There are few droll joys in cinema more satisfying than watching and hearing George Clooney and Brad Pitt exchange knowing looks and wry, occasionally pointed banter. They’ve appeared in several films together, but the camaraderie stuff mainly happens in the “Ocean’s” caper films directed by Steven Soderbergh. (In the Coen Brothers’ 2008 “Burn After Reading,” […]
Enough time has passed in cinema history for the name Merchant-Ivory to have become an adjective. It’s made from the names of Director James Ivory and producer Ismail Merchant, who worked together from the 1960s through Merchant’s death in 2005. Critics use the hyphenate to refer to “costume dramas” generally, and to any historical drama
Many stories tell about the country’s ecological catastrophe as well as the plight of its native population, however, it is upon us to consider the past that has been bestowed upon us as well as listen to them all as it concerns the future of this country. I had some problems with the production of
Wynonna Earp: Vengeance (2024) was released on SYFY back in 2016, and while it was a low-budget, sometimes cringe-worthy show, one cannot deny that it was quite enjoyable. It was truly a remarkable blend of the fantasy genre with Western elements such as robberies and gun fights. The production was quite great and talented, coupled
“The Deliverance” would have worked just fine if it had functioned solely as a domestic drama infused with the thorny, real-world issues of addiction, poverty and racism. This is territory director Lee Daniels knows well, having given us a searing exploration of these subjects with his Academy Award-winning 2009 film “Precious.” Daniels made his name
In what appears to be a story of detention, Ben heads back to his hometown of Jerusalem’s Lot which once inspired him to write his magic, but things have changed in the town, and now there is an intimidating vampire who is preying on the helpless citizens of the town. Shedding light on the initial
Let’s put this straight Imagine you are a part of the group that has all cleaned the murder scene, and you stumble upon a bag full of money, what would you think you would do? The only time you should ever think that there is absolutely no chance you are taking the suitcase home with
“City of Dreams” is a movie with a mission: to raise awareness about child trafficking. However, as a work of fiction “inspired by true events,” it leaves much to be desired. It is a sensationalized portrait of the problem, the kind of movie that doesn’t pull at the heartstrings so much as it takes a
There are few things a microbudget Canadian thriller director loves more than a judiciously-placed woodland setting. That’s certainly true of actor-director Adam MacDonald, who previously crafted wilderness chillers “Backcountry” and “Pyewacket,” both of which use Canada’s voluminous forests to spine-tingling effect. In his latest, “Out Come the Wolves,” he dips back into the woodsy well
When one thinks of the concept of the celebrity persona, it can range from the handcrafted (a la early Lady Gaga) to the authentically alluring (a la always Rihanna) or highly contentious (the late Joan Rivers). Magnetic figures often have a pronounced degree of accessibility or pointed refusal of it (that’s why “I’m Still Here”
