Movie Review: Chapter & Verse (2015)
All of its potential and promise is thwarted by an incessant reliance on cliché. What’s left is a story that has nothing intriguing or ingenious to offer and so feels underwhelming from start to finish.
Movie Review: Gold (2016)
Matthew McConaughey (“Interstellar”) stars in Gold, a dreary rags-to-riches-to-rags-to-riches-to-rags tale directed by Stephen Gaghan (“Syriana”) that, while the Academy Award-winning actor (for “Dallas Buyers Club”) gives a passionate, above average performance (along with a perky Bryce Dallas Howard, “Pete’s Dragon”) in, the narrative of a 1980s mining company striking it rich is often muddled and…
Movie Review: The Founder (2016)
Years ago, I remember going to my local run-down McDonalds and while impatiently waiting for my greasy order to arrive, my restless eyes laid upon a bronze rectangular plaque of a middle-aged man named Ray Kroc. I wondered, “Who is this dude?” As I read the brief epitaph on the plaque, I learned he was…
Movie Review: Parasites (2016)
The first rule of a frightening film, as outlined in meta masterpieces like “The Cabin in the Woods” and “Scream,” is that in order to be punished, our protagonists must first transgress. Going somewhere they shouldn’t, engaging in nefarious activities, hurting another person (whether they meant to or not) . . . one or all…
Movie Review: Legend (2015)
One’s enjoyment (or better yet, interest) in Legend, as written and directed by Brian Helgeland (an Academy Award winner for “L.A. Confidential” and a Razzie winner for “The Postman”), will most likely hinge on one’s ability to understand the deep Cockney accent everyone speaks here (even a universal translator would not help with much of…
Movie Review: xXx: Return of Xander Cage (2017)
Words cannot express how incredibly overwrought, insipid, hyperactive and foolishly exaggerated the third entry into the action-packed “xXx” film franchise is in the nonsensical and numbing operative spectacle, xXx: Return of Xander Cage. Monosyllabic muscle-bound action star Vin Diesel revisits the rollicking and roguish skin of athletic spy/sports enthusiast Xander Cage in yet another splashy…
Movie Review: Live by Night (2016)
The signs for Live by Night are promising. Ben Affleck’s previous directorial offerings — “Gone Baby Gone,” “The Town,” “Argo” — showed ever increasing confidence and skill. The period gangster sub-genre has delivered such classics as “The Godfather,” “The Godfather: Part II” and “Once Upon a Time in America.” The source material, Dennis Lehane’s epic,…