Dan Mecca

There is a clarity to every performance from start to finish, from Roberts all the way down. Yes, the thriller elements that are introduced never fully connect with the tone of the overall experience, but it’s a minuscule criticism.

Set It Up, from its title on down, is a fresh mixture of a reliable formula.

Fast and furious in its information and interviews, this documentary is engaging from minute one, rarely letting the viewer off the hook.

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.

This is an interesting, frustrating man to focus on, all the way up to his muddled end. That Hawke’s film will introduce a new audience to his music and soulful tenure feels like its own victory.

Not unlike the man himself, it is both exciting and exhausting to watch all of this come together, and that alone is worth the journey.

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

Starring an against-type and utterly fascinating Michelle Pfeiffer as the titular Kyra, the film narrows in on the tragedy of getting old in America.

The Revival is effective in its brevity.

Ultimately, the whole is not as great as the sum of some very effective scenes.

Ultimately, the whole point of the picture comes down to the tune “This Is Me.” The crux of the song, led by the impressive Keala Settle, is to be comfortable in your own skin no matter what the masses may say. It’s hard to fight against this kind of positivity, as delivered by these kind faces and kind songs. The Greatest Showman, despite its flaws, is a winning piece of work.

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

Many laughs are earned in observing how much money Seal actually made and how much the government played him for a fool. And like many cautionary tales, some of the comedy hurts. Liman and Cruise know this, and the result is something well-crafted, if woefully familiar.

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.

Chon has a vision and a voice and a good story to tell, full of social relevance and fiery emotion. Something this energetic and cared for is hard to criticize all that much. It’s a film worth seeking out and telling others about.

The tone is playful, to be sure, but it’s hard to see past the collateral damage. Blame it on the times. Make no mistake, all of this could be forgiven if The Hitman’s Bodyguard had enough laughs. It does not.

As written and directed by Matt Ruskin, the tragic story of Colin Warner doesn’t so much come to life on the screen as it is responsibly recalled in Crown Heights, aided by effective performances and some streamlined storytelling.

Despite a stacked cast and some impressive physical comedy, this film slips into ridiculousness without the laughs to back it up.

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.

There are plenty of characters and there is plenty of New York City in writer/director Dustin Guy Defa‘s Person To Person, but the whole thing meanders all over without ever really settling somewhere that matters.

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

Throughout Wonder Woman there is an earnestness in tone that plays well, and rarely as saccharine.

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.

At its core, The Wall serves as a well-made, engaging war-time thriller that showcases Liman’s abilities as a top-notch storyteller, no matter the shape or size of the story being told.

Together, writer/director Joseph Cedar and lead actor Richard Gere craft a singularly memorable character in Norman Oppenheimer.

Folk Hero & Funny Guy rises above cliché thanks to a sure-handed, thought-out script, and memorable performances.

In this digital world that allows for Kong to be as big as a building and believably so, Roberts is smart to pull out all the stops. And if some of the story and character motivation gets left in the dust, so be it.

Goodman moves mostly chronologically and procedurally through it all, using the white nationalist movement as the anchor. It all feels unbelievably relevant in the year 2017. The hate and fear lives on, and continues to burn bright.