Yearly Archives: 2018

Shailene Woodley makes a salty wench on a halyard winch in “Adrift,” a solid if unsurprisingly conventional survival at sea tale that’s for fans only. By “fans” I mean Shailene fans, those who forgave the “Divergent” sell-out or who just … Continue reading →

“What’s wrong with you?” Jersey islander Moll hears this often, and her reactions — wincing, wounded, resigned — make us realize she’s been hearing it for years, if not all her life. Moll (Jessie Buckley of the recent A & … Continue reading →

Well, this just looks daft. In the Old West, R. Patts pines away for his long lost beloved. He’s brought a preacher with him to Tie the Knot when he catches up with the fair Penelope. And she’s not having … Continue reading →

In the netherscape of Sword and Sorcery Land, a lad takes his training and his lessons from his father. “You must draw from your surroundings,” the would-be warrior’s dad (Adam Gregory) counsels, dropping the tweenage kid again. Find strength on … Continue reading →

“You Get Me” is a spurned-lover thriller for teenagers, “Swimfan” with less swimming, “Fatal Attraction” without the bunny. It offers model, bombshell and tabloid princess Bella Thorne the chance to play the bad girl  — REALLY bad — in a … Continue reading →

Think of “Sara’s Notebook” as a “Heart of Darkness” for Africa in the age of Conflict Minerals and NGOs. Stick with me, because I’m going to run with this conceit a while. This Spanish film, acquired by Netflix, is a … Continue reading →

It’s a credit to the makers of the soccer documentary “Nossa Chape” that they’d still have a decent film, even without the tragedy that underscores the one they made. Chapecó is a relatively small, poor city in fútbol-mad Brazil, perpetual … Continue reading →

There’s evidence of ambition in “The Yellow Birds,” a sober-minded Iraq War drama based on combat vet-author Kevin Powers’ novel. It has a hint of “In the Valley of Elah” in its mysterious death of a soldier and Biblical undertones, … Continue reading →

“Maineland” is an underachieving documentary about over-achieving Chinese exchange students at a remote prep school in Maine. It’s a culture-clash story where cultures don’t truly clash, where “America” doesn’t so much rub off on kids from Chinese megacities relocated to … Continue reading →

Torture porn? Not really my genre. Kind of out-of-step with the “#MetToo” zeitgeist, with the perpetrators too-often having that “InCel” vibe about their attitudes towards women. “Who’s Watching Oliver” is a twisted, darkly comical serial killer/torture porn tale set in … Continue reading →