The cerebral time-travel thriller Counter Clockwise is quite a piece of work, with a punchy script and tight editing and direction, all set to an eerie score. If you enjoyed Shane Carruth’s “Primer,” take a gander at this one — it has all of the intriguing metaphysical concepts, but is a little easier to follow….
The new-look Spider-Man (Tom Holland) made a big splash in “Captain America: Civil War” and he is sure to do so in his latest rebooted effort, Spider-Man: Homecoming. I say this because Marvel is involved in the production to rub off some of the bad mojo Sony has dripped upon the franchise over the past…
Well, in case you were wondering, Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista) is still a big buffoon who doesn’t understand nuance. Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) still has the hots for Gamora (Zoe Saldana) who may finally be enjoying the attention. Rocket (Bradley Cooper) still has a hard-on for blowing things up, but mostly on display in…
From its opening shot of a house both sleek and warm to its transcendent finale, Arrival arrests attention with a grasp that is firm yet ephemeral. It is a sublime and profound experience, touching its audience on an emotional, intellectual and spiritual level, a film that declares both its originality and its ancestry. And what…
Isaac Ezban’s The Similars (Los Parecidos) is an inventive, daring psychological thriller about eight people stranded in a remote bus depot during a never-ending thunderstorm. It’s relatively short (89 minutes) and exquisitely sweet with intensity and mystery that grow with each passing moment. It’s dark, it’s rainy, and poor Ulises (Gustavo Sánchez Parra, “Get the…
The latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a curious film of links. There are links between its world and the wider MCU. The central premise depends on links between different dimensions, from which sorcerers draw and utilize mystical energy. And it manages the tricky task of forging links between magic and science,…
Part family drama, part mystery, part slapstick comedy, and part mad-scientist movie, Men & Chicken is one of the most bizarre and original films I’ve seen. Writer and director Anders Thomas Jensen combines all those elements like a mad-scientist himself, conjuring up an absurd story full of grotesque characters, and translates it on-screen in an…
