Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip movie review: born to be mild
Instantly forgettable but inoffensive fluff… you know, for kids. And “inoffensive” is better than can be said for many movies aimed at children.
reviews
Racing Extinction documentary review: the asteroid this time is humanity
A horror flick about the blundering of humanity on a scale so enormous that global warming is only a small part of it. But its monster is not unconquerable.
Where to Invade Next documentary review: finding the American dream everywhere but America
Michael Moore doesn’t hate America. But he does wonder how other nations are doing so many things better than the supposed greatest country in the world.
Deadpool movie review: origin story with a potty mouth
Callous, crass, unpleasantly smug. Supposes it’s being edgy because its protagonist swears a lot, but it’s like a child saying bad words just to be naughty.
The Hunting Ground documentary review: why you have no idea how bad rape is on campus
U.S. universities have plenty of financial incentives to minimize rape on campus, as this enraging film demonstrates. But there are women fighting back…
Rams (Hrútar) movie review: brothers in farms
Exists on the spectrum between “fascinating and unclassifiably odd” and “could almost be a parody of an arthouse film except it’s too moving to be a joke.”
Tumbledown movie review: letting go of the past
A portrait of grief that borrows the conventions of romantic comedies. There may not be a lot of passion here, but there is plenty of pleasant zing.
When Marnie Was There movie review: girls have adolescent angst too
Enchanting, startling; a rare story about a girl at a precarious age. Full of that exquisite Studio Ghibli sorcery that captures the beauty of the ordinary.
Regression movie review: no thanks for the memories
Amenábar aims for a noirish X-Files vibe, but preposterousness rules this inert trudge that does absolutely no justice to a terrible real-life phenomenon.
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (88th Academy Awards) review
“A Girl in the River” masterfully portrays a culture that justifies killing women, its rage subsumed by a dispiriting account of how its customs are perpetuated.
