(***) “The old protect the young. The young protect the old.” Those prophetic words are also the premise of this Star Wars chapter. It’s perhaps the most visually disappointing film in the franchise. Still, it’s filled with enough commotion to capture and keep action/adventure audiences intrigued and satisfied. Those old enough to remember the original Star Wars, released May […]
The Devil Wears Prada 2
(**1/2) Looks like satin. Feels like polyester. Yet many will go window shopping and like what they see. Twenty years ago, The Devil Wears Prada received two Oscar nominations: Meryl Streep for Best Actress and Patricia Field for Best Costume Design. It earned a respectable $326,588,371 at the international box office and became the fashion statement film. […]
Michael
(**1/2) He was a Black singer who yearned to cross over from the African American community to mainstream America. He did. Ironically, in the end, the Black fans who loved him first may be the loyalists who embrace this conventional biofilm, when others won’t. This sanitized portrait lacks scandal and may disappoint some. But those […]
You, Me & Tuscany
(**1/2) She loves him. She loves him not. He loves her. He loves her not. One woman. Two men. She’s living a lie and falling in love under the Tuscan sun. How did that happen? That premise, by Kristin Engle, involves a young woman, an Italian villa and a big fib. That notion was turned into a script […]
The Drama
(**1/2) You wouldn’t wish this wedding day on anybody. But there they are. Two lovers who should be in bliss are trapped in their own turmoil. Norwegian writer/director Kristoffer Borgli has built a solid reputation for dark comedy (Sick of Myself). It’s an avenue he treads again, somewhat. Only this time out, the darkness is […]
They Will Kill You
(**) Two young sisters are stalked by their violent, abusive dad and they panic, asking “What if he finds us?!” If only they knew that he was the lesser threat. Credit to writer/director Kirill Sokolov and co-writer Alex Litvak for creating an opening scene that’s as tense and provocative as those in the best horror films. They […]
Palestine ‘36
(***1/2) It’s a history lesson wrapped in a period drama. An intimate look at British colonialism and land appropriation in Palestine, 1936. The beginnings of a conflict that continues 90 years later. British-controlled Palestine, later Israel in 1948, had a rich, diverse history before colonization. For 400 years, until 1917, it was a multicultural part of […]
Project Hail Mary
(***) He’s a space cowboy. Well, not exactly. He’s an 8th-grade science teacher who’s lost in space. If you’re going to strand an audience in the heavens above with a thespian, many would choose Ryan Gosling. Why? He’s got charm to spare (La La Land). He’s self-effacing (Barbie). Has a great sense of humor (Step Brothers). […]
The Bride!
(**1/2) He yearned for a bride. He got one. But is she too complicated? Will fate let them be? Restlessness, chaos and bodaciousness permeate The Bride! The overdeveloped script, by writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Lost Daughter), has glitches that the direction mirrors. Tonal issues and a main character that’s enigmatic on paper and screen are the cause. Sci-fi […]
Union County – 2025 Sundance Film Festival
(***) He could be the kid down the street. The guy next door. The young man working at the supermarket. The one with that vacant look in his eyes. The kind you get when you’re addicted to drugs, and your mind is always somewhere else even when you’re staring forward. It could be him. There’s […]
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