“Poor Things” is the feminist Frankenstein story we deserve

A mix of Frankenstein and Pinocchio with a little of Belle de Jour tossed in, Poor Things finds Yorgos Lanthimos at his most extreme, seemingly given free reign to do whatever he wanted with Alasdair Gray's book. And the resulting is an unnerving, funny, surreal and altogether bizarre tale of a new soul in a...

“Godzilla: Minus One” finds success with… human characters?

The weakest part of pretty much every Godzilla movie is everyone that is not Godzilla. You almost root for the big guy to smash towns (and people) because they are so bland and interchangeable. But Godzilla: Minus One alters the formula by... making us care about the humans?! An astounding change of pace. Written and...

“Women Talking” features a lot of women talking, which is fine, but not much else

You don't need to be an action movie to have exciting action. Talky motion pictures like Spotlight, 12 Angry Men and even My Dinner with Andre are plenty exciting. They use quippy dialogue, confrontational exchanges, interesting camera angles and escalating themes to build resonance and interest. Women Talking is just not exciting. Written and directed...

“Elemental” lacks some elemental elements

What's going on with Pixar lately? Since Inside Out, the films lately have been... mediocre? I'm not sure I would classify any of them as bad, but there are no more heartstrings being pulled, no more classic jokes repeated ad nauseam on the street, no more revolutionary characters. Is it the Disney effect? Burnout? A...

“The Killer” finds David Fincher executing an expertly exquisite spy escapade with an excruciating exiguous of events

David Fincher knows how to make a film. He has proven that time and again with great films like The Social Network and Fight Club. Even with his not-so-great films like Alien 3 and Panic Room. The guy knows how to take a script a craft it into a visually interesting film, story quality be...

Superficial at best, “65” can’t overcome its pedestrian story values

Adam Driver and dinosaurs. You think that concept alone would be enough to guarantee a hit, but 65 is so paper-thin in terms of plot and wit that it just plods along without much emotional impact, making its 90-minute runtime feel twice its length. Not even Kylo Ren can make this story feel worthwhile. Written...

“Fire of Love” will melt your heart

Katia and Maurice Krafft had a hot love story. It was practically eruptive. Their burning desire was palpable. They lava'd each other. Okay, I'm done. And I'm sorry. Directed by Sara Dosa, Fire of Love is a documentary that follows Katia and Maurice, two volcanologists who meet while students at the University of Strasbourg, fall...

A masterpiece of minimal cinema, “Big Shark” is… nah, just kidding. It’s ridiculous schlock about a big shark.

The Room, one of the most infamous bad movies in history, finally has a companion. And that bedfellow is Big Shark. Rest assured, Tommy Wiseau's 2003 "masterpiece" was not a fluke; Big Shark is just as special. Written, directed and starring Wiseau, Big Shark features three heroic firefighters in Patrick, Georgie (Greg Sestero... and Mark...

“Oppenheimer” is a globe-splitting opera of a film

Just how influential was J. Robert Oppenheimer? Some mix him in with Einstein and Hawking, scientific geniuses who changed human knowledge. Others say that he was a man of the moment, Time's person of the year, his glory fading now after his death. Some even go so far as to call his efforts akin to...

“Barbie” captures the existential crisis of modern times

The fact that this movie exists at all is a shock. A top-tier corporate product with an empowering message of female individuality created by one of indie cinema's best auteurs? How did this get greenlit? That Barbie has become a cultural phenomenon is a testament to the themes present in its self-reflective narrative. It's a...