— by RON WILKINSON — If the objective of art is to make one think, Roy Andersson’s latest trip into the dream world is a thought provoker to be reckoned with. Holger Andersson plays Jonathan and Nils Westblom plays Sam, two traveling salesman hawking novelties to make people laugh and [...]
Archive for the ‘Reviews’ Category
Review: Aloha
— by RON WILKINSON — “Aloha” — Cameron Crowe’s first feature in four years — kicks off the spring movie season in style. Bradley Cooper, playing ne’er-do-well Brian Gilcrest, combines his “American Sniper” elite military role with his government dark ops h[...]
Review: Slow West
— by RON WILKINSON — John Maclean’s directorial debut, “Slow West,” is a slow and steady look at love turned deadly. Of course, there is a lot that turns deadly in this gritty New Zealand western. By the end of the film there are more corpses than in Clint Eastwood’s “H[...]
Review: Iris
— by RON WILKINSON — Most films made in New York City are eclipsed by the city. The film maker hopes to use the energy and glamor to make a mediocre film great. Instead, the city steals the show from the screenplay and usually the actors as well. Perhaps NYC knows this when provide such [...]
Review: The Water Diviner
— by RON WILKINSON — Russell Crowe comes out swinging with his narrative fiction feature directorial debut but fouls out as this war story drops off the deep end into the irretrievably maudlin. Screenwriters Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios are partly to blame, but Crowe should have k[...]
Review: About Elly (aka Darbareye Elly)
— by RON WILKINSON — In the midst of a jocular college reunion, the young, beautiful and mysterious guest Elly (Taraneh Alidousti) disappears without a trace. In the wake of her disappearance, her true story emerges to the shame and humiliation of all concerned. The setting is the shore [...]
Review: Ex Machina
— by RON WILKINSON — Writer/director Alex Garland’s sci-fi flick “Ex Machina” is the latest in a long line of slipshod Hollywood treatments of artificial intelligence. This tale starts with a pseudo “imitation game” in which Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) has been chosen to d[...]
Review: True Story
— by RON WILKINSON — Debut feature director Rupert Goold pulled one out of the hat with “True Story,” an amazingly entertaining dual of wits, and lies, between two men who are world class in the art of deception. At the heart of the film is the weakness of the human soul when[...]
Review: Black Souls
— by RON WILKINSON — Nominated for the Golden Lion, the highest award of the Venice Film Festival, writer/director Francesco Munzi’s familial crime drama looks deep into the heart of darkness. Based on the novel by Gioacchino Criaco with a screenplay co-written by Maurizio Braucci and [...]
Review: What We Do in the Shadows
— by RON WILKINSON — Directed and written by Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, “What We Do in the Shadows” is a marvelous mash-up of every vampire trope invented in the last century with a few new ones thrown in. The four flat mates are the best of friends, and have been the best of[...]
Review: While We’re Young
— by RON WILKINSON — Noah Baumbach’s latest dramedy takes on a decidedly Woody Allen feeling that gives Ben Stiller a chance to show his stuff. Supporting leads Naomi Watts and Adam Driver fall victim to the curse of New York City as they fade into the shadows behind the bright lights [...]
Review: The Duke of Burgundy
— by RON WILKINSON — Peter Strickland’s “The Duke of Burgundy” shows nothing if not a lot of courage. The screenplay reflects on the seemingly Victorian experiences of two sexually liberated and experimentally inclined women against a backdrop of heavily disciplined and[...]
Review: Two Days, One Night
— by RON WILKINSON — In the Dardenne brothers’ David vs Goliath drama “Two Days, One Night,” Sandra (Marion Cotillard) is a young wife and mother working for a small manufacturing business in Seraing, Belgium. She takes medical leave for a nervous breakdown and is about[...]
Review: Match
— by RON WILKINSON — No hold is barred in “Match,” Stephen Belber’s short and sweet essay on love and commitment. Mike and Lisa show up on Tobi’s doorstep with an odd request. They have traveled from Seattle to New York to interview Tobi for Lisa’s dissertation. In the [...]