Lean on Pete is a movie about a young boy who, already on the back foot in life, slowly heads towards the very margins of American society.
All tagged movie review
Film Review: "Detroit" is unflinchingly confronting - but to what end?
With Detroit, Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal have crafted a film that assaults and enrages.
FILM REVIEW: "A Dog's Purpose" is your usual feel-good tear-jerker fare
A Dog’s Purpose: Heartwarming, heartbreaking and trying just a little too hard.
Film Review: The thrilling "Alien: Covenant" loves its monsters more than its humans
When the pretentiousness and lowbrow gruesomeness intersect, Alien: Covenant proves to be a singularly haunting experience.
Film Review: "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" remixes its rock-n-roll space opera formula with gleeful confidence
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is Marvel shuffling on shrooms. It's a more confident and bonkers romp, is what I'm saying, gleefully free from the narrative requirement of introducing each member of this ragtag gang of cosmic misfits.
Film Review: "Personal Shopper" is a sleepy film that offers occasional thrills
Director Olivier Assayas has strung together three different sorts of movies, but none of them coheres thematically or narratively. The effect is something like three little children yanking at your shirt and competing for your attention.
Rosalie Blum is a lovely French tale about lost souls finding each other
Rosalie Blum serenades its audience with a lovely tale about lost souls finding one another.
Film Review: “Arrival” delivers a familiar sci-fi narrative in enlivening fashion
Gifting its audience with a nuanced portrayal of a hypothetical ‘first contact’, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival breathes life into a seemingly familiar tale.
Spoiler Nation podcast: Visual flares reinvigorate usual Marvel fanfare in "Doctor Strange"
In the first episode of the Spoiler Nation podcast, we talk about our initial reactions to the Doctor Strange, and give a brief, spoiler-free review in the beginning, before diving deep into spoiler territory.
Film Review: Cleverly-written "Hell or High Water" is a nuanced exploration of brotherhood and retribution
"Hell or High Water" is the latest screenwriting effort from Sicario writer Taylor Sheridan, and it goes a long way to paint a rich picture of the film’s setting.
Oliver Stone's "Snowden" is a technically stunning but politically one-sided biopic
This wonderfully directed film is a one sided view at the rise and (some would argue) fall of Edward Snowden’s career.
"Finding Dory" guarantees delightful family fun by retreading old water
For the most part, Finding Dory feels like a “greatest hits” of what made its predecessor and other Pixar movies such enjoyable family entertainment: Gorgeous animation, funny character-specific jokes, and unrelenting optimism in the midst of crushing despair. Also googley eyes.
Expansive and Ambitious "Embrace of the Serpent" elicits Hug of the Critic
Ciro Guerra’s Embrace of the Serpent is a masterful and genuine ethnographic exploration of the cultural exchange between white scientists/colonialists and the Indigenous Amazonian peoples.
A tale of two brothers butting heads; "Rams" is a film about more than just sheep
I went into the film expecting a stoic, Icelandic comedy thanks to the theatrical trailer, but Rams proved to be a dry, glacial slog filled with pockets of surprisingly heartfelt and human warmth.
Emma Thompson is the true legend in "The Legend of Barney Thompson"
In a rude contradiction to the film’s title, the character of Barney Thompson never quite reaches the lofty heights of his prescribed ‘legend’ status.
Painfully mediocre “A Perfect Day” squanders its all-star cast with an uneven screenplay
Over the course of the film, it becomes clear that A Perfect Day really, really wants to be both a comedy and a drama, but struggles to find the right balance between the two.
Unapologetically confronting "99 Homes" puts a human face to the Global Financial Crisis
It’s clear that director Ramin Bahrani is not afraid of making us feel uncomfortable. In 99 Homes, we are affronted by the harsh reality of unaffordable housing as the film places the systematic disadvantage of our economic model under the microscope.
"Mistress America" is sharp social commentary disguised as a fun indie screwball
Jam-packed with rapid-fire zingers and cleverly constructed comedic situations, Mistress America is Noah Baumbach’s most deliberately funny screenplay to date, quite possibly due to the involvement of co-writer and star Greta Gerwig.
Soairse Ronan shines in period drama "Brooklyn"
I generally balk at the love dichotomy so often presented in movies – I’m certainly not one to gasp “Oh my stars I wonder who the young lass will choose?! How absolutely DELIGHTFUL to be young!” – but I feel that Brooklyn hits a deeper note than the surface may initially suggest.
"Legend" doubles down on Tom Hardy; skimps on everything else
Movies these days try too hard to please all audiences. I say just pick an approach and stick with it, who cares about people on dates. As the great Ron Swanson once said, “Never half ass two things, whole ass one thing”.