There isn’t one false moment in Darren Aronofsky’s The Wrestler. This is a nearly perfect film so far as I can tell, with no wasted opportunities, made with zero sense of pretension. The Wrestler is Aronofsky’s simplest, most straightforward film, but it’s no less accomplished than his other, more narratively ambitious efforts, which include Black…
What Maisie Knew is one of the most perceptive, honest, and devastating films that I’ve ever seen to involve a young child as its lead protagonist. Onata Aprile’s performance is unexpectedly extraordinary, projecting a sense of maturity well beyond her years (she was six years old at the time of filming), and is nothing less…
Guised in Paul Thomas Anderson’s sweeping period piece of dress making and desire and the tragically beautiful score by Johnny Greenwood is the simmering rage of Daniel Day-Lewis’ final film performance as Reynolds Woodcock, an obsessive and emotionally lethal fashion revolutionary in the best film of 2017, the Phantom Thread. There is so much to…
Darren Aronofsky returns to form with his latest darkly cerebral mother! The film pulls a bit of a bait and switch, leading the viewer to believe from the trailers that this is a reinterpretation of Roman Polanski’s ROSEMARY’S BABY. It’s not. Those who have followed Aronofsky’s career will somewhat know what to expect from this…
I’m Not Scared is a chilling film. Told exclusively through a child’s point of view, this 2003 Italian effort from director Gabriele Salvatores (the Oscar winning Mediterraneo) centers on a 10 year old boy who discovers that the people in his town have committed an unspeakable crime, and how he slowly realizes that evil lurks…
Flay is a 2017 American supernatural horror film starring Violett Beane, Elle LaMont and A. Michael Baldwin. Returning home after the mysterious death of her mother, an estranged daughter and recovering addict, inadvertently unleashes a centuries-old curse by acquiring a mysterious and alluring black chain that empowers Flay, a faceless killer who drags his victims to the netherworld and returns…
This film is note-perfect in every scene. Paul Mazursky always cut to the heart of things and this sort of movie is directly up my cat-loving, cinematic alley. I’ve watched this film a few times and each time I love it even more and I find new things to get excited about. Sentimental and very…
Margot Robbie dazzles in I, Tonya; which with its unbalanced and overly injected pop song narrative plays like someone trying to make a David O. Russell film that’s trying to be like a Martin Scorsese film. Yet at the same time the inconsistent tone and obnoxious performances compliment the ridiculous true story of Tonya Harding…
One Saturday morning, a middle-aged couple decide to make love in their car in the driveway to put a spark back in their marriage – only to find it has rather the opposite effect. Hilariously British with a sensual quirky charm to it The Driving Seat is a refreshing nine minutes of naughty fun. You…
Let us set aside Ridley Scott’s ridiculous comments about Blade Runner 2049, Star Wars, his handling of Kevin Spacey, and the fact that Fox has dumped his Alien: Covenant sequel and focus on his latest picture, All the Money in the World. The film is “based on a true story” and stars a wonderful Michelle…
If Bright wasn’t the next film by the director and star of Suicide Squad, the critical reception would have been much different, not to mention the negative critical stigma that revolves around a Netlfix original feature. Fact of the matter is Bright isn’t as good as it should have been, but it’s a lot…
Ingrid Goes West is a fabulous movie. Totally fucked up and completely of the moment, this down and dirty comedy-thriller gets a ton of mileage out of its superb cast, with a beyond-dedicated Aubrey Plaza bringing “the crazy” as a social media obsessed whack-a-do who stalks a vapid Instagram celebrity (brilliantly played by Elizabeth Olsen,…
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau is a painful documentary highlighting the challenges that Stanley faced while trying to mount his ambitious – and no doubt avant garde – reimagining of the classic material. Directed with a probing sense of mystery by David Gregory, this is an info-packed hour…
Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle tells the tale of 4 high-school kids who get sucked into a video game version of the infamous board game Jumanji. As our group of heroes arrive in the jungle they take on new avatar bodies. The jock of the group (Ser’ Darius Blain) has turned into his avatar who…
This isn’t our childhood Star Wars, nor is it deeply rooted in nostalgia. The Last Jedi continues the Skywalker saga with an inverted heroes journey of Kylo Ren and his continuous struggle with being pulled from the dark side back to the light, yet the film is this unorthodox mixture of overt silly comedy, beautiful…
Tony Scott’s slick, gritty and highly influential 2004 revenge thriller Man on Fire holds even more fiery resonance today than when it did upon first release. Brian Helgeland’s hard-nosed, straight-ahead screenplay set a simple foundation for Scott to run amok with his distinct brand of directorial tricks. The film is a stylistic tour de force…
