film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
An anxious moan, a looming disquiet of a reckoning coming for America. This is horror as weird, funny, damning, and more disconcerting the more you think about it, finding fear right in front of us.
Well, this is refreshing. In a world where we’re all used to movie trailers that begin with ‘In a world where…’ and then go on to reveal the entire plot for us, it turns out that the trailer for Pride and Glory does not, in fact, do that, even though it looks like it does.
This British miniseries is a wild, outrageous ride through the conspiracy theories of the moment, wrapped in a paranoid, blow-’em-up, all-stops-out thriller.
DeNiro is 65, Pacino is 68, and they look it. Not just physically: spiritually, too. They’re exhausted.
I know this PG-rated ‘thriller’ is supposed to be aimed at kids, but honestly, Shaggy and Scooby-Doo and the gang got into spookier situations than this.
Look, Nicolas Cage is an assassin, okay? He’s tough. And hardened. And impervious to human emotions. He doesn’t care what you think.
