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 […]
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 […]
One-hit-wonder Clint has fallen on hard times in National Anthem, a new full-length experimental feature from local filmmaker Will Goss. Through a blend of animation and live action, the movie follows Clint as he receives an email from another planet, Rena Lara, that asks him to come visit and write its national anthem. Goss, who […]
Netflix has elaborately revived Erich Maria Remarque’s classic World War I novel All Quiet on the Western Front, directed by Edward Berger. Remarque’s novel’s descriptions of trench warfare and mechanized bloodshed have lost none of their punch (likewise, Lewis Milestone’s 1930 film version), but in Berger’s take, many elements don’t fully coalesce into the potent […]
If you say “Fletch” to people 40 and up, Chevy Chase immediately comes to mind. Chase’s portrayal of Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher, a former investigative-reporter-turned-detective in the ’80s comedies Fletch and Fletch Lives, linked him forever with the title character. But Jon Hamm has wanted to revive the wisecracking investigator for years, and his long-gestating pet […]
David Bowie was so ahead of his time that, even six years after his death, his music seems advanced. Brett Morgen’s concert film/documentary Moonage Daydream is a cause for celebration for the Thin White Duke’s millions of fans with its combination of musical footage, interviews with Bowie, other archival clips, and animation. Morgen has said […]
Having masterminded the Mad Max franchise, Australian director George Miller could have spent his entire career making billions filming high-octane chases around a post-apocalyptic wasteland. Instead, he consistently chooses unusual, disparate projects, ranging from The Witches of Eastwick to the animated Happy Feet. His latest, Three Thousand Years of Longing, again proves he’s anything but […]