Fox’s ‘Exorcist’ series is deeply creepy (Season 1 open thread)
It’s incredibly unnerving in ways that filmed horror often fails to achieve… [This post is not behind the paywall.]
Chicago
Office Christmas Party movie review: messtivities
Hangover lite, with even more tepid notions of what constitutes debauchery, plus a true dedication to strained contrivance.
Bad Santa 2 movie review: been there, done that, licked the candy cane lasciviously
Hard to believe it took 13 years to get a sequel to our screens and still have it show not a hint of Bad Santa’s inspiration or subversion.
The Divergent Series: Allegiant movie review: walled in by reality
A disappointing downfall from the previous films, the appealing metaphor for nonconformity giving way to dull good-vs-evil battle and dumb plot conundrums.
The Divergent Series: Insurgent movie review: being human
Sneakily undercuts tropes of the young-adult hero’s journey. But in a more adventurous movie environment, this wouldn’t feel this fresh as it does.
Dreamcatcher documentary review: how to get off the streets
An extraordinarily personal story about prostitution, one with a gentle but undeniable humanist force for hopeful understanding.
Jupiter Ascending movie review: princess drearies
Sees no need to engage metaphor or dispense with cliché, so when you haven’t seen it before, you can’t believe what you’re seeing. And not in a good way.
The Judge movie review: you can go home again
Avoids feeling as supremely calculated as it is, perhaps because Robert Downey Jr.’s snark and Robert Duvall’s crusty pragmatism vaccinate against it.
Finding Vivian Maier documentary review: secret art comes into the light
An extraordinary examination of a remarkable photographer, part portrait unraveled by meticulous detective work, part sharp criticism of the hidebound art establishment.
Life Itself documentary review: he found it at the movies
A touching biography, and an accidental look at the tremendous upheaval that journalism has weathered in the past half century.
