The unbelievable strangeness inherent in truth has made for some incredibly destabilizing documentaries about the blurred lines of fact and fiction. Films like “Dear Zachary,” “Catfish,” “Exit Through The Gift Shop” and “The Imposter” all blow themselves up in the middle all featuring “oh shit!”-like twists so disarming, so surprising they make one question the very reality and existence of what you’ve been watching. So, prepare to be fooled, thrilled and surprised with a new classic of this upending subgenre with “Untitled Amazing Johnathan Documentary,” a doc that uses the integral subject of magic and artifice to create a riveting meta-story about the illusory nature of truth, trust and the self-examining questioning of what you thought to be real.
‘The Lodge’: Arthouse Horror Chalks Up Another Win In This Claustrophobic Family Drama [Sundance Review]
Arthouse horror is on a tear right now, and it’s no secret. One of the most inspiring movements in American cinema right now, modern classics like “Hereditary,” “Get Out,” “The Witch,” “It Follows,” et al. have reinvigorated a genre blunted by the cheap slasher films of the ’80s and ’90s and sparked something of a movement, thoughtful, emotionally bruising and sometimes glacially paced horror. Who knows, look back in 10 years, and cinema historians may find an even deeper correlation that we can see to our toxic, uncertain times, and this cinema of unease and collective trauma.
‘Blinded By The Light’: The Transformative Power Of Bruce Springsteen Fuels This Excellent Crowdpleaser [Sundance Review]
Heartwarming, life-affirming cinema always has the perilous potential for turning mawkish. But uplifting music, free of the sometimes overwrought dimensions of moviemaking, is usually free of such burdens. Zeroing in on the advantages of the latter and mostly avoiding the pitfalls of the former, filmmaker Gurinder Chadha succeeds in achieving that exuberant, ineffable feeling when music can change your life. In her inspiring new drama “Blinded by the Light,” Chadha (“Bend it Like Beckham“) taps into the anthemic spirit of the always-stirring songs of Bruce Springsteen.
‘The Death Of Dick Long’ Is A Hilarious, Southern-Fried ‘Fargo’ From Co-Director Of ‘Swiss Army Man’ [Sundance Review]
A pitch-black comedy akin to a white trash version of “Fargo,” “The Death of Dick Long,” is the sophomore directorial effort of Daniel Scheinert—the self-described redneck half of directing duo DANIELS, who created the terrifically inventive “Swiss Army Man” (filmmaking partner Daniel Kwan sits this one out). And, just like Joel and Ethan Coen‘s crime thriller, Scheinert’s film is infused with the playful embrace of cultural stereotypes that come with the genre. Here, it’s the South (and Alabama, in particular), and Scheinert’s latest is a dark, but gut-bustingly hilarious, good time at the movies, all due to his gift for infusing tonally perfect humor with sincere and seriously drawn narrative momentum. In fact, there are no dull moments in this ridiculously brutal, often severely dumb, but enjoyable, film about two dim-witted guys who are in over their heads trying to cover up the accidental death of their friend Dick Long.
Netflix’s ‘Bandersnatch’ Feels Gimmicky Rather Than Cinematic
A lot has been said about Netflix's "Black Mirror: Bandersnatch," a "choose-your-adventure" formatted movie that seems to destroy the intentions and artistic value of cinema. "Bandersnatch" tries to work on two levels. On one level, it tries to envelop you into the psyche of a disturbed teenager's mind. This is done by having the narrative appear in a jumbled timeline, completely disorienting you. This disorientation is caused by the choices you have and the frequently replay, creating a feeling of inevitability, as if what happens was always going to happen. In doing so, it makes you understand how someone can feel events are out of the control of the main character, Stefan.
Read more‘Springsteen on Broadway’ is pure storytelling magic.
