Monthly Archives: September 2022

A November release from Magnolia.

Since I consider “Rogue One” to be the best iteration of “Star Wars” since the original trilogy, naturally I’m interested in the prequel to that prequel. The top-of-his-class screenwriter Tony Gilroy wrote that film, and “Michael Clayton,” and he created … Continue reading →

The problem solving, the “gags” used to put characters in jeopardy and extract them from this or that life-threatening jam, is pretty sloppy in “Dig,” a grimy desert Southwest kidnapping thriller starring Thomas Jane, Emile Hirsch and Jane’s daughter, Harlow … Continue reading →

Dainty, dopey and pokey, “223 Wick” is a silly Satanic thriller about a troubled priest and a demonically-associated address. As short as it is, it’s still an hour of life you don’t want to waste. Father Jonathan (Alexi Stavrou) is … Continue reading →

“Swamp Lion” is an overly patient, not-quite-meandering melodrama about a Texas trucker who gets mixed up in smuggling to try and pay for his son’s cancer treatment. This indie film, starring Michael Ray Escamilla, has touching moments and a seriously … Continue reading →

“The Enforcer” is filmed-proof that the difference between a C-movie and a straight-up, watchable B-picture is Antonio Banderas. Ask first-time director Richard Hughes. He’ll tell you. The Aussie Hughes was behind the camera for this tale of finding a single … Continue reading →

His movies aren’t even distributed in the US, not in ways most of the country hears about or sees. He lost his fastball years ago and his breaking stuff hasn’t gotten by of late. And then there’s the whole matter … Continue reading →

There’s a moment in a car chase in the third act of the idiotic action thriller “Section 8” when we see Dermot Mulroney, as one of the heavies, push his SUV to the limit to the sounds of Bach’s Cello … Continue reading →

The trouble with stealing your plots from “The Twilight Zone” is that there’s always the chance that some member of the King family will beat you to the punch. Granted, “Black Phone” took things much further afield. But Oct. 5, … Continue reading →

Most every cinema culture has produced movies guaranteed to make you cry — films about untimely death, a life that shrinks in old age, small tragedies and ones as great as the Holocaust. But for sheer sadness, the deflating gloom … Continue reading →