Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice movie review: sucker punch
Like a movie from the world of Watchmen: cold, cruel, borderline incoherent in its testosterone-fueled rage, misogynist, paternalistic… fascist, even.
2016 theatrical releases
Mojave movie rating: red light
A spoiled melancholy Hollywood brat and a menacing drifter engage in a deadly dick-measuring contest that you will hope neither survives.
Jane Wants a Boyfriend movie rating: red light
Drama about a young woman with Asperger’s looking for love is stilted, forced, phony, emotionally implausible, and rather paternalistic and patronizing.
Zootropolis (aka Zootopia) movie review: creature feature
Marvelous. A bouncy comedy mystery adventure parable in a fantasy world meticulously and cleverly conceived and gorgeously realized. I adore this movie.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 movie review: prearranged marriage
There is genuine if exasperated warmth here, but it is far less satisfyingly bound up into a cohesive story in this halfhearted retread of the original film.
The Brainwashing of My Dad documentary review: pushing back against Fox News
An entertaining look at why Fox News is setting the agenda for what passes for journalism in the U.S, and a tool, perhaps, for deprogramming its adherents.
Risen movie review: when habeas corpus gets weird
Initially intriguing detective tale of ancient Rome hops genres into fantasy, with a strange manic-preacher-dream-boy seduction of its pragmatic protagonist.
10 Cloverfield Lane movie review: the monsters women have to deal with
A marvelous little movie: compact, efficient, almost unbearably intense, smartly (perhaps accidentally) feminist. A glorious treat of pulp genre fun.
The Mermaid (Mei ren yu) movie review: the biggest movie on the planet you haven’t heard of
A wacky fantasy lark, half screwball comedy, half Looney Tunes. Chinese audiences have thrown half a billion dollars at it. Prepare for Hollywood imitators.
The Here After (Efterskalv) movie review: what price forgiveness?
Brutally chilling in the banality of its examination of justice and forgiveness. A deeply unsettling film that challenges the empathy it carefully constructs.
