Movie Reviews

The Story: Based on the true story of Operation Anthropoid, the assassination of high-ranking Nazi Reinhard Heydrich by Czechoslovakian resistance fighters. The Lowdown: Flawed but worthwhile, Anthropoid is a compelling take on an important subject.

The Story: A CEO consumed by his ego and a project to build North America’s tallest skyscraper finds his consciousness trapped in the body of his daughter’s new pet cat. The Lowdown: Nine Lives smartly avoids the easy cat-centric puns, blandly entertaining with actors trading in prestige for quick cash, but the result is not as bad…

The Story: Based on the final year in the life of Florence Foster Jenkins, a wealthy heiress and New York socialite widely regarded as one of the worst singers on record. The Lowdown: A light and exceptionally gentle piece of summer counterprogramming, Stephen Frears’ fingerprints find their way onto every frame of film and standout…

The Story: A former NFL player is diagnosed with ALS (aka Lou Gehrig's disease) just before discovering his wife is pregnant with their first child. The Lowdown: An emotionally open picture of a family dealing with a debilitating disease that will be of most interest to people curious about the fight against ALS.

In Brief: Sam Fuller’s stylish noir masterpiece on the big screen is an opportunity not to be missed. This is one of Fuller’s most brutally cynical films, and that’s saying something, because Fuller has never been known as an optimistic filmmaker.  If the opening sequence in which Constance Towers roughs up her pimp doesn’t hook…

In Brief: Francis Ford Coppola’s feature directing debut, Dementia 13 may not be perfect, but it is essential viewing for the horror completist. Cowritten by Coppola with preeminent schlockmeister Jack Hill (Spider Baby, Foxy Brown) and produced by the venerable Roger Corman, this film is arguably the genesis of the slasher sub-genre. Sure, it’s got its problems,…

In Brief: I’ve never particularly cared for American Graffiti and have been unable to join in the nostalgic navel-gazing of a generation to which I don’t belong — but I have always at least found American Graffiti a noteworthy member of the pantheon of American cinematic classics. This movie immediately precedes Star Wars in George Lucas’…

For my money, this is possibly the worst of Kenneth Branagh’s Shakespeare adaptations, which I usually like. This one shifts the setting to the late '30s, because it was 2000 and recontextualizing Shakespeare was the style at the time. This adaptation also trumpeted what passed for an ensemble cast of young actors in those days,…

In Brief: Though not being a general fan of Gus Van Sant, I find this film, Van Sant’s low-budget feature debut, slightly less objectionable than some of his later output, if only for its DIY aesthetic and pseudo-noir feel. At the very least, the director’s frank depiction of homosexuality was certainly ahead of its time,…

The Story: Three harried moms band together to fight the status quo, abandoning the burdens placed upon them by modern societal norms of child rearing in a bid to reclaim their autonomy. The Lowdown: Mean Girls meets The Hangover but with more heart than either, Bad Moms (mostly) transcends its genre trappings to deliver some genuine laughs.

The Story: Sullen superspy Jason Bourne comes out of hiding, hounded by government agents and on the hunt for more truths about his past. The Lowdown: A poorly shot, dramatically dull spy flick with zero energy or intelligence. An amazing drop-off from the previous films in the franchise.

The Story: A father raises his six children in the wilderness under a rigorous system of physical and intellectual training until the untimely death of the clan’s matriarch leads them to hop on a tour bus named "Steve" to see that her final wishes are honored. The Lowdown: Little Miss Sunshine for the Ivy League set, Captain Fantastic is…

The Story: A nebbishy teen joins an app that challenges her to more and more elaborate (and dangerous) dares for cash. The Lowdown: A flaccid thriller full of toothless teenage drama, floppy high jinks and flimsy characters.

In Brief: The first of three attempts to adapt Richard Matheson's novel I Am Legend — and easily the most successful — The Last Man on Earth stars Vincent Price as the lone survivor of a plague that turns the afflicted into vampiric ghouls. A far more faithful adaptation of Matheson's story than The Omega Man or the more recent Will Smith version (which kept the…

In Brief: Fast Times at Ridgemont High should be something of a known quantity to audiences at this point, if only because it was so massively influential — though not universally well-received — on its initial run. Arguably the quintessential '80s high school movie, the impact of its unflinching look at suburban adolescence has not diminished with time.…

In Brief: One of the best of Hitchcock's pre-Hollywood output at Gaumont British, Sabotage sees the director's mastery of suspense on full display. In an interview with Francois Truffaut, Hitchcock revealed that a notable scene in which a young boy and an old lady are killed (along with a bus full of people) drew ire from audiences…

When you look at David Cronenberg’s nearly 30-year-old Videodrome (can it really be that long ago?), it’s incredible to realize how comparatively quaint the technology in the film is. It’s also hard not to realize that the points — warnings really — Cronenberg was making about technology overtaking our lives have only become more and…

The Story: A young man afflicted with autism learns to speak through an obsessive affinity for Disney animation. The Lowdown: One of the most moving documentaries I've come across, Life, Animated tugs at the heartstrings for all the right reasons.

The Story: Two friends decide to run away from home and explore France in a homemade mobile home. The Lowdown: A gentle and intelligent tale of the confusion of young adulthood told with Gondry's signature heart and whimsy.

The Story: In 1988, three preteen friends started shooting a shot-for-shot remake of Raiders of the Lost Ark in their spare time. Thirty-five years later, they finally finished it. The Lowdown: Uplifting and inspiring, while still personal and sincere, Raiders! is a warts-and-all look at what it takes to realize a dream.