It takes a very special film to leave you stunned in your seat whilst the credits roll, collecting your thoughts in the dark, not quite ready to re the outside world. With a plot that’s relatively simple, and a brisk ninety minute run time "You Were Never Really Here" provides quite the gut-punch. Joaquin Phoenix plays Joe, a bearded shuffling monolith with a performance that challenges the audience, provoking fear, sympathy, and condemnation in equal measure.
Matching the subtleties of…
The title says it all: Quentin Tarantino has made his own version of a fairy tale, full of archetypes and staples of the children’s stories we were read at bedtime. The valiant heroes, the evil villain, and the journey everyone must take to receive their just deserts – all of it is blended smoothly into a terrific-tasting mélange with his unmistakable flair. However, this is a different side of Tarantino we’re seeing here, as it’s a more introspective. Yes, his…
"People Will Talk" begins as a high-powered issue movie that is going to make some grand social statement. Writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's script is as florid as one would expect from the multiple Oscar winner, but the stylized speeches feel untethered from any reality. The story follows a good man's triumph against injustice, but the message is lost before the uplifting finale.
The script has many amusing bits, but is also infuriatingly twisted so that any problems are overcome easily.…
"Fuzz" was written by Evan Hunter and based on one of the 87th Precinct novels he published under the name Ed McBain. The location was changed from New York City to Boston with plenty of location shooting that serves as a great time capsule of the city in the early Seventies. The movie poster seems to promise wacky fun, but the movie is played mostly straight with some comedy pieces. Stars Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch have zero chemistry as…
This sequel takes everything that worked in Tony Scott's original and turns the volume up to 11. The result is a film that is a nod to nostalgia while introducing new set of heroes with amazing technical prowess delivering an emotionally satisfying and pulse-pounding ride. It's the rare sequel to arrive decades after the original that is not only better but also brings a richness to the first film.
Harrison Ford gives a nuanced, credible performance as a ground-down old grump who isn’t really comfortable in that hat anymore. In fact, Indiana Jones must be given his "adventuring costume" by his old friend Sallah. He is the reluctant adventurer. This is an Indiana Jones who has lost quite a lot. He is repeatedly upset when old colleagues and friends are killed while everyone else has no time for mourning or caring and just wants to get on with the…
