Category Archives: Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news

“Lost in Perfection” is a generally straightforward melodrama with thriller elements, or maybe a simple thriller with lots of melodrama (contrived plot twists and character “complications”). But every so often, one is allowed to ponder if it isn’t some sort … Continue reading →

It is a dreadful oversight on someone’s part that the picture of Audrey Tatou as “Amélie” doesn’t adorn the Wikipedia page for the word “coquette.” Wide-eyed and adorable, with a pixie haircut emphasizing her youth and that dimpled smile evoking … Continue reading →

There’s a stranger in this dusty, 1870 New Mexican town. But as it’s just after the Civil War, this stranger, packing a Remington six-shooter, is Black. Rail thin, served, but “barely,” in the log-cabin excuse for a saloon, asked for … Continue reading →

Got to get Krasinski back into the story, if only briefly. So…prequel time, back to the days when the sound-sensitive alien beasties first dropped in. Krasinski didn’t direct. He just gets a story credit, a brief appearance and a fat … Continue reading →

You can see the seeds of a decent modern day Western in “The Stolen Valley,” a thriller about Native American land theft, vanishing heritage, blood ties and the Old West delusions of Southwestern gun culture. First-time writer-director Jesse Edwards’ script … Continue reading →

With its long pre-production process and almost as long release schedule, cinema has never been the most deft medium at surfing the tides of pop culture. Trends bubble up or explode, and like a time-delayed bomb, movies get hold of … Continue reading →

Cute enough, I guess. No, I don’t refer to The Super Bowl as “The Big Game.” The National Concussion League can go suck it. Ryan Reynolds and Randall Park promote the preview showing during the final game of the endless … Continue reading →

“RedLife” is a grimly immersive, relentlessly downbeat Thai melodrama that stumbles among the down-and-out crowd of Bangkok’s underbelly. Sex workers and thieves dream small — starting a life as a couple, getting a “real job,” a single mom simply hoping … Continue reading →

As horror movies that weave “Scream” and “Dead Zone” plot points and gimmicks with high school homophobia and staring it down go, “Departing Seniors” parks itself squarely in “I’ve seen worse.” Grace notes about sexuality, blunt treatments of bullying and … Continue reading →

One doesn’t get a sense that enough was spent on hiring a tasty mob-connected villain for this Feb. 23 release. But the setting and the set-up have time-proven potential. The tone of “The Bad Shepherd” seems just right. Money’s power … Continue reading →