Whisky Galore! movie review: leave it in the bottle
The cast is charming, but this listless and mysteriously unfunny cover of the 1949 Ealing comedy doesn’t seem to have bothered to look for a good reason to exist.
WWII
Their Finest movie review: keeping calm and carrying on making movies
Delightful dry and snarky satire on wartime propaganda, sharp feminist commentary, and a brilliant cast make this snappy historical dramedy a real corker.
Another Mother’s Son movie review: punching Nazis, mom style
Not alt-history but a true story from a Nazi-occupied English-speaking place, a hugely relevant reminder that resistance to injustice is an absolute imperative.
Kong: Skull Island movie review: ape-ocalypse now
Boiled down to its bonkers essence, Skull Island is a Vietnam war movie with monsters, a retro analog vibe, and a dash of both Moby-Dick and The X-Files.
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.
Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts (89th Academy Awards) review
I would give the Oscar in a three-way tie to the Syrian-themed nominees, which offer stunningly intimate observations on the ongoing humanitarian crisis.
Denial movie review: a film for the resistance
A terrific legal procedural about defending factual truth and smacking dishonest sowers of doubt. An essential film for our era of “alternative facts.”
Allied movie review: movie spies with delicious old-fashioned mystique
An elegant potboiler that judiciously balances psychological and physical suspense, one that feels like a romantic drama from WWII only recently rediscovered.
You’ve Been Trumped and You’ve Been Trumped, Too documentaries review: Donald Trump is no friend to “the little people”
A British filmmaker documents the arrogance and disdain with which Donald Trump wields the power of his money… a warning for Americans come Election Day.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children movie review: infodump, the movie
Relentlessly dull. A tour of a strange world and “characters” little more than their “peculiar” abilities isn’t enough to whip up fantastical excitement.
