Standing Up, Falling Down fleshes out a narrative that’s been done before, and frankly, it feels like a story that’s a little outdated and a little played out. Scott (Ben Schwartz, “Blue Iguana”) returns home after striking out as a comedian, having to hit the restart button and figure out his life. He meets Marty…
There’s only one movie in theaters this holiday season where you can see tap, ballet, hip-hop, and other dance styles performed by CGI cat-people (or are they people-cats?) and you can bet it’s not the latest Star Wars movie. It’s also not exactly good, at least in the way that nearly everyone who watches movies…
“Be me, then be yourself,” so says Chuck Knoach (Ben Lloyd-Hughes, “Me Before You”), a best-selling self-help guru who has an avid fan in Lou (Katy Brayben, “Luther” TV series) a 30-something woman with a dead-end job and a suffocating mother (Sarah Ball, “Doctors” TV series) for a housemate. As we see her enjoying rare…
According to award-winning Israeli director Nadav Lapid (“The Kindergarten Teacher”), “art has the right to be chaotic and wild, to go to extreme and dangerous places.” If you are looking for chaotic and wild, you need look no further than his Synonyms (Milim Nirdafot), a mystifying and often maddening film that will either leave you…
For some reason, 2019 seems to be the year of actors stepping into the director’s chair. Whether it is on limited circuits like Idris Elba’s “Yardie,” on streaming services like Amy Poehler’s “Wine Country,” or breaking out into the mainstream like Olivia Wilde’s delightful “Booksmart,” we are starting to witness an unusual spike in opportunities…
The term “cliffhanger” is thought to have originated from Thomas Hardy’s 1873 novel A Pair Of Blue Eyes. Hardy ended the story with one of his protagonists hanging off a cliff edge, staring down at impending death. Cliffhangers have since become ubiquitous with serialized television and, more lately, film series (the ending to Marvel’s recent…
Maine spends the first ten minutes immersing the viewers in its setting. There is no dialogue, just the picturesque Appalachian Trail, the sound of the wind, and a woman (Laia Costa, “Victoria”) going about her business, which involves peeing in the bushes and fiddling about with sanitary products. The immersion in nature and its elements…
