Steven Soderbergh’s new horror movie “Presence,” which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, is unsettling all right. The “Erin Brockovich” director moves his camera around so much, you want to yell at the screen, “Settle down, please! I have a headache!” There is a rationale for his nearly-nonstop motion shtick: the audience is experiencing the … Read more
The year’s first possible Oscar contender — well, for 2025 — is Saoirse Ronan as a tortured alcoholic who seeks refuge in nature in “The Outrun.” The actress is gutsy and raw, and doesn’t overplay a single second like so many accolade-hungry actors in addiction movies do. Director Nora Fingscheidt’s tough drama, which premiered at … Read more
Rihanna’s song “We Found Love” could be about the film “Love Lies Blooding,” for there are few places more hopeless than the sleazy desert setting of Kristen Stewart’s twisted romance. The A24 movie premiered Saturday night at Sundance, which is the perfect launching spot for the grungy story of two lesbians who meet during a … Read more
Never before in my life have I left a movie thinking, “All that needed was 20 more minutes.” Not once, until I saw “My Old Ass,” which premiered Saturday night at the Sundance Film Festival. Director Megan Park’s otherwise dreamy teen romance flick with a time-travel twist was chugging along quite sublimely, and then it … Read more
Making Jesse Eisenberg and Kieran Culkin the leads of a heartwarming movie about family bonds (the non-back-stabbing kind) and self-discovery would seem counter-intuitive. Culkin has just finished up playing Roman Roy, the cutthroat, foul-mouthed media scion on HBO’s “Succession.” And Eisenberg, even though he’s had a long and varied career, is still best known for … Read more
David Schwimmer has never been known for his movies. Perusing the “Friends” star’s film resume is quick — and painful. There’s “Six Days Seven Nights,” “The Laundromat” and “Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted,” among other screen non-classics. But the actor’s undeniable charisma and uniqueness are finally put to proper full-length use in the demented “Little … Read more
If you want proof that the Marvel Cinematic Universe sucks the creativity out of good directors like a Hollywood vampire, watch “Freaky Tales.” Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck, who helmed 2019’s lifeless “Captain Marvel,” their latest movie has, um, flecks of the supernatural heroism and urban vigilante justice that we associate with the … Read more
Like the Death Star obliterating planets, Zack Snyder is out to topple countless innocent genres. He already turned the DC Comics films into a black hole of misery with the gloomy “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” and “Justice League.” And now the diabolical director is zapping the enjoyment out of outer space, too, in … Read more
Watching “The Iron Claw” can feel like getting slammed with a metal folding chair over and over again. So bludgeoning are the true and tragic circumstances that befell the famous Von Erich wresting family during the 1980s and 90s, which director Sean Durkin’s film depicts. movie review THE IRON CLAW Running time: 130 minutes. Rated … Read more
Adam Driver is back to barking in an Italian accent after the heinous “House of Gucci,” only this time he sounds a lot less Russian and thankfully did not take Lady Gaga along for the ride. movie review FERRARI Running time: 124 minutes. Rated R (some violent content/graphic images, sexual content and language). In theaters … Read more
“Wonka,” a sugary prequel to Roald Dahl’s “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” delivers not so much a world of pure imagination as a land of constant cuteness. Of course it does. The affable musical film is directed by Paul King, the King of “Aww”s, who made heart-warming hits out of “Paddington” and “Paddington 2.” But … Read more
In “Pinocchio,” when Geppetto wished upon a star, a hunk of wood became a real boy. Eighty-three years later, Disney’s latest animated film, called “Wish,” which is sort of about the origin of that same magical ball of gas, couldn’t be more wooden, manufactured or lifeless. movie review Running time: 95 minutes. Rated PG (for … Read more
For much of the movie “Saltburn,” writer-director Emerald Fennell’s addictive second feature, the viewer is caught in the same seductive web as its timid main character, Oliver Quick. movie review Running time: 127 minutes. Rated R (strong sexual content, graphic nudity, language throughout, some disturbing violent content, and drug use.) In theaters. At first, the … Read more
If you thought “Eternals” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” were low points for the limping Marvel Cinematic Universe, strap in for the ride to abject misery that is “The Marvels.” The interminable movie, barely directed by Nia DaCosta, is not so much the story of Captain Marvel, Ms. Marvel and Monica Rambeau as it … Read more
During the 1980s and ‘90s, Meg Ryan was the Queen of Rom Coms. She was the luminous star of “When Harry Met Sally,” “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” but after experiencing Ryan’s romantic-comedy directorial debut, “What Happens Later,” one must ask: Did she ever watch any of them? Source link #review #Meg #Ryan #youve … Read more
There’s a whole lot of hemming and hawing going on in the reviews of comedian Bill Burr’s new Netflix comedy “Old Dads.” Here’s a sample of the critical kvetching about the innocent little film that dropped Oct. 20 on the streaming service: “an unfunny assault on PC culture,” “watching a ‘bully’ punch down at assorted … Read more
“There’s a little witch in all of us,” indeed. “Practical Magic” was released in theaters 25 years ago on October 16, 1998 — and Alice Hoffman can’t believe it either. The author, who brought the story of the Owens sisters to life in the 1995 novel of the same name, says it “feels like it was … Read more
Even for Martin Scorsese, a master of turning true stories into hot movies, “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a high-wire act of filmmaking. Its subject is a lot trickier than the rise and fall of Howard Hughes or the stock market shenanigans of Jordan Belfort. The serious drama is about the horrific Osage murders … Read more
During the late 1980s, when his movie review show with fellow film critic Roger Ebert was called “Sneak Previews,” Gene Siskel would occasionally take cat naps under the table in their station’s conference room. One day, Ebert — not knowing Siskel was there — used the conference room phone to confirm an interview that would … Read more
“Priscilla,” the superb drama about Priscilla Presley’s complicated marriage to Elvis, does not end with an Elvis Presley song. Instead, the final minutes of writer-director Sofia Coppola’s affectionate movie, which had its North American premiere Friday at the New York Film Festival, come courtesy of another Tennessee music legend: “I Will Always Love You” by … Read more