When a film debuting during awards season skips all three major festivals (Telluride, TIFF, Venice) it’s usually a bad sign. “Bohemian Rhapsody” did just that, assuring skeptics they simply weren’t finished in time for the festival deadlines. However trouble off camera started for this production long before the final cut was yelled. X-Men director Bryan […]
There are a lot of great heartfelt moments in Elizabeth Chomko’s directorial debut, including the opening scene where the musical score and images really settle you into your seat. What follows is an intimate look at Alzheimer’s through the eyes of the children dealing with their mother. Oscar winner Hilary Swank is mounting a slow
Houston born director Joseph Kahn’s latest film is not only his most prolific but his most subversively important. On the outside, Bodied, produced by Eminem, is a rap battle film with strong language, examining everything from racism to white privilege. Kahn’s script is more than just a relevant tool that creatively explores racial dynamics, but
The title of Melissa McCarthy’s new film could also be a question to critics and audiences who have watched her career dive bomb in the last couple of years. She’s gone downhill since blasting onto the film scene with “Bridesmaids,” the introduction to her one-note comedy routine that earned her an Oscar nomination. “Can You
Just what we need, a submarine action flick depicting Americans and Russians working together for the greater good. Hunter Killer is suspenseful for sure, but not very engaging, because it’s completely ludicrous. Nearly anytime you see Gerard Butler’s name on a movie, you better wait for matinee pricing or a dollar rental, otherwise, you are
Jean-Marc Vallée’s “Wild” is the best comparison for what to expect with Belgium director Felix Van Groeningen’s “Beautiful Boy.” Both films focus on the struggle with addiction and despair. “Beautiful Boy” based on two novels, one from the point of view of the father, the other from the son. It is a gripping and thoroughly
Jonah Hill is now a filmmaker. The Oscar-nominated actor (The Wolf of Wall Street) has joined the slew of young actors sliding into the director’s chair. The vile, immature antics we’ve come to expect from Hill on screen (Superbad, 21 Jump Street) are still here in this skateboarding nostalgia trip appropriately titled Mid 90’s. It doesn’t
Gustav Möller’s directorial debut is impressive on a variety of fronts. What appears to be another single actor, solitary film, like Phone Booth or Locke, is equally taught and thrilling. Möller and his team create suspense with immaculate sound design that helps the viewer visualize what’s happening on the other side of the phone. The
It’s puzzling to understand what interest French actress turned director Mélanie Laurent (“Operation Finale”) had in adapting Nic Pizzolatto’s (“True Crime”) first novel to film. She wasn’t the first choice for director, and Ben Foster replaced European Matthias Schoenaerts, the first choice for the lead role. The biggest gaffe here, not only is a film
Taking advantage of the politically charged and divided society, actor turned director Ike Barinholtz (Blockers) was inspired by his own family Thanksgiving conversation to write this script. The Oath isn’t the first film to try and make a profit off Trump era division, nor is it likely to be the last. One line in The Oath even uses the