Robert

When the United States withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021, you couldn’t avoid the international coverage of the chaos around that major event, one that ceded control of the country back to the Taliban. When the final plane had left and the journalists returned to their home countries, the story didn’t end. And that’s where […]

When a film featuring Morgan Freeman and Kevin Spacey is taken out of theaters and goes straight to DVD release, it begs an explanation. To their credit, they are only beating supporting roles while the main ones are performed by L L Cool J and Dylan McDermott as some cops and Justin Timberlake as a

In the mode (but not the spirit) of documentaries like “Man on Wire,” “Free Solo,” and “Fire of Love,” “Skywalkers: A Love Story” is less about persistence, curiosity, and daring than it is about two careless adrenaline junkies taking ridiculous risks to get likes on social media. As the title indicates, writer Jeff Zimbalist wants

An item of commendation in the success of “John Wick” was how the film put Keanu Reeves on screen in a way that brought out the most of his acting prowess. His previous portrayals should give some explanation of how directors have been able to leverage his capabilities, like Bruce Willis as an average Joe

I haven’t had a drink in almost fifteen years, and during the last days of my drinking champagne certainly wasn’t doing the job for me anymore. So upon being called to consider this movie, I feel a little like a more extreme version of Dos Equis’ “Most Interesting Man in the World” character, who said,

Loyalty and oaths create cowards out of all of us. Remember the Rod Steiger incident, playing the mafia elder from Arizona who is now comfortably situated in the Swiss chalet while buried in guards. One loose end still exists: his mistress Jackie. It’s unfortunate, but she is going to have to be eliminated. But, Steiger

Last year, Hong Kong filmmaker Herman Yau directed at least two of the best action movies of the year. In the 1990s, Yau (“Ebola Syndrome,” “The Untold Story”) helmed sensational black comedies and/or true-crime thrillers about psychopathic skid row loners, some of which are now finding new audiences on American Blu-ray boutique labels. Today, Yau

Spaghetti westerns do not appeal to me, but I felt like reviewing this one because it has some historical and other camp values. For acute example, it was the last to be filmed spaghetti in Almeria. I have been there and a lot of the site is all broken down now, though some is doing

I didn’t believe a single second of “Crumb Catcher.” It begins with a nauseating blitz of woozy frames: Shane (Rigo Garay) and Leah (Ella Rae Peck) are taking post-wedding photos, holding each other arm-in-arm in a stilted, forced manner. They relate to the photographer the different versions of how they met. Shane is an author,

The Lady in Red (which is also referred to as Guns, Sin and Bathtub Gin) is an American crime drama feature that premiered in 1979 and was directed by Lewis Teague, with Pamela Sue Martin and Robert Conrad playing the leading roles. This was one of the early writings of John Sayles who later on