Martin McDonagh’s (“Seven Psychopaths”) Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is a mix of black (and politically incorrect) comedy and heartfelt drama that takes us on a wild, mostly improbable but highly entertaining ride. Set in the fictional town of Ebbing, Missouri, Frances McDormand (“Burn After Reading”), who carries the film in one of her best…
There is nothing remotely foreign about the well-known martial artist/action star Jackie Chan, as he has been kicking butt and taking numbers (mainly in humorous fashion) for nearly 50 years. Undoubtedly skillful and infectiously impish throughout his illustrious career in action cinema, Chan — whether in wild playful mode or pensive yet penetrating form —…
House by the Lake follows a family of three — mother Karen (Anne Dudek, “The Flash” TV series), father Scott (James Callis, “The Hollow”), and daughter Emma (Amiah Miller, “War for the Planet of the Apes”) — through an extremely tumultuous time in their lives. After having learned that Emma, who has strong aversions to…
In the midst of the devastation that was Hurricane Sandy back in 2012, New Jersey’s notorious play land, Atlantic City, was stripped to a bleak and torn terrain. First-time director Emanuele Della Valle uses this as a backdrop for his crime-drama film debut, Wetlands. The grey wasteland welcomes a once rogue Philadelphia cop, Babel (Adewale…
Written and directed by Taylor Sheridan, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of “Sicario” and “Hell or High Water,” Wind River is a murder mystery about the death of a young Native American women, found frozen in the snow. Part character study, part police procedural, and part political statement, it is a deeply disturbing film that contains graphic…
Zombie films have always been hotbeds of teeth-gnashing, blood splatter and almost the origin of stellar gore effects in cinema. But classics of the subgenre such as Danny Boyle’s “28 Days Later” and George Romero’s “Dead Series” have equally served as sociological petri dishes in which the filmmakers examine our own societies. While this breed…
Inspirational dramas are inherently uplifting, motivational and psychologically gripping. Their feel-good elements or inevitable triumph-into-tragedy climaxes are the functional foundations behind rewarding, emotionally-charged cinema. However, tear-jerking tales of adversity sometimes often fall into the realm of derivative dramatics that register in mawkishness despite their well-intentional pursuit of truthful sentimentality. Writer-director T.C. Christensen’s (“The Cokeville Miracle”)…
