Yearly Archives: 2018

“It’s the crackle I love,” the record collector narrates to his son, who shares his passion. “We can disappear into it.” That’s where “The Song of Sway Lake” lives — an elegiac, playful wallow in the crackle of pre-vinyl shellac … Continue reading →

Good casting. Not perfect, but good. A David Hyde Pierce/Oliver Platt (or John Goodman) pairing 20 years ago might have been more on the nose. Does the world remember Laurel and Hardy? Aside from film buffs?’ Because this one looks … Continue reading →

    “Stephanie” begins as a supernatural mystery, flirts with “Quiet Ones” thrills and fizzles into the sentimental, enervated horror that is exactly what we expected — only more boring — in those opening scenes. The fact that it barely … Continue reading →

“Painless” is a thoughtful, lightly-affecting drama about a lonely man’s search for feeling in a life without pain. It has an affecting gimmick, but lives on its engaging performances, good actors playing lived-in, flawed and realistic characters. It’s a breakthrough … Continue reading →

Space is lived-in, worn, not polished and pristine in “Prospect” — more “Outland” and “Alien” and “The Martian” than the Apple Store design showpieces in shades of white that are Hollywood’s preferred way of transporting humans through the void. And … Continue reading →

I just reviewed this movie on Netflix, right? “Nightworld” it was called — ex cop takes job as night watchman in a haunted apartment building. Oh, right. In “The Super” the guy (Patrick John Flueger) is…a SUPER. The frights appear … Continue reading →

Yes, there were black people in Nazi Germany. So “Where Hands Touch” is a World War II drama on solid ground, historically. And the film does not trivialize or otherwise dilute The Holocaust in remembering that along with six million … Continue reading →

Some myths die harder than others. But the self-sustaining hype of horror mogul Eli Roth was never much more than smoke and torture porn mirrors. Removed from that hype and outside of his narrow genre, as “Death Wish” made clear and … Continue reading →

If nothing else, kudos are due to the creators of “Nightworld” for casting Jason London and Robert Englund in the leads. If only Michael York had been available. It’s a moody, nightmarish story of night watchman work in a mysterious … Continue reading →

Brie Larson has the title role, one small step for Marvel to get some of that “Wonder Woman” buzz, crossover appeal, etc. etc. “Captain Marvel” is a March release, opening in that “Black Panther” (broadly speaking) window. Directors of modest … Continue reading →