A Monster Calls movie review: the monster is within us all
A fairy tale of the Grimm sort: no happy ending, no heroes or villains, just hard truths about life and human nature. Important, beautiful, heartbreaking.
reviews
Collateral Beauty movie review: there is no beauty in this
Appalling and sadistic. How can anyone who is not a sociopath look at this horrible attempt at feel-good fantasy and say, “This is fine, this is healthy”?
Passengers movie review: lost in sexist space
After a few quick nods to the profoundly unethical act at its core, it shrugs it off and uses it as the basis for its fairy-tale romance. This is not okay.
Hidden Figures movie review: triumph of the black girl geeks
The it’s-about-damn-time true story that puts paid to the notion that only white men had the Right Stuff. Often funny, ultimately feel-good, hugely exhilarating.
Sing movie review: hey, kids, let’s put on a show!
Smart, sweet, gently funny, with a wonderfully exuberant voice performance by Matthew McConaughey that hints at fresh new realms animated movies can reach.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story movie review: the high price of hope
There’s genuine fun here, but the humor is cynical, the heroics are tinged with regret, and it’s all delivered with a cold smack of — yes — political relevance.
Office Christmas Party movie review: messtivities
Hangover lite, with even more tepid notions of what constitutes debauchery, plus a true dedication to strained contrivance.
Best and Most Beautiful Things documentary review: hacking “normal”
This lively portrait of a young woman with disabilities and her ordinary hopes and dreams is an explicit, engaging challenge to our ideas of what “normal” is.
Frank & Lola movie review: the pain of men (it’s all women’s fault)
Ridiculous coincidence drives the plot, but a reliance on outdated notions of gender expectations is what makes this neonoir such an infuriating experience.
Miss Sloane movie review: what a piece of work is she
A hugely gripping thriller about politics and money that offers a grim object lesson: Are progressives and liberals gonna have to start fighting dirty?
