daily stream: in case you need more dramatic Robert Downey Jr., post ‘Oppenheimer’
2014’s The Judge is available to rent or buy on Prime and Apple TV on both sides of the Atlantic.
Vera Farmiga
The Many Saints of Newark movie review: far from heaven
The performances are terrific, the evocation of the period striking, but it feels redundant, more GoodFellas-lite than The Sopranos, and with several TV seasons’ worth of story crammed in.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It review: possessed innocent?
As credulous — or con-artist cheaty — as its demon-hunter protagonists, but lacking their charm. Worse, it can’t even be bothered to justify and satisfy the procedural approach to its mystery.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters movie review: gives new meaning to the phrase “disaster movie”
An absolute mess, and nowhere near enough monster action. Does not give good disaster. No fun at all. Makes me long for guys in rubber monster suits awkwardly sparring. At least you could see them.
The Front Runner movie review: when politics turned tabloid (LFF 2018)
Snappy Sorkin-esque banter, 80s nostalgia, and Hugh Jackman in a bad wig yet still hot as hell. But also an enraging, ironic look at how a reality-TV resume ended up becoming a legit qualification for the American presidency.
Boundaries movie review: family lies
Mildly wacky road-trip shenanigans meet mildly uncomfortable family dramedy. The saving grace? The cast is a joy to spend time with.
movies by or about women opening US/Can from Fri Jun 22
Bryce Dallas Howard versus dinosaurs, Vera Farmiga versus her criminal dad, Shirley Henderson versus Parkinson’s disease, more…
The Commuter movie review: on the wrong track
A lazy, insulting xerox of better movies about Liam Neeson growling into cell phones at enigmatic villains. Devoid of tension and mystery, and rife with plotholes that derail the trip.
The Conjuring 2 movie review: haunting only in its disjointed bulkiness
“Less Ed and Lorraine” and “more cheese and cardboard” is precisely the last direction a sequel to the classy original should have gone in. Yet here we are.
Where Are the Women? The Judge
There isn’t a single woman here who is not defined exclusively as an adjunct to a man, even though there is plenty of room for women not limited by gender. [This post is not behind the paywall.]
