Imagine if Stanley Kubrick, David Cronenberg, Darren Aronofsky and Gaspar Noe collaborated on a film. If they did, it might look something like Coralie Fargeat’s extraordinary The Substance, a film that blends multiple elements both familiar and innovative into something truly unique and utterly unforgettable. To unpack the (inevitably) reductive comparison, The Substance features spaces…
Dennis Quaid’s perverse Peeping Tom is the central psycho in director Deon Taylor’s home invasion hokum, The Intruder. Formulaic and faceless, Taylor’s (“Traffik”) domestic drama merely echoes the familiar foundations of other generic goosebump-instilling thrillers chronicling the exploits of a stalking menace out to majorly inconvenience the tranquility of a passionate married couple. From yesteryear’s…
Every dog movie has its day . . . except for THIS one. If one was upset and heartbroken when the canine in “Marley & Me” was put down at the end, then prepare to be even more aghast when FOUR dogs come and go in this latest Universal release, A Dog’s Purpose, directed by…
Perhaps naming a motion picture Truth is opening the door to criticism over the real validity of its contents — more so when the film is based on true events and events that are still relevant in the public conscious, no less. But regardless of some of its debatable content, James Vanderbilt’s directorial debut admirably…
“At some point you have to choose between life and fiction. The two are very close, but they never actually touch.” These words of Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal apply as much to their directorial debut, The Words, as they do to the story within it. A touching drama about the world of writing, this…
I’ll cut to the chase in my description of Playing for Keeps right away. It’s simply “Kicking & Screaming” with sex — and without Will Ferrell (if the two are mutually exclusive). It also proves that if you are Gerard Butler and arrive in town to coach a child’s soccer team, several deranged women will…
What to Expect When You’re Expecting. It’s “New Year’s Eve” in the neo-natal unit; “Valentine’s Day” with a uterus; “Knocked Up” times five. Unfortunately, that’s about the best I can about this film featuring the ups and downs of having a baby. In an attempt to jump on the multi-story, large cast bandwagon, director Kirk…
