Ballet 422 Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) There’s a sequence two-thirds into Ballet 422, Jody Lee Lipes’ hands-off documentary chronicling a wunderkind choreographer’s attempt to bring a ballet from idea to stage, that knocked my socks off. No, it’s not Lipes’ shot of the back of his protagonist Justin Peck’s head with dancers appearing to literally spool out of […]
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) A final film in a series shouldn’t need this much exposition. A final film in a series shouldn’t be so light on concluding excitement. A final film in a series shouldn’t have to force feed its viewers hackeneyed closure for its characters. A final film in a series shouldn’t be so lacking […]
Steve Jobs Review
RATING: (3 STARS) End-to-end control. It’s a personal computing philosophy that drove Steve Jobs and comes up regularly as a point of confrontation in the movie Steve Jobs. Many of his contemporaries and colleagues felt end-to-end control, which restricts a device’s compatibility with other devices, would significantly narrow a user’s possibilities. And that’s exactly what […]
Ricki and the Flash Review
RATING: (3 STARS) One week before Ricki and the Flash opened in theaters, we were met with a film called The End of the Tour about author David Foster Wallace. The two films have next to nothing in common, but I bring up The End of the Tour because I think its title perfectly describes […]
Spotlight Review
RATING: (4 STARS) I wanted to open this review with some sort of flashy pun about how good journalism shines a light on the underserved or poorly treated in our society, and because this film is called Spotlight, it does a particularly good job at that. I couldn’t find the right quote, and I see […]
While We’re Young Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) While We’re Young is the type of film in which Vanity Fair publishes a full page interview with the question, “Are you a hipster?†It’s the type of film in which an echo effect is added to the final line in a climactic fight. It’s the type of film in which a […]
Spectre Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Spectre is Daniel Craig’s fourth James Bond film, and for the fourth time, he’s carrying the franchise through an origin story. Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace combined to share with us the beginnings of Bond as 007. Skyfall represented the start of M, Q, and Moneypenny as we know them. Now […]
He Named Me Malala Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Malala Yousafzi was an ordinary girl in rural Pakistan who wanted to get an education. For her troubles, she was shot in the head by the Taliban. 15 years old. Because she wanted to go to school. There will be some who say He Named Me Malala, the documentary chronicling Malala’s life, […]
99 Homes Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Ramin Bahrani is perhaps the quintessential maker of American films working today. That isn’t to say he’s the best filmmaker this country has to offer — great, yes, but not on that level yet — but rather that no one crafts movies that tackle aspects of our national tradition with such precision […]
Woman in Gold Review
RATING: (3 STARS) Kate Winslet famously said in the television show Extras that if you do a film about the Holocaust, you’re guaranteed an Oscar. It’s a joke born at least partially out of the truth. Her next line: “Schindler’s bloody List, The Pianist — Oscars coming out of their ass.†And Winslet’s own post-Extras […]
Bridge of Spies Review
RATING: (3 STARS) In Steven Spielberg’s Cold War drama Bridge of Spies, Mark Rylance plays a man named Rudolf Abel. Accused of spying on the United States for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, Abel is potentially looking at the electric chair if convicted. Legal representation is offered by James Donovan (Tom Hanks), who’s utterly […]
Truth Review
RATING: (3.5 STARS) Truth‘s biggest misstep might be its title. James Vanderbilt wrote and directed this absorbing journalism drama about the CBS News scandal that brought an end to Dan Rather’s time as the network’s lead anchor, and it’s about so, so many things, but I’m not sure truth is one of them. It’s an […]
Sleeping with Other People Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Sleeping with Other People is Leslye Headland’s sophomore feature, and following the mixed reception of Bachelorette, a Bridesmaids-esque comedy darker than the deepest recesses of space, she seems to have taken some notes and steered toward something approaching approachability. If consulted, I would have told Headlund to stay “out there.†Not only […]
Black Mass Review
RATING: (2.5 STARS) Black Mass feels perfunctory and uninspired. It appears to exist because the story of James “Whitey” Bulger is one that should be chronicled in a narrative film and unfortunately not because those involved have something unique to say about it. As such, it takes a paint-by-numbers approach to 20 years of Bulger’s […]
The Martian Review
RATING: (3 STARS) In Stanley Kubrick’s epic space saga, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Strauss’ “Blue Danube Waltz” plays over a famous docking sequence. In Ridley Scott’s The Martian, a critical docking sequence is scored by David Bowie’s “Starman.” The differences go on, but perhaps it’s this one that best demonstrates what Scott is going for […]
Mississippi Grind Review
RATING: (4 STARS) A breathtaking rainbow at the start of Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck’s gambling drama Mississippi Grind promises gold on the other side. Whether or not the film and its two lead characters — the permanently down-on-his-luck Gerry (Ben Mendelsohn) and the naturally charming and seemingly care-free Curtis (Ryan Reynolds) — actually get […]
