Monthly Archives: May 2022

“Official Competition” is an arid farce about movies as “cinema,” the pretension of festivals and festival-honored films made by “critics’ darlings.” It’s built on scenes that either hit the bullseye, or miss the mark because of slow pacing and a … Continue reading →

Mixed reviews and Sam Raimi’s offbeat turn toward horror in the third act haven’t dampened the box office impact of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” The film pulled in $36 million from Thursday, adding up to a $90 … Continue reading →

Ang Lee would go on to Oscar winning glory, helming “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” and “Broke back Mountain.” But his debut feature was a touching and sometimes amusing fish-out-of-water story about an old widower trying to fit in with his … Continue reading →

Bad news/good news time. Bad news, Justin Lin finally decided the high price of (Vin) Diesel was reason enough to bail out of the “Fast and Furious” franchise. He quit “Fast X.” Good news, Louis Leterrier, director of the tighter, … Continue reading →

Antonia Campbell-Hughes has the title role, with Joel Fry, Aline Armstrong and Johnny Flynn, who might be the threat, in this paranoid thriller. “Cordelia” comes our way May 20, via Screen Media.

This engrossing drama about bullying and its impact not just on the boy directly subject to it, but to his sister, stay at home dad, family and a school bureaucracy helpless to handle it has a lot to offer…and subtitles. … Continue reading →

If there’s one thing the pandemic lockdown taught us, it’s that some filmmakers had ideas that turn the restrictions and limitations of that time into dramatic scenarios. “Glimpse” combines disparate, isolated characters, hidden camera CCTV footage and rising paranoia about … Continue reading →

The great thing about Bogart was that he never lost that nasty edge that gave him a career, even as he transitioned from heavies to leading men. There’s a hint of Fred C. Dobbs, Duke Mantee and Roy Earle in … Continue reading →

Making Wendy a bigger deal in this story has been a thing for a decade or more. “The Lost Girls” promises to be the most Wendy centric version yet. June 17.

“Petite Maman” is a memory play for children, a children’s fantasy for grown-ups. The latest film from Céline Sciamma, who gave us the Oscar-winning “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” is an understated and distinctly adult look at childhood, death … Continue reading →