Tis the season for problematic films. Not only is The Upside a remake of the French hit The Intouchables (2011), but it was an American remake produced by the now defunct Weinstein Company. The Upside debuted at The Toronto Film Festival in 2017, where those who attended screenings panned it. While The Weinstein Company’s assets, […]
“A lot of stuff happens in Marwen that doesn’t make sense”. The fact that Robert Zemeckis new film is about a hate crime victim who wears high heels isn’t what doesn’t make sense, that’s actually explained as part of Mark Hogancamp’s own personal therapy. What doesn’t make sense is why Zemeckis thought balancing live action
No, this isn’t a sequel to “Maid in Manhattan,” you know, the other Jennifer Lopez movie where she is a poor working class New Yorker who finds herself in a lie that allows her to live among the wealthy elite until the truth comes out. No, “Second Act” is very different. It’s a movie about
The title doesn’t do the movie any favors, nor does the fact that what Viper Club actually means, is referenced so little in the script, it doesn’t promote the films interest. Viper Club is a composite film of American freelance journalists, who risk their lives to report from war zones that American media won’t travel.
The title of Melissa McCarthy’s new film could also be a question to critics and audiences who have watched her career dive bomb in the last couple of years. She’s gone downhill since blasting onto the film scene with “Bridesmaids,” the introduction to her one-note comedy routine that earned her an Oscar nomination. “Can You
After focusing on people in their twilight years in films like “I’ll See You in My Dreams” and “The Hero,” promising new writer/director Brett Haley has shifted his focus. “Hearts Beat Loud” is first and foremost a father/daughter “dramedy.” It is also a film about music and a story about difficult choices. Haley and screenwriting
In many ways director Paul Schrader’s new film First Reformed could work as a double feature with last year’s Novitiate. It’s a dark piece on the complicated modern life of a minister dealing with his own internal demons. First Reformed is a twisted tale, not unlike the morally conflicted films in Schrader’s repertoire such as
Director Andrew Dosunmu’s decision to shoot Where is Kyra entirely in natural light greatly hinders what could have been a comeback performance for Michelle Pfeiffer. His script puts Pfeiffer in a financial crisis that will have the audience asking what they might do if it were them. The story has an interesting premise and peaks
The time for questioning the motives of Liam Neeson’s choice in action movie scripts is over and now we must question his sanity. In his forth collaboration with director Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop, Run All Night), Neeson once again takes part in a formulaic action movie that’s predictable and unrealistic. The Commuter commits unforgivable cinematic sin
Justin Timberlake’s character describes himself as “poetic by nature”. He is of course taking on the Woody Allen persona in the filmmaker’s new flick. The poetry fades quickly in Wonder Wheel as it opens on the most beautiful images of 1950’s Coney Island. A smorgasbord of color for the eyeballs, you don’t know where to