If you’re looking for one last vacation before school starts, “Beast” takes the audience to South Africa on a treacherous adventure. Depending on your expectations, this made-for-TV movie delivers predictable thrills, and suspense and functions mostly like a watered-down “Jurassic Park.” Baltasar Kormákur is a hit-or-miss director, with surprising nuance in thrillers like “Adrift” (2018), […]
This is a feel-good movie through and through, although rather pie-in-the sky. I gather the point of the story is that kindness begets kindness from a London dance hall to the House of Dior in Paris…except when it doesn’t. Mrs. Ada Harris (played superbly by Lesley Manville) is a kindly, sparkly cleaning woman who gets a
Brian (Earl) is an inventive soul whose house in Wales looks like a laboratory made from whatever he can find and bring home. He’s even made a cuckoo clock that can fly so the townspeople can check out the time in the sky wherever they are. Then one day he decides to make a robot to help
Was it serendipity or did the French filmmakers of Happening know to release their film at this precise time in the U.S.? Happening is something that everyone should see, given our current state of affairs in which Roe vs. Wade is likely to be overturned in the U.S. I have to think that director Audrey Diwan (and co-writer with
Topside is what a five year-old girl named Little (Farmer) living in the tunnels beneath New York City is told is above her. Her mother Nicki (Held) mysteriously disappears during the day and is with her at night and in the morning when she wakes up. But Little is quite alone during the day except for a
Marketing might make “The Outfit” look like a Guy Ritchie film, but subtlety is the fashion trend here. Directed and co-written by Graham Moore, the “Imitation Game” writer/producer takes the reins of his first feature film. His directing style is steady and focused, slowly unveiling a mob mystery that all takes place inside a suit
Australian actor-turned-director Anthony Hayes has created a pocket-style thriller that features three actors, a speedy running time and little dialogue. Ultimately about the downfall of greed, “Gold” has Zac Efron in the leading role, uncomfortable and dirty as the essence of his performance. As “Gold” introduces the audience into this not-so-distant future, the aesthetics of
This film might have had potential, but it needed disciplined editing; way too many dramatic elements were included, resulting in a hodgepodge that strains credulity, especially at the end. Antonio (Chon) is a tattoo artist who has trouble finding a job to support his wife Kathy (Vikander) and their two children, one a newborn. He often
A waaay out of the ordinary thriller. But you have to wait for it. First comes a set-up far too long, with old-men stories that have little interest for most of us. Terrance (Bernthal), Packie (Whigham), and Frank (Pollono) are friends from childhood. They bonded together during a horrific event early on, and since then, they have a special
This story will put a chill in any mother’s heart. It shows a reality that is hard to believe, even though we all recognize that it springs from truth. I’m not sure, but I figure that the 13 year-old girl shows a kind of heroism and strong character that is uncommon in one so young. This is not