Monthly Archives: April 2023

Orson Welles’ depiction of the confusing, intimate, bloody muddy mire of the Battle of Shrewsbury in “Chimes at Midnight” is the gold standard for Medieval combat recreated on film. Mel Gibson once told me he consulted “Chimes” in choreographing and … Continue reading →

Russell Crowe has made many films better than “The Pope’s Exorcist,” and a few one could label as objectively “worse.” But he’s never made a more cynical movie, a shameless late-career grasp at that which he eschewed back when the … Continue reading →

“Hands on a Hardbody,” the story of Texans competing to win a new “pick’em up truck” by seeing who could stand up and keep one hand on it the longest was a documentary that was excerpted for a “This American … Continue reading →

Say what you like about “Florida Man,” a riff through a lot of familiar action comedy/caper comedy/film noir tropes. It keeps you just invested enough to figure you’re going to have to finish it. Kind of. More or less. The … Continue reading →

A 19th century charter voyage from Romania to…HELL? Well, trapped on a sailing ship with a vampire seems close enough to that. Corey Hawkins (“BlackKklansman,””In the Heights,” “Tragedy of Macbeth”), Aisling Franciosi and Liam Cunningham star in this salty take … Continue reading →

Stop me if you’ve heard this one. A serf, a samurai and a Jew walk into an oligarch’s Ukranian manor house… “Once Upon a Time in Ukraine” is a Syrnyky Western, a Slavic stroll down Sergio Leone Lane. It’s just … Continue reading →

A “mad” teen and madder-than-mad “mad scientist” thriller, this one opens June 9. Yeah, this looks seriously messed-up.

“Sweethurt” is a scruffy, fitfully-amusing Aussie indie that’s basically a soundtrack in search of a better rom-com. It’s a post-breakup farce set to the music of The Skategoats, Midimachine, The Struts, Better Luck Next Time and Third Eye Blind. Yeah, … Continue reading →

“Mafia Mama,” long review short? “Vino, Vespas, violence and vulgarisms.” Sadly, if we’re staying alliterative and offering value judgements on this Toni Collette “validation” star vehicle, we can’t leave out “vapid.” But who doesn’t adore Toni C? Even if the … Continue reading →

There’s this event our Oscar winning King of the “Just Keep Living (JK Livin’) ethos is promoting. This trailer or commercial for it gets at the essence of Matthew McConaughey — laid back, cocksure, shirtless if he needs to be, … Continue reading →