20th Century Women (Mills, 2016)
Mills loves the small moments of life too much to let them add up to any grand narrative. He would rather just watch the memories float by, like a slideshow at a birthday party or graduation.
Category: Reviews
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3 Screenshots: La La Land
Much has been inked so far about the film's charm and its "follow your dreams" theme. I can agree with that assessment, but I think La La Land is a more sober, ambiguous film (even before the end) than everyone is giving it credit for.
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Lion (Davis, 2016)
Lion is a movie that grapples with physical geography but not human geography. We get no real sense of what being Indian might mean to Saroo or whether his home has any pull independent of his childhood memories.
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Right Now, Wrong Then (Hong, 2015)
From the order of the title cards, the film appears to be providing a commentary that states Cheonsoo’s actions in the second half are much more laudable than his actions in the first, even though some later scenes demonstrate how inconsiderate he still can be, and his inflated opinion of himself never vanishes.
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (Edwards, 2016)
Star Wars is a brand now, not a cultural touchstone.
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The Fight Within (Gordon, 2016)
The Fight Within, a Christian-themed movie about a reluctant Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter, begins with Logan Chandler (John Major Davis) honing his skills working out at the punching bag. With each jab and thrust he flashes back to his father angrily admonishing him for some error in form or perceived error in character.
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O.J. and Amanda: Will Television Productions Revitalize the Documentary?
You know awards season is approach (or well underway), when people start making short lists of documentaries. What critics groups have to say about Fantastic Beasts, Doctor Strange, or Rogue One is unlikely to make much difference to these films' bottom lines. But for films that move from festival circuit almost directly to the long tail, every bit of recognition counts.
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New Life (Waters, 2016)
New Life is one of those Christian movies that is so earnest and so sweet that one almost feels guilty about being indifferent towards it.
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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Zwick, 2016)
Tom Cruise is not my ideal choice to play Jack Reacher; let's just get that out of the way.
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Shut Up and Sing!
Monkeys on the barricades Are warning us to back away They form commissions trying to find The next one they can crucify –“Easy Silence,” The Dixie Chicks