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Dec 21

Dec 21 1917

The camera moves as if riding on the back of a ghost, creating perfect shot after perfect shot. It moves seamlessly from mounted on a vehicle to hand-held, all while maintaining Roger Deakins’ flawless vision. With no obvious cuts or editing artifice, you are left feeling as if you are actually there.

Stars Out - Knives Out

Dec 18

Dec 18 Stars Out - Knives Out

Something like star pitcher after star pitcher showing up in an all-star game to mow-down three batters and retire after a single inning. In a word, spectacular!

Crashing - Waves

Dec 8

Dec 8 Crashing - Waves

His films are able to wick the emotion out of their stories and put them right there on the surface. Whether or not you enjoy that sort of nakedly affecting filmmaking feels entirely subjective. But what is not subjective is that this could have been more.

The Gang's All Here - The Irishman

Dec 3

Dec 3 The Gang's All Here - The Irishman

Life is long, hard and ultimately a lie. That is the message Scorsese & Co. seeks to impart.

Pieces of You - Marriage Story

Nov 22

Nov 22 Pieces of You - Marriage Story

In both major and minor strokes, it is an unforgettable experience that will make you examine the through lines relative to your own life. There are pieces of you in this story because there are pieces of all of us.

Dolemite Is My Name

Nov 10

Nov 10 Dolemite Is My Name

With “Dolemite Is My Name,” Eddie Murphy is back; and not just back in the sense of limelight, but back to doing what he does best. Making people laugh with his unique brand of incisive humor and irreverence.

More like Ford v Ford - Ford v Ferrari

Nov 7

Nov 7 More like Ford v Ford - Ford v Ferrari

There are laughs, there are thrills, there is pathos, and it all comes together about as well as one would expect. The problem is that when you started with so much, isn’t it fair to expect more?

Spin Cycle - The Laundromat

Nov 4

Nov 4 Spin Cycle - The Laundromat

It’s either the fancy version of a TV dinner or the fast food version of a premium steak. Either way, it gives you a lot to chew on.

Drown Me, Please - The Lighthouse

Oct 20

Oct 20 Drown Me, Please - The Lighthouse

In this case, its “timeless” themes serve as a euphemism for generic. Boiled down and captured properly, this is just another movie. Remove the showy elements and art school choices, and there is literally no reason to see this.

Until Nothing Is Left - Parasite

Oct 19

Oct 19 Until Nothing Is Left - Parasite

The film intricately places them inside this economic snow globe that none of them really created, and none of them will ever escape. This below that, that above this, and all below American.

No One Is Laughing Now - Joker

Oct 4

Oct 4 No One Is Laughing Now - Joker

Take a black piece of paper. Use a black magic marker to cover every inch of it. Envelope that paper in a black blanket and shoot it off into space. That is how dark Todd Phillips’ Joker is.

Somewhere Under The Rainbow - Judy

Oct 2

Oct 2 Somewhere Under The Rainbow - Judy

It is a fairly pedestrian, paint by numbers, portrait of a famous person whose cultural resonance has waned in the last few decades. The movie landscape is filled with examples of this—portraits that lack the contours of a life and the pizazz of an invented story.

All-American - Hustlers

Sep 19

Sep 19 All-American - Hustlers

Daniel Day Lewis in There Will Be Blood. Michael Douglas in Wall Street. Jennifer Lopez in Hustlers. That is the class this turn belongs in. It was a pleasure to watch someone so accurately capture Americana, and it was a pleasure to watch the film not stand in her way.

What A Mess - It Chapter Two

Sep 7

Sep 7 What A Mess - It Chapter Two

If you aren’t bowled over by the occasional quip from Bill Hader, you will 100% wish Pennywise would bite your head off next, because there’s not much else to enjoy here.

Aug 16

Aug 16 Tight - Luce

The plain message is maybe we never know anyone. The deeper message is maybe you never even know yourself.

The King Is Dead - The Lion King

Jul 30

Jul 30 The King Is Dead - The Lion King

If you are going to remake a nearly perfect film, make sure it is not a craven carbon copy. Infuse it with new ideas or daring angles. At least then, even if your movie is not revolutionary, no one can say it is what 2019’s The Lion King winds up being—boring.

Light Can't Hide The Darkness - Midsommar

Jul 11

Jul 11 Light Can't Hide The Darkness - Midsommar

Ari Aster isn’t afraid of you. But you should be afraid of him.

Jun 23

Jun 23 Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 has just enough fresh perspective to justify its own existence—which is more than can be said about the fourth entry in nearly every other franchise.

Lived In - The Last Black Man In San Francisco

Jun 15

Jun 15 Lived In - The Last Black Man In San Francisco

Everyone involved has lived with this story and this city long enough to know every bit of it. The result is a film that feels familiar from the first frame because it knows itself.

Jun 3

Jun 3 So-So - Ma

There were racial dynamics, class dynamics and so many other social strata right there to be considered, but the movie saunters past them as if blindfolded. The result is a movie that feels like it decided it was going to fail even before cameras started rolling.