Bruce Springsteen's one-man Broadway show, an impactful and Tony-Award winning hybrid of storytelling and song, lasted for close to 18 months at New York City's legendary Walter Kerr Theater. Why all this hype for what was essentially a 69-year-old rock artist telling his life story on-stage with just the assistance of guitar and piano? Because, Springsteen is the epitome of a masterful storyteller, if there ever was one — he knows how to grab your attention with words alone. After all, he’s been doing it in song and on-stage for more than 50 years now. It’s almost become a caricature to think of him as anything but a songwriting troubadour, a man of the people, who could grab the attention of 80,000 fans in a stadium with soaring anthems. And sometimes he manages to tell a story about his life experiences to a captivated audience.
Read more“Mary Poppins Returns” Needs More Than Just a Spoonful of Sugar to Make it Go Down [Review]
What can I say about this sequel to the 1963 Disney musical? Its forced whimsy most definitely did not have me at hello; from “(Underneath the) Lovely London Sky” to “Nowhere to Go but Up,” I just wasn't won over. “Mary Poppins Returns” feels like a figment of another era, a film that felt like it should have been released in the 1960s.
Read more“On The Basis of Sex" Is A Disservice to the Exceptional Life and Times of RBG
I had high expectations for Mimi Leder‘s "On The Basis of Sex", after all was being been dubbed as the Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic. I can't think of more appropriate Oscar-bait. However, you hear that thud in the background? That's the sound of a well-meaning but mediocre film losing all steam and buzz after critics watch it.
Read more‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ is a visual groundbreaker [Review]
This was a very pleasant visual experience, to say the least. "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," an animated take on the Marvel superhero, is the closest a movie has coming to making a comic book spring to life. The film tells the coming-of-age story of Miles Morales (voiced by Sameik Moore), teenage son to an African-American cop and a Puerto Rican nurse, who gets bitten by a radioactive spider and...well you know the set-up.
Read more“Vice" is a sprawling and satirical look into the evil psyche of Dick Cheney [Review]
Forget about the physical transformation that Christian Bale had to make to become Dick Cheney in Adam McKay's "Vice," Yes, the 44-year-old Welsh actor gained 40 pounds to play Dubya's Vice Prez, we expect that from the legendary Welsh method actor. No, this role isn't just an impersonation, it's a genetic inheritance, a cloning, if you will. He carries McKay's film with a towering performance that will be talked about for ages.
Read more“Stan & Ollie" Is a Touching and Heartfelt Tribute to a Legendary Duo [review]
When his best friend Oliver Hardy died, Stan Laurel refused to act ever again. That simple insight explains the core of what makes Jon Baird‘s "Stan & Ollie" (Sony Classics, 12.28) a touching tribute to the legendary Hollywood duo. The film is about a lasting friendship in a line of work where friendships shouldn't exist, and backstabbing is supposed to happen, every inch of your moral compass being tossed out of the window for the sake of fame.
Read moreSylvester Stallone Retires From Rocky Balboa Role
In a video posted this morning, which was shot during filming on the last day of “Creed II,” actor Sylvester Stallone revealed that he’s hanging up his gloves with “Creed II” serving as his final performance as Rocky Balboa. In the video he speaks with the the cast and crew of the film:
Read more‘The Favourite' is One of the Year's Very Best Films
Yorgos Lanthimos turned more than a few heads with his 2010 film, the bewildering "Dogtooth." The film, which was about a locked up family living by their own set of language, math and rules, announced the arrival of a new cinematic talent, albeit one that would no doubt be divisively met by critics and audiences alike. Lanthimos felt like a sort of heir to Bunuel's own provocative brand of cinema, which the late great master perfected in the '60s and '70s with "Viridiana," 'The Exterminating Angel," "The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie" and "The Obscure Object of Desire."
Read more‘At Eternity's Gate' Tackles an Artist Who Only Got Recognition Post-Mortem, And There Are Plenty of Them
Julian Schanbel's "At Eternity's Gate" tackles Vincent Van Gogh's life in deceptively simple ways. The film's eloquence derives in the fact that Schnabel is much more interested in the torment and the undue respect the painter of "Starry Night" never got from his cohorts. Van Gogh himself would approve of this intimate channeling — the visions and torment that seeped through the impressionist painter are dealt with head-on in Schanbel's film.
