The Arc of Oblivion The movie is called “The Arc of Oblivion” and it concerns many things, one of which is the futility of its own creation. Ian Cheney, who wrote and directed and narrates this film, is a kind of hoarder mostly of hard drives full of photographs, video and audio files from his […]
Thanksgiving In 2007, Eli Roth promised viewers that the film played during “Grindhouse” would feature all kind of meat. He has finally fulfilled that promise ten years later in “Thanksgiving.” And it was worth the wait. More than anything else I watched this year, “Thanksgiving” felt like a movie that could have been made between
Megalopolis Clearly, whatever impulse Francis Ford Coppola had when he decided to mix Virgil with Shakespeare, “Vertigo” with “The Fountainhead,” Robert Moses with film noir and sci-fi into one movie it was not the most actionable impulse. “Megalopolis,” which is extremely old in the making, has been on his mind for 40 years or more.
The Long Game A film concerning a Mexican American high school golf team in the 1950s sets up certain audience expectations. There will be sunlit greens (writer/director Julio Quintana worked with Terrence Malick), condescension and overt bigotry, setbacks, supportive wives and girlfriends, comfortingly nostalgic ’50s music, doubting family members, inspiring pep talks, a heartwarming victory.
Damsel “There are many tales of chivalry in which a brave knight rescues a lady in trouble. This is not one of them,” warns Millie Bobby Brown’s lush new fantasy film, so we know right from the start that there will be a damsel, she will be in distress, and she will have to save
Kung Fu Panda 4 Was it necessary for another “Kung Fu Panda” movie to be made? In 2016, the trilogy ended with Po, who is both a student and teacher, gaining respect from his mentor Shifu and The Furious Five. He proved his courage multiple times by fighting against all kinds of animal attackers to
The Killer “The Killer” is in many ways just what you would expect from a David Fincher movie about an assassin for hire, it is a detailed procedural about what they are forced to do as their world falls apart around them. And by telling the story of this deadly perfectionist who repeats phrases such
Look Into My Eyes For the last many years, Sundance Film Festival has given a platform for documentaries that have gone on to become some of the most successful in history. This year’s nonfiction slate was especially strong; it wasn’t just hagiographic bio docs about figures like Christopher Reeve, Luther Vandross and Frida Kahlo, but
Boy Kills World In a pivotal scene from “Boy Kills World,” a hyper action movie about a media-addicted killer who wants to avenge his family’s deaths, several enemies of the state are murdered on live TV. We don’t know what people think of these deaths or who the TV casualties are, but we do know
Reptile Benicio Del Toro moves with sinewy grace through writer-director Grant Singer’s debut feature “Reptile,” but the film can’t build a strong enough identity around him, and it eventually falls apart. Clearly inspired by David Fincher’s meticulousness Singer is also a music video vet who has worked with the Weeknd, Skrillex, Sam Smith and many
