A QUIET PLACE PART II: A SOLID SEQUEL
Sequels don’t usually get my juices going but this follow-up to the 2018 hit movie makes all the right moves. Writer-director John Krasinski wastes no time in revealing the spindly alien creatures who caused such havoc last time… and…
CRUELLA: THE DEVIL YOU SAY
It says something about our times that a story that once featured cute, heroic dalmatians now focuses on their adversary, a larger-than-life villain (just as Sleeping Beauty has morphed into the saga of Maleficent). Parents should note the PG-13 rating on Cruella, which…
THE PEANUT BUTTER FALCON: ANOTHER SUMMER SLEEPER
The Peanut Butter Falcon has already proven to be a crowd-pleaser, winning a key Audience Award at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival. It’s easy to see why. First-time writer-directors Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz met a charismatic young…
WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE
If ever a movie had a recipe for success, it’s Where’d You Go, Bernadette. Based on Maria Semple’s best-selling novel, it stars the great Cate Blanchett with Richard Linklater directing. So why did I leave the theater feeling dissatisfied, as…
GOOD BOYS: JUST WHAT YOU EXPECT
When the first words out of young Jacob Tremblay’s mouth are “F—, yeah!” as he’s about to ogle pictures on his laptop, you know what you’re in for with Good Boys. The MPAA’s rating carries this impressively specific warning: “Rated…
SWORD OF TRUST: LIGHT AND SATISFYING
I enjoy Lynn Shelton’s work overall but I think Sword of Trust is her best feature to date. It doesn’t seem like an improv-based film at all; it plays as well as a scripted comedy but manages to retain an air…
STUBER: START MAKING SENSE
A good comedy has to have structure, just like a dramatic film, and should possess some degree of logic. It can be internal logic, once the movie has established its concept and boundary lines, but it still has to…
