Movie Reviews

A children’s animated film which captures the snappy cool and dash of Steven Soderbergh’s Out of Sight and his Ocean’s Trilogy? I’m a sucker for heist films, so it’s not a question of “Sign me up,” but more “Give it to me. Now.” The Bad Guys – based on a series of children’s books by […]

It takes some time to settle into director/writer Eve Symington’s Brut Force, a quick-moving mystery set in California’s wine country. And why shouldn’t it take its time? Symington’s choice of milieu is a character in and of itself, a beautiful façade that hides dark secrets and histories. Basking in these views also serves to disarm […]

Director/writer Riley Stearns’ Dual brings to mind “The Replacement,” a fairly decent episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” in which one character is suddenly cloned and witnesses the clone living his life better than he ever did. The film also calls up shades of Robert S. Fiveson’s The Clonus Horror (and Michael Bay’s alleged [gotta stick […]

Imagine being whipped right into the bowl of a Kitchen Aid stand mixer while it’s running at full speed along with other ingredients; no purpose or recipe is known, but somehow, you’re going to find out soon enough what you’re making. That is how Spiritwalker works its thrilling magic – by not giving you any time to know […]

Aline, director/writer/star Valérie Lemercier’s fictional biography of singer Céline Dion, reminds me of the fictional restaurant McDowell’s and its namesake owner in John Landis’ 1988 film Coming to America. As Mr. McDowell himself puts it, “See, they’re McDonald’s… I’m McDowell’s. They got the Golden Arches; mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac; I […]

As a parent, I palpably felt the emotion and tilt of Everything Everywhere All At Once. This wondrous film about a put-upon family matriarch struggling to get by and to keep her house and business going may dress itself in the garb of a sci-fi fantasy adventure, but at its most vital, it is a […]