Monthly Archives: April 2024

A Mother-Child coming-of-age drama about coming of age depressed, and a mother led out of depression by, perhaps, her little girl? It’s a period piece set in 1991 and therefor a “personal” tale by actress, turned writer and now first-time … Continue reading →

You’d think Dev Patel’s Indian outing as a Subcontinental “John Wick” would be the fanboy film of the month, with epic action, bloody brawls and a wicked, droll humor levening it’s almost non stop beat downs. Good reviews, great word … Continue reading →

I’m not sure of the reaction “across the pond” to the journalism-in-action drama “Scoop,” an account of how the BBC landed its monarchy-rocking intervew that proved the utter undoing of then-Prince Andrew, the Duke of York. On this side of … Continue reading →

They gather, boarded for a week at college campuses in all 50 states — smart, bright competitive teenage girls selected to participate in one of America’s oldest mock-government institutions. The young women of each state’s “Girls State” debate issues, campaign … Continue reading →

The worst thing about keeping a cinephile’s bucket list is that you never know what you’ve been missing until you hunt for something you know you’ve missed. “Brute Force” might be the greatest prison break movie from the film noir … Continue reading →

I’ve watched quite a few Korean films over the years, and since cinema is an international language working with most of the same dramatic tropes, genres, conventions and plots, I’ve never had much trouble categorizing what I was watching or … Continue reading →

Giancarlo Esposito…my FAVORITE, and Kathryn Newton and Dan “Downton was a LOoooong Time Ago” Stevens co-star in the bloody-minded comic thriller. The second trailer teases more of the action. The plot? All we need to know is why these nice … Continue reading →

In cinephile shorthand, “The First Omen” comes off as an homage to the gory cinema of Dario Argento as imagined by someone who’s only heard descriptions of the famous/infamous Caravaggio of motion picture horror. For a cynical, “Let’s milk this … Continue reading →

A “YA” best-seller drowns in the lazy screenwriter’s worst enemy, endless “VO” of the lead character, constantly telling us her innermost thoughts, in “The Tearsmith,” a tale of orphans who reach puberty bonded by more than just shared trauma. The … Continue reading →

For his feature film directing debut, the British-born Indian star Dev Patel takes a simple vengeance tale and all but overwhelms it with furious action, flashy camera work and breathtaking editing. And I’m kind of OK with that. A Jaipur … Continue reading →