Film Reviews

So, why make a fictional story about an Iraq war hero? Based on the film, there are two answers to that question.

The happy ending in The Edge of Seventeen felt appropriate because of the hope that it offers to teens who might identify with much of what Nadine went through; it can help them to see that things can get better.

For theologically-minded viewers, Doctor Strange’s purgatorial time-loop death pokes at fertile theological ground, but what kind of atonement theology is on display here?

Arrival plays its cards close to the chest, waiting until its third act to show its hand. Much like Villaneuve’s Sicario, the final act of the movie takes the audience in an unexpected. It would truly be a shame to spoil it.

Even though Loving is a true, unassuming story, Nichols makes a brilliant, dramatic connection. At the beginning, the Lovings have to travel north to D.C. to have a civil wedding. The judge tells them that marriage is the backbone of our culture…

In moments, a curious cinematic poetry emerges amongst the film’s historical lesson, as if all of this “real story” about St. Nick is a kind of window onto a deeper truth about the world at large.

It’s the materialism that Strange espouses at the beginning of the film that is subsequently and repeatedly critiqued throughout it. As the Stoic librarian, Wong, explains, “The Avengers protect the world from physical dangers. We safeguard it against more mystical threats.”

Hacksaw Ridge is about the good results that follow people who display strength of conviction whether those people are holding a gun or not.

You can either perceive Chiron’s journey as a fraught attempt to assert his gay identity in his community, or, as a story that suggests, as an assertion that his attempt to decide who he wants to be on his own is not enough for him to establish his self.

But Jenkins didn’t choose any of those words for his film’s title. He chose “moonlight,” and I think it’s because that word best captures the mood of the film – soft and dreamlike, a cool reprieve from the violent heat typical of stories set in similar places, throwing light in unexpected ways on familiar situations, inviting us to see these people and places differently.

Each film in The Animation Show of Shows tells its own story, but the program tells a story too about the intricacies of what it means to be human.

Perhaps it’s because of the vintage Polish posters decorating the lobby of the Laemmle Playhouse theater where I saw Certain Women, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog all the while I was watching this movie.

In spite of the name, Parker’s film reflects on Intolerance more than Birth of a Nation. He depicts a story of tragic injustice, in which faith inspires someone to suffer and die for the good.

The characterizations of each woman are endlessly interesting, and portrayed by Blunt, Bennett, and Ferguson so believably, but they all fall at the mercy of a story that devolves nearly into a Lifetime movie. It is especially troublesome because of how sexual, violent, and sexually violent this movie is.

The quality of passage and interruption the film abides by is best symbolized by the bridge that sits atop the Yangtze. It’s a passage into many realms: the lives of the distressed, Chen Si himself, the town of Nanjing, and even greater China itself.

I do understand the urge to make a hero out of Nat Turner though. He did something when no one else was doing anything. His rebellion helped make it clear that slavery was a untenable part of American life.

Film critics use the term “middlebrow” to refer to films like Denial, meaning the film requires only a moderate amount of intellectual effort to decode because it does not veer from convention. The term is derisive. It ought not be.

Masterminds isn’t a theatrical event. It will be better as a spur of the moment, streaming service surprise.

A strong theme in Storks concerns the need for acceptance and belonging, which is masterfully depicted through Tulip’s vulnerability. In a scene where Junior tries to fire her, he calls her “Orphan Tulip,” she responds with, “Tulip is just fine, Orphan hurts my heart!”

Stone weaves a story that artfully depicts a journey of personal change. The Edward Snowden portrayed early in the film likely would not have chosen to reveal government secrets. A catalyst of Snowden’s transformation is girlfriend Lindsay Mills.