Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle movie review: jungle feeble
Culturally clueless cinematic vomit, a cynical undertaking embracing the most diminishing clichés it can apply to its characters. Low stakes, and low humor.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi movie review: a great disturbance in the Force
Upends expectations, demythologizes the mythos, and takes an iconic series in a bold new direction with a story full of humor, courage, and dazzling imagery.
Mountain documentary review: the philosophy of peak adventure
Dizzying and dazzling, this is a stirring meditation on the allure, the mystery, and the danger of the world’s highest summits, as places but also as ideas.
The Unseen (aka Amaurosis) movie review: when the see it/skip it recommendation is right in the title
A portrait of grief and guilt that’s only mildly engaging, until it morphs into a wannabe psychological thriller and turns limp, laughable, and just plain icky.
I, Tonya movie review: a woman at war with herself
A black comedy about domestic violence, parental abuse, and low self-esteem (and it works!), one that challenges our appreciation of how true based-on-fact might be.
Menashe movie review: the unhappy nonconformist
A bittersweet, deeply human tale, one with a documentary sense of discovery to its setting: a little seen, highly insular ultraorthodox Jewish community.
Ferdinand movie review: no bull, it’s wonderful
Goofy, charming, faithful to its sweet source material, and all while advancing the standard “Be yourself” message with fresh challenges to gender expectations.
The Rape of Recy Taylor documentary review: meet the unheralded badass Black women of recent American history
Enraging, and eye-opening, the beginning of the antidote for how Black women’s lives get erased in America. Tells a story that we should recognize as epic.
A Matter of Life and Death (aka Stairway to Heaven) (4K restoration) movie review: paradise on Earth
One of the most beloved British films ever is now even more lush, more gorgeous, more humanist in a glorious new restored edition.
11/8/16 (aka November 8th) documentary review: too soon, too soon
An important portrait of America on the day that changed it for the worse… but difficult to watch, with the impact of the election still spiraling out of control.
