Dan Mecca

While A Sacrifice‘s third act may be a bit too silly for its own good, the pervasive feeling of dread will linger on long after the credits roll.

Brody is great here, his long face and animated eyes doing a lot of work. It’s a quiet performance, an arena where the actor has always excelled. Without doing much, we know Clean: who he is and who he’s trying to be.

The X-factor is Costner. A household name for over thirty years, his vocal presence alone does wonders.

The first two — The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons — left much to be desired. This one emerges as a marked improvement, though that’s not saying a whole lot.

This is Meyers-Shyer’s directorial debut and it shows in spots. The pacing ebbs and flows a bit unevenly and plenty of jokes don’t hit as much as the filmmaking would suggest they do. That said, the casting goes a long way, as does the aforementioned production design.

There is an honest bleakness to Jarecki’s tale that certainly matches the tragedy of the real-life opioid crisis, though all of it feels surface level. Without a central rooting interest that’s engaging, all of the drama suffers. There’s plenty to admire in Crisis, just not enough to recommend.

This is breezy stuff, a welcome respite in the hot summer months.

There’s a severe tonal problem this movie never reconciles. It wants to be a self-aware, R-rated comedy and a straightforward action picture. At any moment, it’s one or the other but never both.

One can respect what Knight is trying at, while never fully buying into it. Despite the talent and the brazen originality, Serenity‘s reach exceeds its grasp.

From start to finish The Dark Tower, directed by Nikolaj Arcel from the popular book series by Stephen King, feels like something salvaged from something else. The result is a mostly entertaining piece of fantasy pulp that is a victim of trying to do too much and too little at the same time.

While it does take on the franchise burden in hefty doses, the film remains a fun, and funny, B-movie throughout.

The biting commentary on modern business never really makes an imprint.

There is an intentionality here that is overwhelmingly optimistic while also insisting on acknowledging all of the troubles of our current moment. And while this does not always mix well with some of the slapstick, the alchemy is ultimately fulfilling.

There is something admirable about the sheer hopelessness of this narrative. It’s not altogether surprising given Schrader’s imprint, but it lacks the nuances of something like First Reformed or The Card Counter.

Something happened here, and the full story of the making of this movie will surely be far more interesting than the movie itself.

The Revival is effective in its brevity.

We’ve gotten plenty of sports films over the years, but precious few that wade into the deep, dark machinery that fuel the underdog stories and inspirational tales we love to love.

Though it be the lesser of the two films, it’s a nifty dessert to the full meal that is Wilde Salomé.

Though the overall quality of the picture may leave a bit to be desired, this documentary serves as a necessary monument to a legend who never got enough credit.

What starts as a documentary about film reels discovered near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge becomes a chronicle of the Soviet Union through the lens of a popular actor’s successes and failures.

As everything comes to a head, it becomes clear that it’s not Andy we’re rooting for––it’s Anna. The city has swallowed Andy whole, but he can still do right by his daughter. For such a small, simple film, this is quite powerful.