JUSTICE LEAGUE: HEROES WORTH IDOLIZING
There is something intrinsically compelling about a gathering like this. At its best, Justice League is a lot of fun–the kind of fun I look for in a comic-book superhero movie. It even removes the unpleasant aftertaste of Batman v. Superman: Dawn of…
THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI
Playwright and filmmaker Martin McDonagh likes to mess with us. The results can be disarming (In Bruges) or distressing (Seven Psychopaths), but in Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri he explores new dramatic territory. Who else would present us with a protagonist…
THE OLD DARK HOUSE, T-MEN, AND THE BIG KNIFE SPARKLE ON BLU-RAY
The Criterion Collection remains the Gold Standard for the treatment of films old and new on Blu-ray…but lately, several other distributors are making efforts to emulate Criterion. That’s a win-win for film buffs. Cohen Media, for instance, has just…
THOR RAGNAROK: IRREVERENT FUN IN THE MCU
Marvel has a gift for repeatedly giving its fans the unexpected. Who would have dreamed that Thor, one of their most stoic characters, would star in one of the studio’s goofiest films? Thor Ragnarok opens with the mighty warrior in smartass…
LADY BIRD: A TRUTHFUL TEENAGE PORTRAIT
Greta Gerwig has made an impressive debut feature as writer and director with Lady Bird. It isn’t every day you see a film so attuned to the outsized drama of adolescent life. The film is bursting with life and rich…
LAST FLAG FLYING: THREE GREAT ACTORS AT WORK
It’s a pleasure to watch Bryan Cranston, Steve Carell and Laurence Fishburne bring their disparate characters to life in Richard Linklater’s Last Flag Flying, an actor’s vehicle if there ever was one. The year is 2003: George W. Bush…
