In recent years, Hollywood has taken a renewed interest in Russia, specifically as a threat to the US. The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) continues this pattern, following the trend of such films as “The Sum of All Fears,” “The Bourne Supremacy,” “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol,” “Salt” and the TV series…
Conceptual films are always a welcome change from the norm. It takes vision and courage to put together a complex film of this nature and form a whole world without necessarily having to explain it all. Phobias, although an anthology, falls in this category. It has a backdrop that serves as a through subplot that…
Director James Gray, whose last film, “The Lost City of Z,” garnered serious praise upon release in 2016, has continued his win streak in the exploratory sci-fi film Ad Astra, the Latin phrase for “to the stars.” This Brad Pitt vehicle stands as a powerful character study within a plausible near-future universe, with a hefty…
Dead Squad: Temple of the Undead is a full-fledged assault on your brain, particularly the pleasure center parts that produce serotonin and dopamine. If you have the endurance to stick it out to its conclusions, your only happiness will be derived from the arrival of the end credits. I know it seems like I’m hedging…
Let’s get this out of the way immediately. Overlord isn’t another “Cloverfield” film. Not even a secret one. No twist in the third act, no Easter eggs, no post-credits scene. Much as I like the whole “Twilight Zone” mystery box thing the franchise has going for it, “The Cloverfield Paradox” was a major fumble and…
According to Swedish director Ruben Östlund (“Force Majeure”), society today has turned its back on the social contract, the obligation that people not only express their concerns for other’s well-being but act upon them in concrete and meaningful ways. Winner of the Palme d’Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, Östlund’s latest film, The Square,…
The Belko Experiment begins in Bogotá, Colombia, as a man drives slowly down a street clogged with traffic and pedestrians, looking calmly around at his surroundings, taking in the sights. Eventually, he and a number of other employees arrive at the Belko Industries building which requires an intense security sweep of each car. Security cameras…
