Midnight Special movie review: let the children use it
Intensely gripping drama full of smart, thoughtful, personal twists on some familiar sci-fi ideas. Hums with the hope that a better world is within reach.
reviews
The Huntsman: Winter’s War movie review: snow what?
It’s a prequel and a sequel! It’s got girl powerrr and lady-hating! It’s a mashup of Lord of the Rings and Frozen! It’s all these things, and less.
Big Eyes movie review: painted into a corner
A bitter feminist fairy tale about a woman betrayed by love and trust and crafted by culture to be vulnerable to the charms of a con-artist husband.
Love & Mercy movie review: strange vibrations
Intense, unconventional, often uncomfortable portrait of Beach Boys leader Brian Wilson that transcends the typical clichés about madness and creativity.
A Walk in the Woods movie review: ramble on and on
A sitcom about old men creaking along the Appalachian Trail, reminiscing about slutty girls, and maybe having a stroke at any moment. You know, for fun.
Sold movie review: the life of a child sex slave
Brutal yet sensitively rendered, putting a human face, if a fictional one, on an issue that rarely gets one. Almost Dickens for the 21st century.
Black Mountain Poets movie review: rhyme and unreason
A tasty treat of gentle but wise humor, full of as much sympathy but also tough love for its messed-up sisters as they are for each other.
Ran (4K restoration) movie rating: green light
A fiercely cinematic experience of startling metaphors, sweeping battles, intense characters, and vivid color that deserves to be seen on a big screen…
True Story movie review: lies and the lying liars who tell them
The height of poor taste. Grants notorious men even more notoriety by giving voice to their inexcusable “travails,” thereby feeding their self-absorption.
Marguerite movie review: is ignorance bliss?
A bravura dramedy that beautifully balances tragedy and comedy and asks a tricky question: Is it better to be cynical about art, or happily undiscriminating?
