By: Jessica Goddard Paolo Virzì’s geriatric road trip flick wastes the legendary talents of Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren on some of the most unfortunate forced sentimentality and rushed melodrama I’ve seen in years. Despite a promising premise, this adaption of Michael Zadoorian’s novel of the same name is more often cringeworthy than sincere.
Across the past couple decades, Armando Iannucci has repeatedly shown himself to be one of the most important voices working in comedy. Whether we are discussing his hand in the creation of Alan Partridge or his blatantly political work in The Thick of It and Veep, Iannucci has shown that he has his hand on the comedic pulse of whatever age he may be in. Now, he’s decided to take on a new experiment: a…
One thing that tends to endear viewers to a film is something that has been described as a “personal” style of filmmaking. When the director finds something that they have a deep personal connection with and they present it to us in an authentic, unpretentious way, that is usually something to be commended. Unfortunately, it is also possible to become too personal, giving up certain aesthetic qualities in favour of familiarity. When that happens, the…
Hell’s Kitty, a film that has been assembled from a web series of the same name conceived by writer/director Nicholas Tana, makes for an amusing in-joke for horror hounds. The cameos alone from iconic character actors are enough to make those fans beam. For instance, The Hills Have Eyes’ Michael Berryman appears as a testy detective, while Heir’s Bill Oberst Jr. and The Shape of Water’s Doug Jones star as a devout duo who attempt to exorcize…
Juggernaut has an element it excels in – troubled characters gradually bringing their brooding funk to an explosive spill. I’d like to believe writer/director Daniel DiMarco is aware of how his film works, but the filmmaker consistently sidesteps around this area of strength. I don’t think DiMarco is clueless, but he’s making too much trouble for himself to seek out a challenge.
The Wasting is a small film with large misfires. It’s an unfortunate directorial debut from documentary writer Carolyn Saunders and, boy, what a reluctant debut it is.
For friends Hakeem and A-Mac, fitting in has been a consistent problem. The teenagers have been harshly judged by their peers, and their community hasn’t been welcoming either. However, they find lucrative purpose with a side job – casing expensive vehicles at a local hand car wash they work at. When Hakeem’s timidness becomes more of a social problem and stress from his mother (Oluniké Adeliyi) becomes more noticeable around the house, the boys decide to take control and attempt…
By: Nick van Dinther Bruce Willis is at his best when he’s playing the sarcastic, one-lining ass kicker. In Eli Roth’s Death Wish, that’s exactly who audiences get.
