“Ruben Brandt, Collector” is the closest thing to an animated “Mission: Impossible” movie we’ll ever get. It’s a global action/adventure heist mystery thriller that’s literally set inside the art world. Like a picture, this film is worth a thousand words. However, like many paintings, it’s also very difficult to describe, interpret and understand. “Ruben Brandt, […]
Director Yorgos Lanthimos has made some rather, well, quirky films. 2016’s “The Lobster” left audiences puzzled, yet his screenplay earned him an Oscar nomination. His latest movie is slightly more mainstream yet at the same time very niche. “The Favourite” is a dark comedic take on the 18th Century British monarchy, with an unstable Queen […]
Two years ago, young actor Lucas Hedges gave a breakthrough, Oscar-nominated performance in “Manchester by the Sea”. Now, following roles in 2017’s “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” and this year’s “mid90s” and “Boy Erased”, Hedges stars in his father’s latest film. “Ben is Back” is directed by Peter Hedges (“Dan in Real Life”, “The Odd […]
How far would you go to be with the love of your life? That’s the big question for the two main characters in “Cold War”. This is the latest film from director Pawel Pawlikowski. He helmed 2013’s “Ida”, which won the Oscar for Best Foreign-Language Film. “Cold War” is 2018’s Academy Award entry from Poland, […]
“Roma” is Academy Award-winning director Alfonso Cuaron’s follow-up to 2013’s “Gravity”. It’s dramatically different in scope as that space epic, though just as visually stunning. (And there’s a fun moment in “Roma” when characters are watching a movie in which an astronaut is trying to save another as they’re falling towards Earth. Cuaron has had a […]
“The Front Runner” stars Hugh Jackman as former Presidential candidate and scandal-marred political figure, Gary Hart. It’s the first non-musical, dramatic role of Jackman’s post-Wolverine career. Jackman does get one six-second shouting moment that will forever be used on his highlight reel. But an uneven script and superficial treatment of the subject matter hold the […]
“Vox Lux” is one of the most… unique movies of 2018. This is the second feature film directed by 30-year-old Brady Corbet, who has transitioned to work behind the camera following a slew of acting roles in films such as “Clouds of Sils Maria” and “While We’re Young”. Corbet also wrote the “Vox Lux” screenplay. […]
The Coen Brothers were coined as “quirky” before “quirky” moviemaking became commonplace. For me their best early film (with apologizes to “Fargo” fans) is “Raising Arizona”. Some of their more recent efforts – “Burn After Reading”, “True Grit”, “Inside Llewyn Davis” and “Hail, Caesar!” – aren’t necessarily bad movies – but all of them fall […]
Director Steve McQueen could’ve chosen any project for his follow-up to 2013’s Oscar-winning Best Picture “12 Years a Slave”. An all-star, action, crime, revenge, heist, political drama wouldn’t have been my first guess. McQueen is the director and co-writer (with “Gone Girl”’s Gillian Flynn) of “Widows”. The story, based on an 80s British TV series, […]
Jonah Hill has starred in some of the biggest comedies, dramas and animated films of the past decade. Some of his on-screen work has been impressive, including his Oscar nominated performance in “Moneyball” and supporting role in this summer’s little-seen “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot”. But he’s still got a long way […]