House of Gucci, the second film released in the past two months from director Ridley Scott, is fun to watch. The movie isn’t great, and it isn’t terrible, but it’s full of eye candy. (Scott’s other recent film, The Last Duel, was delayed by the pandemic and released in October this year, and features Ben […]
While most traditional westerns take place around 1890 or so (when the American frontier was officially no longer deemed unsettled), Jane Campion’s gripping, brilliantly acted The Power of the Dog begins in 1925. We know this because brothers Phil (a mesmerizing Benedict Cumberbatch) and George (Jesse Plemons) get nostalgic during a cattle drive, and reminisce […]
There is a certain charm to an actor who doesn’t shy away from playing the fool, especially when that actor is also the writer, director, and producer of the film. Jim Cummings is one of the newest multihyphenates in Hollywood, and he is not afraid to be a dunce. Cummings has been directing and writing […]
The lineup for the 34th edition of the Virginia Film Festival is stacked with movies that are already getting Oscar buzz, like The French Dispatch, The Power of the Dog, Spencer, and Belfast. These films are bound to do big box office business for weeks to come, but this year’s fest also features several less-hyped […]
Satire feeds on the contemporary. As new social issues and interests arise, satire helps us inspect them and make sense of their value in our changing world. Satire can disarm or emasculate through humor, but it can also be twisted into horror and used to heighten danger. The Columnist does both. First, the film makes […]
The world is always changing, and the stories we tell need to change with it. While the circumstances in Together Together might feel like a modern phenomenon, the emotions and connections within it are timeless. The film begins with Anna (Patti Harrison) meeting Matt (Ed Helms) for the first time. This is not your typical […]
Blending folk horror, environmental anxiety, and good old-fashioned psychopathy, In the Earth is not your everyday horror film. It’s a steady exercise in suspense, filled with slowly growing doom and unforeseeable instability. Written and directed by Ben Wheatley, the movie is a return to the British filmmaker’s roots. It’s difficult to summarize the career of […]
When it comes to monster movies, the bigger the better. The monsters should be huge, the action fantastic, the budgets sky-high, and the melodrama immeasurable. Godzilla vs. Kong steps into the colossal shadow cast by the cinematic history of both titular creatures, and leaves its own gargantuan mark on the franchises. Taking the helm to […]
This year continues to be anything but typical, and yet the march to the 93rd annual Academy Awards ceremony, moved to April 25, feels familiar. While far fewer films played in theaters over the past 12 months, we still have many cinematic achievements to celebrate, and a must-see movie list is a welcome distraction from […]
Capturing mental degeneration on screen is no easy task. Last year’s Relic did an excellent job of depicting the crushing effects of dementia on a family but, like so many films, it shied away from the interior life of the person suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. The Father takes a much closer look at both the […]