Anthropoid movie review: human-shaped but lacking in human substance
Familiar-feeling tale of a real-life plot to kill a high-ranking Nazi in 1942 Prague manages some suspense thrills but mostly misses the emotional ones.
reviews
Kubo and the Two Strings movie review: quest for family
Magic, music, and monsters come together to create a marvelous fairy tale that’s scary, sweet, and full of tough emotions that kids’ movies often avoid.
Starving the Beast documentary review: the deliberate dumbing down of the American university
Lays out with calm, terrifying clarity how US public universities are being turned into profit-making ventures at the expense of students and education.
Ben-Hur movie review: it’s fine, everything is fine
It’s not great. It’s not terrible. It is bland manufactured entertainment product. It’s fine. Hollywood is not creatively bankrupt. Everything is fine.
Robinson Crusoe (aka The Wild Life) movie review: castaway… you know, for kids!
A bland electronic babysitter, suitable only for small children still distracted by bright colors, slapstick cartoon animals, and simplistic wordplay.
Morgan movie review: AI why?
Eschewing the compelling SF questions it raises, Morgan resorts to violence and would-be cleverness, and makes concrete what it should have left ambiguous.
Zoom movie review: zoom out
This is what happens when men try to tell a story primarily about women — and also try to ape Charlie Kaufman — and fail miserably.
cult classic film virgin: Sid & Nancy
Riveting and repulsive, with a claustrophobic perspective that mirrors its subjects: all id, all in the moment. But it’s also shallow, all on the surface.
Equity movie review: a disappointing return on investment
We’ve never seen this before, multiple female characters open about ambition, power, and money. But representation alone does not make for a gripping tale.
Mechanic: Resurrection movie review: the Jessica Alba-centered fanfic that makes this work
It’s supposed to be intense, but it’s just silly. Unless it’s secretly about one woman ridding the world of notorious arms dealers through sly manipulation.
