The Old Oak
The Old Oak, the latest, and possibly the final film, from legendary director Ken Loach, is as vital, stirring, somber, and clear eyed as the rest of his work. Concentrating [...]
Civil War
An often terrifying and harrowing experience of a not-so-distant future in which fascism and nationalism (I think) wrap themselves in patriotism and two different America's are at war, writer-director Alex [...]
La Chimera
Shades of Italian neo-realism, magical realism, and silent movies are on full display in La Chimera, a moving, observed comedic period drama centered on a Tuscany village that discovers Etruscan [...]
Wicked Little Letters
“We worship a messiah who suffered, so by suffering, don’t we move closer to Heaven?” “...No, I don’t think so.” This exchange, between the devout Edith Swan (Olivia Colman) and [...]
Scoop
Scoop, from director Philip Martin, seems to want to be She Said, but fails to spark anywhere near the level of excitement, interest, importance or gravity of that earlier film. While [...]
Monkey Man
There is no doubt that John Wick's dynamic, revenge-fueled action odyssey alongside international martial arts spectacles, including The Raid and Ong Bak, have together metamorphized a once-stagnant genre into something [...]
The First Omen
Religious horror is going through a bit of a boom at the moment. From last month's sleeper success, the Sydney Sweeney-starring/produced Immaculate, and now this prequel to the 1976 classic [...]
The Listener
The Listener, from director Steve Buscemi, is an unusual film in the sense that it has only one onscreen character, a woman calling herself “Beth” who works for an unnamed [...]
Coup de Chance
Familiar elements, themes, and plot mechanics go full circle in Woody Allen's Coup de Chance, a compelling study of a love affair in crises that expands on familiar Woody Allen [...]
The Beast
Both art-house and high-minded sci-fi aficionados will find common ground for watching the thought-provoking and ambitious The Beast. French actress Léa Seydoux continues to prove she's an actress of great [...]