Read more‘Cam’ Is A Beautifully Twisted Peek Inside The World Of Online Sex Work
Daniel Goldhaber‘s “Cam” felt like a great, un-aired episode of Netflix’s acclaimed anthology series “Black Mirror.” Goldhaber’s film is a mysterious dive into the unknown, a dreamy and surreal take on social networking that will make you think twice about not just webcamming, but what someone’s self-worth, and their own identity, might really mean online.
Read more'The Girl in the Spider's Web' delivers pulpy thrills [Review]
Let's get this out of the way; "The Girl in the Spider’s Web" doesn't remotely come close to replicating the artful resonance that David Fincher gave to his 2011 film "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," hell, Alvarez' film can't quite muster enough quality to stack up with the first two Swedish films, directed by Niels Arden Oplev based on Stieg Larsson’s bestselling Swedish novels (The third was a dud). However, I cannot dismiss the nerve-wrecking tension that is packed in 'Spider's Web,' a grisly 117 minute pulp noir.
Read more'Boy Erased' is well-intentioned but saccharine-inducing [Review]
An adaptation of Garrard Conley’s 2016 memoir about gay conversion therapy, writer-director Joel Edgerton's "Boy Erased" is a well-intentioned but maudlin attempt at Oscar-bait. Edgerton's film tackles the case of Jared Eamons, an Arkansas teen (Lucas Hedges), with conservative Christian parents, including his dad Marshall (Russell Crowe), a Baptist minister who has a knack, like many ministers do, of taking the bible a tad-too-literally. Mom Nancy (Nicole Kidman) is the sane voice of reason, but not enough to prevent Jared from being shipped off to a gay conversion therapy center when dad finds out that his son is gay. Nancy's reluctance is eventually turned into agreement with hubby when church leaders advise her it's the right thing to do, Jared needs to be 'cured.'
Read moreJoel and Ethan Coen's 'Ballad of Buster Scruggs': All six shorts reviewed
Joel and Ethan Coen‘s "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" was supposed to be a six-part Netflix anthology series, but it was then announced, right before the Venice Film Festival, that it would premiere and be released as a 132 minute feature-length film using the structure of an anthology. Any new work by the Coens should instantly be an automatic must-see for any serious cinephile. 'Buster Scruggs' is no exception. I've decided to review each of the six segments 0f the film and rate them based on their own merits. It's the only way to truly dissect the latest work from a directing duo that has become, quite possibly, the best working filmmakers in the world.
Read more‘Bodied’ Tackles Rap-Battling and P.C. Culture [Review]
Joseph Kahn’s "Bodied" has been dubbed a 'battle-rap comedy,' and it does start that way with the main character explaining to his girlfriend the gist of free-stylin'. If you've seen "8 Mile," you know how it works. You square off against an opponent, circled by a crowd of enthusiasts, in a freestyle battle, just two people in a ring and a war of rhythmical words. What can occur in such a battle is an apocalyptic-like sensation that has an ADD intensity and a cause/effect of whiplash.
Read more‘Bohemian Rhapsody' could have used more of that rhapsody [Review]
Nothing bold or original is splashed onto the screen in Bryan Singer's "Bohemian Rhapsody." Maybe that's the point. After all, what can a filmmaker possibly do to break the mold of the rise and fall biopic? It's not like critically acclaimed biopics such as "Ray," "I Walk the Line," "Bound for Glory," "Straight Outta Compton," and "Coal Miner's Daughter" had groundbreaking narratives either. No, but what made them work was the filmmaking and the way they told their stories. For all the conventional tropes tackled in these films, the filmmaking had a you-are-there sense of wonder that made them palpably felt and lived-in.
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Following “Air,” this is Affleck’s latest stint behind the camera. He has cast himself in the lead role, alongside Kerry Washington, Steven Yeun, and Gillian Anderson (“The X-Files”).