If the musical biopic feels stale to you, then check out the defiantly non-traditional Born to Be Blue, which takes an impressionistic look at the troubled life of famed jazz musician Chet Baker, played by Ethan Hawke in yet another superb lead performance. Independently financed by multiple international production companies, the film was written, produced,…
Films like The Light Between Oceans are a tough and tricky task for some moviegoers, as pure, heartfelt, cinematic melodrama seems to be mostly out of fashion these days. I am not sure what some people were expecting from this visually lush, overtly sentimental, yet extremely dark film. While I would have preferred that this…
Hell or High Water is easily my second favorite movie of the year, not far behind the hard to classify gem Midnight Special. Of course Peter Berg produced (and was at one point attached to direct) this shit-kicking, dusty, Texas-set tale of brotherly love and bank robbing. It’s nothing revolutionary, but rather, underrated filmmaker David…
Afternoon Delight is a sweet little indie from 2013 that deserves more attention. Written and directed by Jill Soloway (Amazon’s award-winning series Transparent) and starring the always awesome Kathryn Hahn, this is an extremely funny, well observed, sexy comedy that hits all the proper notes of pathos and hilarity. Hahn’s wildly amusing and emotionally volatile…
With War Dogs, it’s clear that cinematic funnyman Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Due Date, Old School) wanted to make a film that would raise his dramatic credibility as a storyteller. Sort of akin to the transition that Adam McKay made with his blistering financial meltdown drama The Big Short, this new and extremely entertaining film…
Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig are both absolutely fantastic in the poignant and hilarious black comedy The Skeleton Twins. Any movie that’s able to wring laughs out of the topic of suicide knows a thing or two about sly, subtle, dangerous humor; this is a film that goes to some tough places and asks for…
45 Years loves its silence. This is a patient, slow burn drama about the power that secrets have over a very long marriage. Featuring immaculate performances from Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay, writer/director Andrew Haigh steeps his film in small details, both written and visual, with results that are nothing short of quietly riveting. A…
There aren’t many movies like Buzzard. This film takes chances, daring the audience to turn it off at times, and features one of the more angry antiheroes that I’ve seen in a movie since Observe and Report. Also taking some visual and thematic cues from Taxi Driver, Joel Potrykus’ movie feels dangerous by design, showcasing…
Michael Bay is back. Potentially forever lost to giant toy movies (which certainly have all had their moments of gee-whiz visual insanity), he’s stepped up and made an uncompromising modern combat film with 13 Hours. Smartly avoiding any overt political specifying or sketchy speculation, Chuck Hogan’s battle-ready screenplay, based on Mitchell Zuckoff’s book, is all…
The Russo Brothers know exactly how to blend all of the ingredients within the parameters of a Marvel super-production. Captain America was always my #1 Marvel hero, so it’s no surprise that Joe Johnston’s square-jawed and retro-futurist Captain America: The First Avenger remains my favorite film from within the MCU. The Russo brothers’ follow up,…
Shane Black’s The Nice Guys is an extremely entertaining throwback to the 80’s buddy-cop film, but switch out cops for bumbling private detectives, and add a dash of 70’s-flavored aroma to the cinematic atmosphere. Starring the improbably perfect pairing of Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as mismatched partners who start the film as enemies but…
At this point in our culture, it’s nearly impossible to discuss Top Gun with any amount of clear-eyed objectivity. The film is a milestone for all of its key contributors, a pop culture touchstone for multiple generations of people, and an often imitated and parodied relic from a very specific time and place in cinematic…
From the startling opening moments and continuing all throughout its entirely beguiling and metaphorical narrative, The Lobster presents us with another bizarre cinematic world from Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos (the Oscar nominated shock-fest Dogtooth and the funereal drama Alps), an emotional sadist who is constantly picking at his filmic subjects like itchy scabs, always trying…
Jeremy Saulnier is a cinematic madman. His 2007 debut Murder Party announced a new, distinctive voice on the indie movie scene, while his follow up, 2013’s blistering revenge thriller Blue Ruin demonstrated that a tremendous new talent had taken a huge leap forward. And now, with his latest film, the pulverizing horror-thriller Green Room, he’s…
This movie makes me happy. It makes me laugh. It leaves me with a fat grin on my face every time I see it. Jack Nicholson as POTUS and a sleazy car salesman in the same film! I can remember seeing this bit of craziness on opening night 20 years ago (this December!), hot on…
The experience of watching Midnight Special was akin to eating 50 Oreos with a humongous glass of ice cold milk. In short, I loved every single second of this fantastic film, but I’m not too surprised, considering how Jeff Nichols has only made quality films, with his sophomore effort, Take Shelter, registering as a masterpiece…
