More than a dozen actors have tackled the role of infamous Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone, from Neville Brand in The Untouchables TV show (1959-1963) to Robert De Niro in the 1987 movie version of the series. But no one has ever played the Chicago mob boss, a.k.a. Scarface and Public …
Read More »'Downhill' Review: Remake Buries the Original's Edgy Appeal
Hollywood knockoffs of foreign-language films almost never work. Remember the recent Miss Bala (based on Mexico’s 2012 Oscars submission of the same name) and The Upside (the Kevin Hart/Bryan Cranston version of the 2011 French hit The Intouchables)? Downhill, an Americanized remake of 2014’s brilliant Force Majeure, turns Swedish director …
Read More »'Everything's Gonna Be Okay' Review: Their Brother's Keeper
Nicholas is not someone who should be charged with caring for the well-being of children. Possibly not even a small, nigh-indestructible pet. Even the people who like Nicholas can tell within seconds of meeting him that this twentysomething is an inveterate narcissist with little to no awareness of the needs, …
Read More »'In Fabric': Devil in a Red Dress (Literally)
One possessed dress. Two customers. A half dozen witches and an unlimited amount of fetishistic perversity — welcome to the world of Peter Strickland. A British filmmaker with a keen grasp of the weird and what appears to be a mission to excavate the darker, danker corners of Eurosploitation cinema, …
Read More »'Queen & Slim': Meet the Bonnie and Clyde of 2019
Racial justice and the outrage at its absence courses through the visual and emotional powerhouse that is Queen and Slim. There’s also the exhilaration that comes from watching talents new to movies seize their moment with a passion that pins you to your seat. Director Melina Matsoukas — and artist …
Read More »'End of the F***ing World' Season Two: A Perfect Ending Undone
“It was a fitting end. A doomed love story. A perfect tragedy.” This is a character in Season Two of The End of the F***ing World describing the dark comedy’s first season. Across eight compact episodes, that season followed mismatched would-be lovers James (Alex Lawther) and Alyssa (Jessica Barden) — …
Read More »'The Laundromat' Review: Power, Corruption and A-List Celebrities
Remember when Steven Soderbergh retired from moviemaking? There was a brief moment when the 56-year-old writer-director declared he was done trying to jam his square-peg projects into a one-size-fits-all landscape. The guy who helped kickstart the Sundance Revolution, who reinvented himself via a meta-masterpiece (we’re talking about Schizopolis and yes, …
Read More »'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' Review: Destroy All Mediocre Franchise Cash-Ins
Damn straight you want to go to the movies, shove popcorn in your face and watch giant creatures from a digital lagoon kick each other’s ass. The title alone means most of us are in the tank for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Besides the jolly green giant lizard, we …
Read More »'Pokemon Detective Pikachu' Review: Gotta Fan-Service 'Em All
Find the most intelligent three-year-old you know. It doesn’t have to be a genius-level prodigy, just the smartest toddler in the room. Now, explain quantum physics to him or her. And then, when you’re done with that, find an adult. It’s a nebulous term, we agree. But aim for someone …
Read More »'Game of Thrones' Close-Up: The Knighting of Brienne of Tarth
A lot happens in each episode of Game of Thrones. So every week, we’re drilling down on one memorable scene in particular. Full spoilers for this week’s episode, “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” coming up. “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” picks up exactly where “Winterfell” left off — …
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