Who doesn’t want a movie to start and end and basically be one big bang? More conflict (and guns) brings better drama, right? In the case of Free Fire, that axiom does not, regrettably, hold true. The film is about an arms deal that goes terribly wrong — and because it goes so very wrong,…
While a great deal of uninformed critics seem to be falling all over themselves about The Fate of the Furious (the Rotten Tomatoes website actually states, “The Fate of the Furious opens a new chapter in the franchise, fueled by the same infectious cast chemistry and over-the-top action fans have come to expect.”), the eighth…
Despite taking place largely in a single location, Fabio Guaglione and Fabio Resinaro’s film, Mine, manages to tell a varied story of life experiences, a story that touches on family history, personal regrets and misunderstandings, and even a subtle political critique of US militarism. Playing like a cross between “The Hurt Locker” and “127 Hours,”…
Philosopher Henri Bergson said that once people begin sensing that something is amiss and start looking for answers, “inner knowledge and anomalous outer experiences show them a side of reality others are oblivious to […]” In Personal Shopper, French director Olivier Assayas (“Clouds of Sils Maria”) succeeds in reminding us, as Shakespeare suggested, that there…
This mediocre captivity-and-ordeal thriller, Valley of Ditches, is bound up in some atmospheric visuals and moody dark ambient music, but it’s too vague and too shallow to make a real impact. Its initially bold premise soon gives way to repetition — and frankly the simple hope that none of the characters will utter any more…
Based on a popular graphic novel by Marasume Shirow and directed by Rupert Sanders (“Snow White and the Huntsman”), Ghost in the Shell is a visually stunning experience with a fine core performance by Scarlett Johansson (“Captain America: Civil War”), but it borrows so much of other, mostly better science fiction films and TV series,…
After experiencing a tragedy, a grieving young couple escapes to the Bahamas in an attempt to mend their emotional scars. Nadine (Dree Hemingway, “While We’re Young”) retreats to alcoholism to cope, while her husband Lewis (Lakeith Stanfield, “Get Out”) endlessly struggles to connect with her again. Unknowingly, the two find themselves caught in the middle…
