The Long Nap
A stand-up comedian deals with a girlfriend in a coma in The Big Sick
The Big Sick is an odd duck. As a romantic comedy, it is neither very romantic nor particularly funny, despite the fact that one of … Continue reading
Film: Page 21
Like Father Like Daughter Like Sister Like All
A family in crisis struggles to reconnect in Gillian Robespierre’s pitch-perfect new comedy Landline
About 20 or 30 minutes into writer-director Gillian Robespierre’s new film Landline, I started tearing up, and I continued tearing up intermittently throughout the rest … Continue reading
Not Just Black and White
Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit offers a historical critique of modern-day police brutality
There is a tendency in Hollywood to profit from Black suffering — think 12 Years a Slave, The Help, Django Unchained. These films are prevalent, … Continue reading
These Violent Delights
Charlize Theron fights to hold together a flimsy plot in Atomic Blonde
I went to see Atomic Blonde twice — in part because, halfway through the first viewing, I realized I wasn’t paying attention to the plot. … Continue reading
War is Hell
Director Christopher Nolan once again achieves greatness in the beautiful and haunting Dunkirk
A masterpiece can be a hard thing to overcome, especially when it occurs early in an artist’s career. For my money, director Christopher Nolan’s second … Continue reading
Bad Habits
Naked nuns and Aubrey Plaza can’t save the depressingly unfunny satire of The Little Hours
Where to begin with The Little Hours, a new comedy written and directed by Jeff Baena and based on Boccaccio’s 1353 masterpiece The Decameron? The … Continue reading
Portrait of the hero as a young man
Spiderman: Homecoming takes our friendly neighborhood web-slinger back to his New York roots
It’s oddly easy to forget how important Spider-Man is to the current superhero movie bonanza. 2002’s Spider-Man was the first movie with a $100-million opening … Continue reading
American Lazarus
Sam Elliott shines as a washed-up actor confronting his own mortality in The Hero
You know the voice: a burbling purple baritone hung like a bass note plucked by the hand of God, a testosterone lullaby, a heavenly man-purr, … Continue reading
Dystopia Blues
Survival at all costs is key in The Bad Batch
Are there still interesting stories to be mined from the notion that we all do — or would do — shitty things to survive? Umpteen … Continue reading
An Exercise in Awkwardness
In Mike White’s Beatriz at Dinner, an unexpected houseguest leads to an evening of discomfort and bitter comedy
If you found yourself at dinner with Donald Trump, what would you do? Grit your teeth and get through it, not wanting to upset or … Continue reading