The catch-up continues with one of 2023’s true hoots and hollers, because anything that puts Nazis on blast today is worth at least 3 stars off the bat. Continue reading
Filed under Movie Reviews …
“‘The League’ Documents a Well-Rounded Chapter in Baseball History”
I consider the line between “this could’ve been a magazine article” and “this needed to be a movie” perilously thin, which is why I run into the problem of necessity with documentaries all the time: Did this have to be a movie? Couldn’t this have been a written piece? The kicker here, regarding Sam Pollard’s The League, … Continue reading
“For a Reunited John Slattery and Jon Hamm, Less Is ‘Maggie Moore(s)'”
Strictly speaking not a reunion, but this latest team-up between two handsomes is fruitful nonetheless. Continue reading
“‘Dalíland’ Is a Depressingly Normal Biopic of a Surrealist”
Normalizing Dalí is like taking the alcohol out of beer. Continue reading
“It’ll Take More Than Confession To Save ‘Padre Pio'”
Among other things: A recasting of the lead, a rewriting of the script, a reshooting of thy’know what, just scrap the whole thing and fucking start over. Continue reading
“The Spirit of Alan J. Pakula Lives in ‘Chile ’76′”
Lemme tell you all: I’m gettin’ real fucking sick of this “Alfred Hitchcock” guy. Continue reading
“Scott Walker’s ‘The Tank’ Runs on Empty”
A movie that proves a creature feature needs slightly more in the tank than the creature. Or the feature. Continue reading
“The Monsters Are ‘Unwelcome’ But the Movie Can Come Right In”
Au contraire, old-school puppeteering monster movies are always welcome! Continue reading
“In 2009, Nicolas Cage Made An Insane Yet Thoughtful Thriller”
AKA, The Parable Of The Lucky Crack Pipe. Continue reading
“‘Boston Strangler’‘s Murky Palette Smothers Its True-Crime Chills”
Praise be for restraint with Boston accents in true-life crime thrillers. Continue reading
“‘Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre’ Is Jason Statham and Guy Ritchie By the Numbers”
When too much of a good thing is actually too much, and not enough of a separate good thing isn’t enough. Continue reading
“Begun, the ‘Unicorn Wars’ Have”
Let me stress this now: Parents, don’t show this to your kids. Continue reading
“Frances O’Connor’s ‘Emily’ Fills in the Blanks On the Reclusive Bronte’s Life”
When taking liberties with a real person’s life goes very, very right. Continue reading
“In ‘Kompromat,’ Truth Is Compromised”
A film so dull that I could hardly bring myself to write my review. Continue reading
“Another Clunky, Graceless COVID Movie, ‘Life Upside Down’ Squanders Its Stir-Crazy Cast”
“Now, this is a story all about how
My life got flipped-turned upside down
By COVID. No, I’m not going to try and
Continue this ridiculous Fresh Prince gag.” Continue reading
Sundance ’23 Review Round-Up
Third annual edition of “Andy watches Sundance movies at home,” engage. Continue reading
“Parenting Is a Horror Story in ‘There’s Something Wrong with the Children'”
But, on the “good news” front, there’s nothing wrong with “There’s Something Wrong with the Children.” Continue reading
“Alice Diop’s ‘Saint Omer’ Is a Harrowing Look at Ambivalent Motherhood”
One of the most severe movies of 2022 / 2023 is also one of the most subtly constructed. Continue reading
“Get Ghosted By Pete Ohs’ ‘Jethica'”
When in doubt, and when in a pandemic, drive to the middle of nowhere and shoot a ghost story movie about isolated people. Continue reading
“‘Kids vs. Aliens’ vs. Tolerance For Intentionally Crummy Cinema”
There’s a certain something – jay nay say kwa, I think the French say – that movies purposefully made to look amateur need to excuse themselves. This movie does not have that. Continue reading