Reviews

Terrence Malick works persuasively from real life accounts of Franz Jagerstater in his latest ruminative drama, arguably his most involving since The Tree of Life. A Hidden Life is basically a two handler featuring August Diehl (Inglourious Basterds) and Valerie Pachner as Austrian peasant farmer Franz and beloved missus Franziska.  It has a political slant […]

An unhurried death row drama doesn’t have the emotional power of a Dead Man Walking but is often involving and intelligent in how it unfolds as a character study. Even if naysayers will poke into its redundant and overwrought tendencies. The estimable Alfre Woodard stars in Clemency which has a grim, if affecting realism about it, […]

The continuation of a horror franchise hardly does justice to Takeshi Shimizu’s original concept which began at the beginning of the millennium (which was remade by him to much financial success back in 2004 staring Sara Michelle Gellar). This reboot or reawakening (if you prefer) of The Grudge provides an invitation to a haunting, Psychological […]

A new sweeping war movie from Sam Mendes (who explored the genre in Jarhead) blends creativity and focus even if its technique might feel a tad gimmicky.  1917 stars Dean-Charles Chapman (Game of Thrones) and George MacKay (Captain Fantastic) and uses that continuous shot (like Birdman) to follow its characters on an intense mission on a […]

The second remake of a well regarded 1974 horror entry from Bob Clark who would go on to direct a seminal holiday picture A Christmas Story is hardly a scary, smart slasher foray during #MeToo.  Blumhouse Productions is behind Black Christmas which often imbues a preachy tone and unloads its share of wild B-movie genre […]