This icily and precisely controlled action/thriller from director David Fincher doesn’t quite rank amongst his masterworks (Fight Club, Gone Girl, Zodiac, Seven, The Game). However, like every other Fincher movie, it’s still plenty interesting and well-made to be worthwhile. The Killer is a gritty, down-and-dirty movie whose overall smooth and occasionally slow pacing is sporadically […]

The now twenty-eight feature films of Ridley Scott vary quite heavily in quality. He’s made a few indisputable masterworks (Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise), a couple of stinkers (Robin Hood, Exodus), and a wide selection of films that range from being near-masterpieces at best to mediocre at worst. Whatever their overall quality may be, […]

Matthew Perry’s recent and untimely passing has, no doubt, inspired his many fans to revisit and binge-watch episodes of Friends. Though the series hasn’t aired since 2004, it still holds up as a great show and Perry is still great in it. He seamlessly and egolessly blends into his ensemble cast at most times, but […]

No Hard Feelings features a strong lead role for an actress of a specific type. It is the role of a confident, fearless, hard-drinking, unapologetically promiscuous, fiercely independent, hilariously deadpan, imperfectly beautiful, and notably aging woman. It is a role that is absolutely perfect for an actress along the lines of Amy Schumer, Melissa McCarthy, […]

This latest of many feature-film adaptations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comic book series that was created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in the mid-80s offers a new take on the long-beloved characters and their universe. Animated in a comic-book-in-action-meets-stop-motion style, the film is nothing short of a delight at which to look. […]

Writer/director Paul Schrader has seemingly spent the last decade trying to add as many movies as he possibly can onto his already impressive filmography. The Taxi Driver and Raging Bull scribe has long been considered one of the greatest screenwriters of his time, but his directorial work is often met with mixed reactions. His films […]

Sometimes, a movie comes along with all the right elements: a good story, a great crew, a talented director, a strong cast, etc. Sometimes that movie takes us by surprise, however, and is an overall letdown for reasons that aren’t easy to pinpoint. Despite everything it has going for it, the movie simply doesn’t work […]

In terms of its endlessly impressive artistry and technical achievements, Oppenheimer is a marvelous piece of work that often touches greatness and even, at times, reaches perfection. As a feature film experience in and of itself, however, its sky-high ambitions are often overwhelming and its intentions are sometimes unclear. Viewing the film is a frustratingly […]

Viewing Beau Is Afraid for the first time brings forth various, often conflicting, thoughts and emotions. It is a film, like those from such influential mind-bending masters as David Lynch and Charlie Kaufman, that is impossible to label as any one thing. It is a horror film, a dark comedy, an otherworldly adventure, an absurd […]

Based on true events, Sound of Freedom tells the story of Tim Ballard, a heroic government agent who resigned from his position so he could help release hundreds of children from sexual slavery. For dramatic purposes, the film’s story narrows down Ballard’s primary focus to the rescue of an enslaved young girl from Honduras who […]