The Cut movie review: head not in the game
A real aspect of boxing — dangerously fast weight loss — sports films have ignored becomes body horror we have not seen before. The genre’s motivational clichés get twisted, nastily and poignantly.
Las Vegas
Trolls Band Together movie review: cheerful kindness, weirdified
There is gentle nonstop chaos in the trippy candy-colored assault. Genuinely good-natured, sweet without being sappy, more strange (in a good way) than kids’ movies usually are, and hard to dislike.
daily stream: snappy cinematic junk food to distract from terrible reality
2001’s Ocean’s Eleven leaves UK Prime soon; on Prime and Apple TV in the US.
weekend watchlist: a sci-fi mood piece of eeriness, ookiness, and dread
Plus a snarky heist, a two-century-old energy crisis, and more. (First published August 27th, 2022, on Substack and Patreon.)
Show Dogs movie review: everything is awful
Embarrassingly bad CGI; pratfalls; genital humor; denigration of cat ladies; horrible clichés and stereotypes. This is the cinematic equivalent of stepping in dog poop. You know, for kids!
The Last Laugh documentary review: punching Nazis (with comedy)
Analyzing jokes can ruin humor, but not here. This is a provocative, hilarious, and important discussion of comedy taboos, who gets to transgress them, and why.
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Ridiculous coincidence drives the plot, but a reliance on outdated notions of gender expectations is what makes this neonoir such an infuriating experience.
Jason Bourne movie review: Bourne again, but why?
Everything looks great on paper here: Damon’s brawny presence; the smartly staged action, etc. And it’s not unfun. But it feels less black ops than old hat.
Good Kill movie review: American droner
There are important issues running through this, but the film forgets to be sufficiently engaging in the course of being Significant.
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 movie review: stupor hero
Hard to believe, I know, but this is a real movie that real people have unashamedly put their names to. Because a sweet paycheck trumps human dignity.
