Yearly Archives: 2018

Every time you think “torture porn” is dead and gone, here comes another blood-and-bludgeoning tale to try and revive it. A famous, rich musician is tased and yanked into a van only to wake up lashed to a school desk … Continue reading →

A grandfather suffering through his “last party” at his home takes a break from posing for family photos to hunt down the missing face from the group shot. It’s his granddaughter, who could not be more than seven or eight. … Continue reading →

I had, quite frankly, written off that raving egomaniac Julian Schnabel after his last debacle. But if anybody is going to do “Vincent” justice, even with an actor who should have played him 25 years ago, it would be the … Continue reading →

It’s not secret that a documentary’s subject matter is more important to our reaction to it than its originality, “plot” and execution. We fill the theaters for political docs we agree with, be they from Dinesh D’Souza or Michael Moore. … Continue reading →

A tactless/ruthless acting coach/stage director and a wounded, bipolar mother battle for an unstable young actress’s affections and soul in “Madeline’s Madeline,” an extremely disquieting drama about art, ego, fragility and cruelty. Whatever the mother’s concerns, to the director, this … Continue reading →

If Shakespeare was writing today, he’d be having a blast with “catfishing.” The guy who wrote the book — the plays, actually — on “mistaken identity” romances, disguises, girls dressed as lads, etc., would have been all over social media’s … Continue reading →

Jennifer Garner shows she can still get a dirty, bloody, job done in “Peppermint,” an avenging angel action picture about a widow who lost husband and daughter to “The Cartel” and The System, and means to get her justice the … Continue reading →

The tittering didn’t let up during the showing of “The Nun” I attended. But it had little to do with the jokes in the picture. Maybe a little. No, this was due to the guy — possibly tipsy — who … Continue reading →

“God Bless the Broken Road” is a sad, slight faith-based drama about loss, grieving, fresh starts and loyalty. It dares to be somber and downbeat, hitting that whole “God and country” connection that much of Christian America embraces hard but … Continue reading →

Polly Draper wrote, directed and co-stars, playing the mother to sibling rivals Alex Wolff and Nat Wolff in this love triangle — one brother steals the other’s ballerina girlfriend (Paulina Singer) — set against the backdrop of a beloved, aged … Continue reading →