Release: Friday, October 4, 2019 (limited) →Netflix Written by: Scott Alexander; Larry Karaszewski Directed by: Craig Brewer The way Craig Brewer captures the response to Dolemite, the movie-within-his-movie and at least part of its raison d'être, is so warm and uplifting. Yet it's also quaint if considering today's cinematic landscape. Cynics like me are tempted to dismiss the ending as … Continue reading Dolemite is My Name
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Velvet Buzzsaw
Release: Friday, February 1, 2019 (Netflix) →Netflix Written by: Dan Gilroy Directed by: Dan Gilroy Beauty is in the eye of the soon-to-be-murdered in Velvet Buzzsaw, the new film from writer/director Dan Gilroy, who made his mark back in 2014 with the sensationally gripping Nightcrawler. His third directorial feature following 2017's collaboration with Denzel Washington on Roman J. Israel, Esq., Velvet … Continue reading Velvet Buzzsaw
The Mule
Release: Friday, December 14, 2018 →Theater Written by: Sam Dolnick; Nick Schenk Directed by: Clint Eastwood The Mule marks the 37th time Clint Eastwood has directed a movie. Remember that the next time you go out for Trivia Night. From The Eiger Sanction (1975) to his Best Picture-winning western Unforgiven (1992); Mystic River (2003) to Gran Torino (2008), the man has … Continue reading The Mule
Widows
Release: Friday, November 16, 2018 →Theater Written by: Gillian Flynn; Steve McQueen Directed by: Steve McQueen Steve McQueen, master of the discomforting drama, is back at it again with Widows, an uncommonly menacing heist thriller that makes room for trenchant social commentary in between fits of short-lived but significant action. Given his past films, I guess I understand … Continue reading Widows
mother!
Release: Friday, September 15, 2017 →Theater Written by: Darren Aronofsky Directed by: Darren Aronofsky No one makes movies like Darren Aronofsky. Then again, does anyone dare? With mother! the enfant terrible of modern Hollywood has produced quite possibly his most polarizing and interpretive work yet. That does take into consideration his previous effort, the controversial Noah epic. And I … Continue reading mother!
Logan
Release: Friday, March 3, 2017 [Theater] Written by: James Mangold; Scott Frank; Michael Green Directed by: James Mangold Logan is a robust superhero film and probably the most violent one we have encountered since Deadpool. (Lest we forget that that movie was more than a comedy.) But even in the context of superhero films that have been slapped with … Continue reading Logan
Why Him?
Release: Friday, December 23, 2016 [Theater] Written by: John Hamburg; Ian Helfer Directed by: John Hamburg My biggest gripe with Why Him? It's actually not that it represents yet another painfully unfunny Christmas comedy. Well, it kind of is. I'm dismayed more because it is a painfully unfunny Christmas comedy starring James Franco and Bryan Cranston. Bryan Cranston! Also … Continue reading Why Him?
Life (2015)
Release: Friday, December 4, 2015 (limited) [Netflix] Written by: Luke Davies Directed by: Anton Corbijn The spotlight shines once more upon Hollywood icon and heartthrob James Dean in the creatively titled 2015 biopic Life. Okay, so there actually is some nuance to the label. You can take it at face value but the film is more concerned with the relationship the actor … Continue reading Life (2015)
Bleed for This
Release: Friday, November 18, 2016 [Theater] Written by: Ben Younger; Angelo Pizzo; Pippa Bianco Directed by: Ben Younger Bleed for This is an intense title for an underwhelming boxing movie. Its hyperbolic nature suggests a scream-o/punk-rock band's new single when really it's meant to describe the mentality of one Vinny Pazienza, a boxer from Providence, Rhode Island who returned to the ring after … Continue reading Bleed for This
Masterminds
Release: Friday, September 30, 2016 [Theater] Written by: Chris Bowman; Hubbel Palmer; Emily Spivey Directed by: Jared Hess Masterminds didn't need to be masterfully made to be effective, but a little discipline could have gone a long way. Directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite; Nacho Libre), the film is a comedic dramatization of the October 1997 Loomis Fargo bank robbery that … Continue reading Masterminds
