“First Man” Salutes the Work of Putting a Man on the Moon
Damien Chazelle’s new feature “First Man” is an ode to elbow grease. Telling of the painstaking years it took for NASA to put a man on the moon, it is less about the glorious conquering of space and more about the tireless work involved in making it happen. Specifically, it focuses on astronaut Neil Armstrong […]
“Venom” Has Plenty of Fangs but Lacks Teeth
With audiences’ insatiable thirst for superhero movies, it was inevitable that the villainous foils would start headlining their own films as well. One of the first out of the gate is “Venom” and it tells the origin story of one of Spider-Man’s key enemies. Spidey is nowhere to be found in this film, and that’s […]
“Lizzie” Paints a Compelling #MeToo Portrait from 1892
The new period thriller “Lizzie” is a fresh retelling of the infamous Lizzie Borden murder case and it benefits enormously from the timing of its release. The 1892 story about two women – Lizzie and the family maid Bridget Sullivan – being treated horribly by the male hierarchy and their ultimate revenge against it, can […]
“Kin” Jumbles Genres and Tones in a Messy Mix
The new film “Kin” wants to be many things: a sci-fi fantasy, a road trip comedy, a coming-of-age story, and a brutal actioner. At times, it succeeds in individually essaying all of them, but taken as a whole, the film is quite a mess. One minute it wants the audience to mourn the violent murder […]
“Sharp Objects” Tells Its Murderous Tale as a Mood Piece
HBO’s “Sharp Objects” concluded its eight-episode run Sunday night with as many frightening moments as one might expect in a horror movie. It’s not of that genre, even though Jason Blum, the head of Blumhouse Productions and all their frightener franchises, was one of the limited series’ executive producers. Some may have even quantified the […]
