Madeleine Collins (Barraud, 2021)
The complaint that a film has no likable characters or no one that the viewer can relate to is one of those critical tropes that is irritating when someone else… Continue reading "Madeleine Collins (Barraud, 2021)"
The complaint that a film has no likable characters or no one that the viewer can relate to is one of those critical tropes that is irritating when someone else… Continue reading "Madeleine Collins (Barraud, 2021)"
I am not a formal member of the Church of Nolan, though I do think he is the most consistently ambitious commercial director working today. And I think that’s a… Continue reading "Oppenheimer (Nolan, 2023)"
The Problem of the Hero is one of those smartly written, deeply engrossing films that mostly consists of two characters debating important ideas. The debate surrounds the theatrical adaptation of… Continue reading "The Problem of the Hero (Dozier, 2023)"
I did not enter the theater with high expectations for this one despite the hype. And for the first thirty minutes or so, it felt like my cynical side was… Continue reading "Mission Impossible Dead Reckoning Part One (McQuarrie, 2023)"
“He’s the only one of you who doesn’t hate himself.” So says Mantis (Pom Klementieff) about Drax (Dave Bautista), in one of those character-developing moments that helps explain what makes… Continue reading "Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3 (Gunn, 2023)"
All I have to say about Honor Among Thieves is that I enjoyed it in a Saturday matinee kind of way. Since that leaves me anywhere from 350 to 750… Continue reading "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (Daley & Goldstein, 2023)"
“They all want to be writers and none of them like to read…” A Little White Lie takes place at a fictional university where faculty think that having a J.D.… Continue reading "A Little White Lie (Maren, 2023)"
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania felt like a return to what Marvel does best. That is, I realize, the most backhanded compliment I’ve ever given a film on this blog… Continue reading "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania"
Prison is a kind of boxing ring, Michal opines to Jan (Milan OndrĂk). All life is a boxing ring. That sort of tell-don’t-show writing doesn’t necessarily disqualify a film from… Continue reading "Shadowplay (Bebjak, 2022)"
My film year was sandwiched by a pair of disappointments. It was marked on the front end by the release of The Batman, a reboot of a beloved character that… Continue reading "Living (Hermanus, 2022)"