“Subversive Sylvester Stallone Story ‘Samaritan’ Can’t Stick Superhero Landing”

Not a “good” Samaritan; not a “bad” Samaritan; just a “wish it was better but I appreciate what it is” Samaritan. Continue reading →

Review: Lemon, 2017, dir. Janicza Bravo

Here it is, at long last (that is, if you think six months qualifies as “long”): My review of Janicza Bravo’s excellent debut feature film, Lemon, a chronicle of defective but self-aggrandizing whiteness, starring Bravo’s husband Brett Gelman (also serving here as co-writer; they’re a real team).  There are reasons and then some why I like … Continue reading →

Review: Amira & Sam, 2015, dir. Sean Mullin

“Well, here’s a thoroughly unexpected concept for a movie: a romantic comedy cast in the shadow of America’s involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan. On paper, Sean Mullin’s Amira & Sam sounds like a dicey prospect, but in practice, the marriage between its lighthearted mode and the United States’ contentious overseas campaigns works beautifully. Mullin’s film … Continue reading →