— by RON WILKINSON — “Dheepan,” Jacques Audiard’s winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, is a masterful tale of survival as well as a harrowing cautionary note about the perseverance of the violence of war. The story centers on Dheepan (Antonythasan Jesuthasan), a Tamal Tiger child soldier grown into leader during […][...]
Review: The Man Who Knew Infinity
— by RON WILKINSON — Jeremy Irons is great, as usual, but the rest of the cast seems to be just going through the motions in “The Man Who Knew Infinity,” the story of a nerd underdog who makes good. Irons does a fantastic job playing Cambridge mathematics Fellow G.H. Hardy but it is not […][...]
Review: Money Monster
— by RON WILKINSON — Jack O’Connell blasts out of screen as Kyle Budwell, a New York truck driver who has lost his life savings in a securities gamble. He sneaks into the TV studio where finance TV show host, talking head and investment clown Lee Gates (George Clooney) is starting his weekly song, dance […][...]
Review: Rabin In His Own Words
— by RON WILKINSON — Director Erez Laufer’s documentary “Rabin In His Own Words” is true to its title. The film tells Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s story through archival footage and descriptions by the man himself. It is a touching movie, a documentary of unusual force and intimacy. One cannot help but listen to […][...]
Review: Dough
— by RON WILKINSON — Golden Globe-nominated Jonathan Pryce takes the lead in “Dough,” an easygoing sit-com about immigrant life in the big city. Nat Dayan (Pryce) owns and operates the kosher bakery Dayan and Son, which he started with his father in 1947 in London’s East End. Against all odds, he keeps the tiny […][...]
Review: High-Rise
— by RON WILKINSON — Tom Hiddleston finds himself in the middle of a very bad year in “High-Rise,” Ben Wheatley’s pot boiler about a social crucible in melt down. This should not be a huge surprise after his high tension “Kill List” and “Sightseers.” If anything, this movie continues the director’s explorations into the […][...]
Review: Elvis & Nixon
— by RON WILKINSON — “Elvis & Nixon,” Liza Johnson’s narrative fiction retelling of the White House meeting between Elvis Presley and President Richard Nixon, packs the most entertainment per ounce of any film this year. This is an exploration into what did happen, and what might have happened, during a meeting of the two […][...]
Review: The Measure of a Man
— by RON WILKINSON — Vincent Lindon uncorks a spectacular, if understated, performance in “The Measure of a Man,” writer/director Stéphane Brizé’s essay on the present day working class. The screenplay, co-written by Olivier Gorce, features Lindon as Thierry Taugourdeau, an unemployed/underemployed man trying to support a family. Lindon and his wife and child are […][...]
Review: Demolition
— by RON WILKINSON — In “Demolition,” Jake Gyllenhaal pulls out a remarkable performance as bereaved executive Davis Mitchell looking for relief when there is none in sight. Driven to the edge of insanity by the sudden death of his wife, we witness his breakdown. Actually, we witness his breakdown in spades. Unlike other on-screen […][...]
Review: Louder Than Bombs
— by RON WILKINSON — Emerging writer/director Joachim Trier’s family drama “Louder Than Bombs” (co-written with Eskil Vogt) has a lot of content — if you are willing to work for it. Dealing with a sullen teenager as a lead has never been easy. Although Devin Druid does a good job with that role, his […][...]