Gringo movie review: Mexican bland-off
Woefully undeveloped characters, a thin yet convoluted plot, and a lack of humor in the black comedy. This is what it looks like when a hastily scribbled first draft goes straight into production.
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Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts 2018 (90th Academy Awards) review
My pick: “Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405,” a marvelous portrait of artist Mindy Alper, one that challenges us all to know ourselves as well as she seems to, even when it’s incredibly painful.
Game Night movie review: triumph of the nerds
Absolutely hilarious, full of smart snarksters, comedic suspense, and gleeful smashing of action-movie clichés. Part screwball comedy, part romantic adventure, all pure movie-movie joy.
The Commuter movie review: on the wrong track
A lazy, insulting xerox of better movies about Liam Neeson growling into cell phones at enigmatic villains. Devoid of tension and mystery, and rife with plotholes that derail the trip.
All the Money in the World movie review: cashed out
The most interesting thing about this all-over-the-place drama-thriller is Ridley Scott’s last-minute Hail Mary pass to replace a disgraced cast member. The finale is tense and exciting, but it’s a slog to get there.
Molly’s Game movie review: absolutely aces
Bold, tough, hugely entertaining. Like a new GoodFellas, except about a woman caught up in her own impudence and daring. Jessica Chastain is badass.
Bright movie review: every little thing it does is the opposite of magic
Trolls the viewer and condescends to genre fans. A smirking, tone-deaf parable about racism that is itself racist, including about its made-up orcs and elves.
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.
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 Murder in Mansfield documentary review: a reconciliation with tragedy (Doc NYC 2017)
An honest and brave portrait of the trauma and grief of those in the immediate periphery of a terrible crime. A simple, intimate film, and a powerful one.
