In the documentary ‘I Am Thor,’ out now on Blu-ray, “nice guy” Canadian bodybuilder-turned-stripper-turned-heavy-metal-rock-star John Mikl Thor decides one day in the mid-1990s to try to regain a sliver of the fame he had in the crazy, sexed-up 1970s.
Were it anyone else but Charlie Kaufman holding the reins on this, things might not seem so generic and adrift, yet again, considering the level of novelty and creativity he has brought to previous offerings, Anomalisa feels decidedly thin, and only partially formed.
There is so much to be learned from Criterion’s new Blu-ray of Bitter Rice, even today. It is a perfect surprise, proving how important and how much fun it is to discover older movies with fresh eyes.
The Revenant is one of the most ambitious films in recent memory and one of the best pictures of the year. Go see it. It’s worth your time and money.
Experimenter is one of the best and most overlooked films of the year, and definitely worth catching up with as soon as possible.
Those that don’t have the capacity to find some sliver of perverse humor in point-blank headshots, projectile blood vomiting, aggressive rape scenes, and cold blooded murder probably won’t like The Hateful Eight. That’s their loss, though, for the rest of us that have followed Tarantino on his cinematic gallop through the last 20-plus years have come to expect nothing less, and in the director’s eighth offering, he most certainly does not disappoint.
Although there are discernible arcs and some level of growth for a few of the characters, ‘Youth’ is all so on-the-nose and force-fed that the whole affair comes off as decidedly manufactured and plastic.
The Force Awakens is an action film. It feels like Star Wars but it isn’t Star Wars.
An expertly crafted drama with impeccable performances, a tight script, stunning set and costume designs, and a brisk yet thoughtful pace, director Todd Haynes’ newest film, Carol, soars.
At nearly three hours, one laments the wasted opportunity, for there is ample time, directorial muscle, and acting horsepower to walk the line between cinematically engaging and broadly digestible.
For months now, people online and off have been speculating, hoping, disavowing their interest in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. So with so much non-film related stuff swirling around J.J. Abrams latest installment of the Star Wars serial, how is one to offer any insightful critique of The Force Awakens?
As a spectacle, as pure entertainment, The Force Awakens delivers. Its pace is near break-neck, but it rarely feels rushed. The climax manages to feel bigger-than-life and starkly intimate at the same time. And people will be talking about the movie’s big plot points for months.
Brooklyn is cinematic pea soup. It’s groggy, flavorless and utterly unremarkable. Not even Nick Hornby’s script or Saoirse Ronan’s performance can save it.
A single woman takes the place of a stranger’s blind date, which leads to her finding the perfect boyfriend.
Room is a powerful drama that signals the arrival of Brie Larson as a dramatic actress.