It’s not often we get films about the Hasidic Jewish community, so in that respect, it’s nice to see something like Menashe making the rounds. Spoken almost entirely in Yiddish, the film follows the life of the […]
Tag: 2017
Pitch Perfect 3 (Sie, 2017)
Due to a timing mix-up, I saw Pitch Perfect 3 in a very last-minute call. It was only until I was seated that I remembered I hadn’t seen the second installment! Most mercifully, the story is more […]
Brawl in Cell Block 99 (Zahler, 2017)
Within the first ten minutes or so of Brawl in Cell Block 99, Bradley Thomas (Vince Vaughn) angrily dismantles his wife’s car after learning of her infidelity. Nearly two hours later, the guy drags a baddie […]
Lucky (Lynch, 2017)
Lucky is one big, warm farewell to Harry Dean Stanton, a man who didn’t hug the spotlight or seek out starring roles, but who made even the smallest parts count. What looks to be his penultimate […]
The Work (McLeary & Aldous, 2017)
Therapy can be intense. Intensive group therapy? Man. I don’t know how else to compare such extreme cathartic intervention other than as a form of non-supernatural exorcism. It must take mountains of courage for grown […]
Phantom Thread (Anderson, 2017)
Many things can be said about Paul Thomas Anderson’s ravishing masterpiece Phantom Thread. That it’s a sterling period piece that evokes both the opulence of Ophüls and the twisted sensibility of Hitchcock is a given. That […]
November (Sarnet, 2017)
Lithuanian though I am, Estonian folklore is still quite a ways away from what I used to hear as a child. For instance, the concept of a kratt—a sentient creature made from household implements and […]
Wonderstruck (Haynes, 2017)
Yes, this is minor Haynes, and no, this is not his first “bad” film. Todd Haynes couldn’t direct a bad film if he tried. He’s much too poetic and graceful. The reason Wonderstruck isn’t as good as […]
Super Dark Times (Phillips, 2017)
The opening of Super Dark Times is so rich in promise, with a bizarre setup that could either be literal or symbolic in nature. It’s never mentioned again, and it could very well be because it happens […]
The Post (Spielberg, 2017)
Aware that The Post had not been faring so well this award season, my expectations were not very high. Nor did the opening prologue, showcasing a snippet of the Vietnam War, help assuage my fears that this […]
Atomic Blonde (Leitch, 2017)
Um, so, I’m going to be one of the few people to admit that I enjoyed Atomic Blonde more than John Wick: Chapter 2… even though I’ll concede that the latter had a better plot (or, at the […]
Casting JonBenet (Green, 2017)
Kudos to Kitty Green for keeping this immensely gossipy doc tethered to a concept she could pull off. I was weary at first, because the actors in this run through almost every sordid speculation about […]
All the Money in the World (Scott, 2017)
This is as competent as you’d want from a Ridley Scott picture. A very slick procedural and real-life thriller (with some fictionalized elements) that boasts a game ensemble and a compelling examination of capitalism’s dehumanizing […]
Loving Vincent (Kobiela & Welchman, 2017)
It takes a bit of time to get used to the animation of Loving Vincent, hand painted as it is in the style of van Gogh’s artworks. Overhead shots of towns and fields, and any fast […]
God’s Own Country (Lee, 2017)
A good portion of God’s Own Country rests in silence. Human silence, that is. In the background, the wind rustles and sheep bleat. Two men are forced to tend a Yorkshire farm together. One is the owner’s […]
The Lonely Film Critic 