You don’t walk in to see a comedy starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson with high expectations, so I have to give “The Hitman’s Bodyguard” some credits for delivering the goods so many times. In trying to emulate the “buddy cop” genre, director Patrick Hughes relies on […]
“The Party” is potent and entertaining. I walked in with no particular expectations, having read almost nothing about it, and what I got was a showcase for a host of gifted actors, including Patricia Clarkson, Kristin Scott Thomas, Timothy Spall, Bruno Ganz, and Cillian Murphy. The title of […]
From the trailer and poster you might think this is yet another film about culture clashes with absolutely nothing new to offer. But it doesn’t take long for this constantly appealing crowd-pleaser to draw you in, win you over, and make you leave with a big smile on […]
Sounds juicy: Charlize Theron kicking ass like there’s no tomorrow. But “Atomic Blonde”, directed by David Leitch, a former stuntman who co-directed “John Wick” (it shows), is neither the action movie of the year nor the disaster I feared. It falls somewhere in between, and for that, I have […]
“Valerian” is far from being a disaster, but when a movie offers spectacular visual effects and still fails to tell a memorable story, you can’t help feeling cheated. In trying to emulate the success of his superior 1997 film “The Fifth Element”, filmmaker Luc Besson relies on cutting-edge […]
Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a knockout. But it’s also a rare example of a war movie that isn’t purely made to satisfy a mainstream audience. In a recent interview with Criterion, Nolan has named Terrence Malik’s 1998 masterpiece “The Thin Red Line” as one of his favorite films. […]
“What the fuck is happening?” I kept asking myself as I suffered through this mind-numbingly bad 4th sequel to 2007’s “Transformers”. I can’t remember the last time I felt the need to walk out of a movie, but for the sake of a genuine review, I stayed until […]
Forget the Fast and the Furious movies, if you want a truly original car movie that pumps up your adrenaline level with first-rate action scenes and a killer soundtrack, “Baby Driver” is the summer film for you. This instant classic from director Edgar Wright (“Shaun of the Dead”, […]
I rarely say this about a summer blockbuster, but “War for the Planet of the Apes” is a masterpiece. God knows I’ve been disappointed by sequels and reboots before; what’s more, the original “Planet of the Apes” still holds a special place in my heart. But this movie, […]
It’s only July, but Nicolas Cage has already been in two movies that rank among the worst of the year: First, “Arsenal” back in February, and now “Inconceivable”, a laughably bad thriller that recycles every shitty cliché in the book. Cage is reduced to supporting role, but that […]
