Dirty Wars review: the self-perpetuating “War on Terror”
An infuriating and depressing look at how American foreign policy and warfare have been transformed in highly undemocratic ways, and a reminder of what real journalism looks like.
crime
Stranger by the Lake review: a cautionary tale about bad boys
As an exercise in style, this minimalist noir erotic thriller is pretty cool. But it loses its way somewhere around the midpoint and never quite finds it again.
Easy Money and Easy Money: Hard to Kill review: easy money… isn’t
Easy Money is a smart, affecting, slow burn of a movie, a spectacular example of Nordic noir. The sequel suffers by comparison, though.
The Monuments Men review: saving private collections (and public art)
As jaunty as Jean Dujardin’s beret, but in a sincere, old-fashioned kind of way. It could almost have been rediscovered from the 1940s…
RoboCop review: I will notify a cinema crisis center
No black humor. No satire. No point. But hey, check out the 1987 catchphrases dropped in at random!
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (86th Academy Awards) review
There is a single thread running through these shorts, and it is deeply existential and irreducibly personal: How do we save ourselves?
Labor Day review: Stockholm-syndrome romance
A gooey nostalgic look back at that time a young boy’s mom fell in love with their kidnapper, presented under a sexy sweltering summer haze.
Doomsdays review (LOCO London Comedy Film Festival)
I see the harbingers of doom in this “pre-apocalyptic comedy,” but there’s nothing actually funny about it.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit review: CIA you again
Why reboot remains a question, but this is a smart popcorn thriller with a surprisingly sensitive performance by Chris Pine, and a wonderfully badass one by Kevin Costner.
The Wolf of Wall Street review: legitimate businessman
A debauched end-of-empire horror story disguised as an outrageous comedy, with remarkable performances from Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill.
