Fantasy/Horror - 105 Minutes
This is deadpan writer/director Jim Jarmusch disguising deeper messages underneath layers of pop culture one-liners, puns, and a genre homage. Our world is changing, not for the better, and if we’re not careful, all the dead people are going to wake up and eat us.
Comedy/Fantasy/Horror - 105 Minutes
Men in Black: International
Claims to refresh and expand the MiB universe, yet it sullies and cheapens the first film already maligned by sequels which tripped over their shoelaces instead of carrying the baton.
Action/Adventure/Comedy - 114 Minutes
Claims to refresh and expand the MiB universe, yet it sullies and cheapens the first film already maligned by sequels which tripped over their shoelaces instead of carrying the baton.
Action/Adventure/Comedy - 114 Minutes
Dark Phoenix
Jean Grey is supposed to be beyond powerful, a rival to Professor Xavier in pure cerebral output, but she never does anything worth watching. Dark Phoenix is not unique in its failure to thrill fans with Jean Grey’s theatrics, it is merely another attempt to do so - and like all the rest - you'll forget about it in a moment.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 113 Minutes
Jean Grey is supposed to be beyond powerful, a rival to Professor Xavier in pure cerebral output, but she never does anything worth watching. Dark Phoenix is not unique in its failure to thrill fans with Jean Grey’s theatrics, it is merely another attempt to do so - and like all the rest - you'll forget about it in a moment.
Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi - 113 Minutes
Rocketman
30 years of Elton John's ups and downs is middling material, but a few things catapult the product to fascinating - Taron Egerton's virtuoso performance, the soaring anthems, and one perfect scene.
Biography/Drama/Music - 121 Minutes
30 years of Elton John's ups and downs is middling material, but a few things catapult the product to fascinating - Taron Egerton's virtuoso performance, the soaring anthems, and one perfect scene.
Biography/Drama/Music - 121 Minutes
Booksmart
They are not out to shed their virginities; perhaps in a film first, these girls are wise enough to recognize sexual conquest and/or a file folder of miscellaneous bedroom experiences do not define their identities. This is why Booksmart rises above its genre peers and represent this year’s seniors very well.
Comedy - 102 Minutes
They are not out to shed their virginities; perhaps in a film first, these girls are wise enough to recognize sexual conquest and/or a file folder of miscellaneous bedroom experiences do not define their identities. This is why Booksmart rises above its genre peers and represent this year’s seniors very well.
Comedy - 102 Minutes
Meeting Gorbachev
While Americans derided him as the lead henchman of the Evil Empire, Gorbachev accomplished world changing feats - nuclear arms control, the promises of perestroika and glasnost, and had a large hand in the reunification of Germany. In history’s long arc, Gorbachev is going to win this period of Russian history; Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin will lose.
Documentary - 90 Minutes
While Americans derided him as the lead henchman of the Evil Empire, Gorbachev accomplished world changing feats - nuclear arms control, the promises of perestroika and glasnost, and had a large hand in the reunification of Germany. In history’s long arc, Gorbachev is going to win this period of Russian history; Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin will lose.
Documentary - 90 Minutes
Non-Fiction
The Parisian elite sip red wine and debate literature and the digital revolution in a rambling series of salon dialogues. If plot walked into the room, the characters would offer a polite head nod, and then criticize it behind its back.
Comedy/Drama/Romance - 108 Minutes
The Parisian elite sip red wine and debate literature and the digital revolution in a rambling series of salon dialogues. If plot walked into the room, the characters would offer a polite head nod, and then criticize it behind its back.
Comedy/Drama/Romance - 108 Minutes
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
Parabellum solidifies our addiction to John Wick. The quirky contemporary/medieval world expands to more exotic locales and offers new supporting characters to keep things fresh...along with dozens of DIY ways to kill bad guys.
Action/Crime/Thriller - 130 min
Parabellum solidifies our addiction to John Wick. The quirky contemporary/medieval world expands to more exotic locales and offers new supporting characters to keep things fresh...along with dozens of DIY ways to kill bad guys.
