Throughout his career, writer-director Paul Schrader has excelled at creating challenging, dark movies with jagged moral edges and explosive antiheroes. His newest film, Master Gardener, continues in this vein, and offers the kind of demanding, character-driven, literate film that rarely gets made. The titular gardener is Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), chief groundskeeper of the palatial […]
Throughout his career, writer-director Paul Schrader has excelled at creating challenging, dark movies with jagged moral edges and explosive antiheroes. His newest film, Master Gardener, continues in this vein, and offers the kind of demanding, character-driven, literate film that rarely gets made. The titular gardener is Narvel Roth (Joel Edgerton), chief groundskeeper of the palatial […]
The beauty of Judy Blume Forever, Davina Pardo and Leah Wolchok’s outstanding documentary, is, whether you’ve read Blume’s books repeatedly or not at all, you will be touched, amused, riveted, and even moved by her story. For generations of kids, Blume is a beacon of empathy, a haven of straight talk among the most awkward […]
Longtime pals Ben Affleck and Matt Damon have re-teamed to make Air, the true story of the development of Nike’s Air Jordan sneakers. If this doesn’t sound like promising material, it isn’t. Although Air, directed by Affleck, undeniably has its moments—and there is plenty of talent involved—overall, it’s a story that isn’t worth devoting an […]
Scott Beck and Bryan Woods’ 65 is a lean, tight science fiction adventure—an exceedingly simple survival story. Don’t expect anything new or revolutionary. But at its own pulp level, it’s an engrossing—and at times, touching—film. Spaceship pilot Mills (Adam Driver) leaves on a two-year exploratory mission that comes with a massive raise to pay for […]
For months, the publicity buildup for Elizabeth Banks’ horror-comedy Cocaine Bear has convincingly sold it as deliriously entertaining nonsense. The movie’s hilarious, unrepentantly trashy trailer boldly spelled the plot out: A hulking black bear high on cocaine rampages through the Georgia hills. Sadly, the film is a missed opportunity that doesn’t deliver on its very […]
Infinity Pool is the third feature by writer and director Brandon Cronenberg, and comparisons to his extraordinary father, Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg, are inevitable. With Infinity Pool, Brandon explores dark, grotesque territory similar to what his dad’s work has charted, but only superficially. The younger Cronenberg has a long way to go as a director […]
Gerard Johnstone’s M3GAN is built on a concept that was a chestnut 40 years ago: seemingly benign artificial intelligence turning on its human creators. With a creepy, malicious android little girl as the film’s lead, Johnstone serves up a mélange of Child’s Play, Frankenstein, and Westworld. By playfully reworking the old robots-in-revolt shtick, the horror […]
Writer and director Scott Cooper’s film of Louis Bayard’s novel The Pale Blue Eye is a reasonably engaging American Gothic mystery. It offers visually appealing historical fiction and, at just over two hours, doesn’t overstay its welcome. But with a mediocre script and lead performances that don’t equal its pictorial loveliness, the film only sporadically […]
Watching the film industry transform in 2022 has been more fascinating—and alarming—than anything currently playing in theaters. The hammer blow COVID dealt to movie theater attendance became more obvious than ever: Heavy-hitters like Steven Spielberg and George Miller delivered box office duds, while viewers stayed home en masse and binged on their favorite streaming series. […]
Steven Spielberg’s semi-autobiographical The Fabelmans is a re-creation of the director’s early life—partly embroidered—that focuses mainly on his fixation with filmmaking. Overall, it’s a well-told story and a reminder of his gifts for cinematic storytelling, yet it suffers from detrimental lapses into sappiness and unsubtlety. The film opens on young Spielberg surrogate Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel […]