Some movies are good. Some movies are bad. And some are just so bonkers, they defy rational assessment. Fatman is one of those. Co-directors and writers Eshom and Ian Helms have crafted a stunning piece of whack-battery that seems more like a fever dream than an actual plot. Not that there’s anything wrong with zany…
Following a whirlwind romance in Monte Carlo, a naïve unnamed young woman (Lily James) is swept off her feet by the handsome and debonair and recently widowed Maxim De Winter (Armie Hammer) and marries him. She is whisked off to Manderley, his imposing ancestral mansion on the windswept English coast. But far from an idyllic…
A spoof on mercenary Hollywood producers, The Comeback Trail delighted me. It features three of the biggest stars in the business. It’s Hollywood, 1974. Max Barber (Robert De Niro) is a producer whose lack of success in churning out D-grade dirges precedes him. Barber works in partnership with his nephew, Walter Creason (Zach Braff), although…
Something is not quite right with talented artist Rosalind (Olga Kurylenko) in Paula van der Oest’s The Bay of Silence. One minute the mother of young twin daughters is exuberant and full of life. The next, she’s sullen and suspicious. She sleepwalks and claws at the walls. Then she meets and falls for Will (Claes…
A little late for Halloween maybe, but Freaky will definitely scratch that comedy-horror itch. Co-writer and director Christopher Landon builds on the success of his Happy Death Day films with this enjoyable romp – even if he doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. While the Happy Death Day series riffed on Groundhog Day,…
First-time documentary director Catherine Dwyer starts her career off impressively with Brazen Hussies. This highly entertaining film charts the course of the so-called “women’s liberation” (the term is pretty dated now) movement between about 1968 and 1976. Over the course of the film’s crisp 93 minutes, Dwyer explores what motivated the movement, where it went…
Marie Curie is one of those people. Most of us have a vague idea about her, but her real genius remains elusive. Marjane Satrapi’s (Persepolis) handsome but slightly awkward Radioactive paints a fuller – if generally deferential – picture of the groundbreaking scientist. Lauren Redniss provides the source material via her “visual non-fiction*” book, Radioactive:…
John Hyams’ psychological thriller Alone has twists aplenty. This two-hander set in the Pacific Northwest kept me engaged throughout. Six months ago, Jessica (Jules Willcox) lost her husband in tragic circumstances. Now she’s decided to move away. Her parents were going to help her pack, but she decided to do it alone and avoid especially…
It’s Halloween, so we’re checking out a little spooky action with the Netflix movie, Vampires vs The Bronx. This fun excursion into the supernatural won’t test your brain, but never wears out its welcome. Director Osmany “Oz” Rodriguez has an impressive CV in television, notably on A. P. Bio and Saturday Night Live. And he…
While a largely enjoyable romp, The Mystery of Henri Pick becomes too convoluted for its own good. Henri Pick made pizzas for a living in France’s Brittany region. No one could have guessed was a gifted author (so much so that he could juxtapose Russian novelist Alexander Pushkin with the last throes of a relationship)?…
