When the film opens on Beanie Feldstein (“Lady Bird,” “Booksmart”) sitting alone in a library wearing virtually the same schoolgirl uniform from her last two films, you are already disappointed that she isn’t trying something different. She does, however, have a British accent for this coming of age story. We watch her experience growing pains […]
If this were some studio funded buddy comedy, it would likely star Jason Segal, and or Jason Clarke. It’s not however, it’s a small indie film with some dark humor, more in the vein of Trey Edward Shults’ “Krisha”. The small-natured production value of “The Climb” is both charming and a bit infuriating for the
Director Michael Winterbottom and Steve Coogan reunite on this, their fourth film together. This time the duo are outside their ongoing “The Trip” franchise, tackling fame and greed. The 2019 film which debuted to little fanfare at the Toronto International Film Festival has its predictable moments of British sarcasm, most of the jokes play like
Diversity reigns in Amazon Prime’s latest original feature. Produced and starring Academy Award winner Viola Davis (Widows), re-teaming with her Oscar winning pal Allison Janney (I, Tonya) for a troop-scout, coming of age story, like few others. The screenplay comes from Lucy Alibar, the Academy Award nominated writer of Beasts of the Southern Wild. As
Writer/director Ira Sachs (Love is Strange, Keep the Lights On) has always been interested in exploring human interaction, more specifically, strenuous relationships. Noah Baumbach gets a mention in the script, but it’s Woody Allen that Sachs unintentionally molds the framing and pacing of Frankie after. The assembly of actors is quite impressive, just seeing Oscar
I shake my head when I see productions like Playing with Fire presented to kids. Clearly, the filmmakers don’t know kids very well (all the dialog for these kids sounds like an adult who still has childhood remnants in his psyche and/or has no idea what real children are like), and they portray adults behaving and sounding like children. The movie misses the
“Heil me,” says Adolf Hitler played by writer/director Taika Waititi in his new film “Jojo Rabbit.” It’s a comedy and a total farce, but does the genuine goodwill at the end of the film justify the means in which the Kiwi director gets there? “Jojo Rabbit” isn’t the first director to poke fun at one
You gotta ask yourself, who exactly is a rated-R movie about tweens actually for? Producer Seth Rogan obviously understands that kids under 17 will eventually see “Good Boys” despite the rating. Still, those kids can’t buy tickets to this movie that features crude sexual humor, and most adults won’t choose this movie over others playing at
Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell” was one of the most buzzed-about films at Sundance 2019 and that it’s no surprise it’s already breaking box office records in limited release. The film’s ingenious tagline, “Based on an actual lie” originated from a story aired on Guy Raz’s NPR show “This American Life.” Wang’s original screenplay, a likely Oscar
Make no mistake, “Stuber” is stupid. It appears that the filmmakers know this, embracing the stupidity and never once trying to hide it. “Stuber,” directed by Michael Dowse (“Goon”), is also witty at times. However, the ethnic, time-sensitive jokes throughout the film likely won’t be as humorous by the time this film hits DVD. The