Action/Crime/Thriller - 130 min
All Is True
Kenneth Branagh explores what Shakespeare's retirement may have looked like - familial scandal, remorse for past mistakes, and attempts toward future happiness. Performances outshine a lackluster, melodramatic script - but check out Ian McKellen's few minutes on screen; he about walks away with the whole project.
Biography/Drama/History - 101 min
Kenneth Branagh explores what Shakespeare's retirement may have looked like - familial scandal, remorse for past mistakes, and attempts toward future happiness. Performances outshine a lackluster, melodramatic script - but check out Ian McKellen's few minutes on screen; he about walks away with the whole project.
Biography/Drama/History - 101 min
Wild Nights with Emily
Writer/director Madeleine Olnek is here to correct the record regarding Emily Dickinson through film. Emily was a vibrant person, full of passions and hopes - it was 19th century society and hypocritical, posthumous editors who decided to spin the narrative.
Comedy/History - 84 Minutes
Writer/director Madeleine Olnek is here to correct the record regarding Emily Dickinson through film. Emily was a vibrant person, full of passions and hopes - it was 19th century society and hypocritical, posthumous editors who decided to spin the narrative.
Comedy/History - 84 Minutes
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
There is nothing inherently mundane or repugnant about the creatures, so it must be the story. Pokémon Detective Pikachu’s part film noir, part buddy cop comedy is dull, shockingly routine, and ensures those of us unfamiliar with the realm walk away resolute we didn’t miss out on anything.
Animation/Action/Adventure - 104 Minutes
There is nothing inherently mundane or repugnant about the creatures, so it must be the story. Pokémon Detective Pikachu’s part film noir, part buddy cop comedy is dull, shockingly routine, and ensures those of us unfamiliar with the realm walk away resolute we didn’t miss out on anything.
Animation/Action/Adventure - 104 Minutes
Knock Down the House
Knock Down the House earned the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award, a sure sign this documentary is both feel-good, inspirational, and at times a call to action. The glass ceiling is broken and the playbook is written – Rachel Lears and her four heroines, notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, will now show others how to make the politically impossible, possible.
Documentary - 86 Minutes
Knock Down the House earned the Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award, a sure sign this documentary is both feel-good, inspirational, and at times a call to action. The glass ceiling is broken and the playbook is written – Rachel Lears and her four heroines, notably Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, will now show others how to make the politically impossible, possible.
Documentary - 86 Minutes
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Bi Gan is brave to attempt a feat like this and I wonder how much of it was to satisfy a creative need and how much it was for purposeful notoriety. Like much arthouse cinema, the film defies easy categorization and will truly appeal to only a thin slice of the movie-going public, but for those few, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is pure catnip.
Drama/Mystery - 133 Minutes
Bi Gan is brave to attempt a feat like this and I wonder how much of it was to satisfy a creative need and how much it was for purposeful notoriety. Like much arthouse cinema, the film defies easy categorization and will truly appeal to only a thin slice of the movie-going public, but for those few, Long Day’s Journey Into Night is pure catnip.
Drama/Mystery - 133 Minutes
Avengers: Endgame
Endgame is its own distinct film and not merely Infinity War's second half. There is much for fans to cheer as a decade of films says goodbye, but it lacks the jaw-dropping gut punch and the gravity of the first installment. The quest for victory is not always as intriguing as the original downfall.
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 181 Minutes
Endgame is its own distinct film and not merely Infinity War's second half. There is much for fans to cheer as a decade of films says goodbye, but it lacks the jaw-dropping gut punch and the gravity of the first installment. The quest for victory is not always as intriguing as the original downfall.
Action/Adventure/Fantasy - 181 Minutes
Red Joan
Smothered underneath mounds of morose melodrama lurks what may have been a riveting film regarding a wrenching moral dilemma. We’re here for wartime skullduggery and inner turmoil, not Bridget Jones’ Atomic Diary.
Biography/Drama/Romance - 101 Minutes
Smothered underneath mounds of morose melodrama lurks what may have been a riveting film regarding a wrenching moral dilemma. We’re here for wartime skullduggery and inner turmoil, not Bridget Jones’ Atomic Diary.
Biography/Drama/Romance - 101 Minutes
Now On DVD
