Sleeping Dogs The Russell Crowe comeback feels imminent. I have been saying that since “The Nice Guys,” so I could be wrong. But there is no denying that he’s reached a point in his career where he has nothing left to prove, and often is the best thing about whatever project he’s in. (He made […]
The Teachers’ Lounge Creating an intense thriller about everyday events is no small feat. But when one does come along, it’s a thing of beauty. And Ilker Çatak’s “The Teacher’s Lounge” is a thing of beauty. It might just be the best movie in this genre since “Uncut Gems” another film where I spent the
Kandahar I am in favor of a good Gerard Butler movie. As for the geopolitics part, I don’t think so. Actually, it’s even less when it is not juicy or full of actions. Directed by Ric Roman Waugh (who guided Butler through 2019’s “Angel Has Fallen” and 2020’s “Greenland”), this picture has Tom Harris (Butler)
Strays First things first: I knew going in that I was always going to be a sucker for “Strays.” We’re a Boston Terrier family through and through, and I’ve always wondered what our dogs would say if they could talk. (I can’t be the only one who entertains these sorts of lunatic ideas.) So the
Plane “Plane” is an action movie where the dumb title the only thing that’s memorable about it isn’t an artistic statement, it’s an alibi. All of its laziness with character development, plotting, action sequences, etc., suddenly seems quaint if not winking once it convinces you that it’s this stupid. Pitch it as Gerard Butler on
My Old Ass It’s always tempting to look for themes at Sundance. Art reflects the world in which it was made, and independent cinema often finds commonality through happenstance. At its best, it captures something we’re all feeling or thinking, without even knowing it. There are about a dozen or so films at Sundance 2024
Origin An inquisitive filmmaker, Ava DuVernay likes to interrogate social structures and collective sorrow. Her latest film, a sprawling investigative epic called “Origin,” has one scene that blends all of her interests with all of her rigor. Isabel Wilkerson (Aunjanue Ellis), fresh off a sold-out public talk for her book The Warmth of Other Suns,
Luther: The Fallen Sun James Bond is not necessary for Idris Elba. He has John Luther. In the interview, he said that the British actor who had been playing this role in television for almost 10 years will be starring in “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” a feature length continuation of BBC crime drama, shifting all
Problemista After breaking out on “Saturday Night Live” with his sketches, Julio Torres has been thought of as a comedian of the surreal. From that point, he went on to co-create and star in the strange horror comedy series “Los Espookys” as Andrés, the deadpan blue haired diva, and in the solo special “My Favorite
Between the Temples This year, the 2024 United States Dramatic Competition at Sundance had their expected mix of voices from the indie scene stories from different genders, races, classes and backgrounds. All three movies in this dispatch could be called character studies, but what’s exciting is how vastly different those characters are and that one
