Hunter Lanier

It’s the investigative portion of the movie that is most engaging.

Screenplays like A Dark Place only get made because they’re familiar. They present intrigue and drama in a way that doesn’t challenge the audience but reinforces their belief of what a movie like this should be. This conformist methodology might make the movie palatable—and marketable—but it doesn’t make it any good.

There’s nothing offensively awful about Ms. White Light, but it lacks a unique perspective.

Every once in a while, the story of an individual slips through the cracks. Memoir of War is one of those stories and, as such, provides an unseen perspective to a plotline that we all know well.

The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot isn’t the loony chuckle-fest that many might want and it’s not as affecting a character piece as Krzykowski might want, but it’s a crackpot showcase for a performer who deserves one or two, crackpot or otherwise.

Every now and then, a line or a subtle moment in someone’s performance has some truth in it, but little is sustained in Bullitt County.

There is no emotional manipulation, and there are no ideological hand-outs. You almost feel like you’re watching the events unfold through a keyhole, which gives every hushed exchange and passive-aggressive examination a voyeuristic thrill.

Vice, written and directed by Adam McKay, plays straight to the cable-news generation of political enthusiasts. It’s depthless, has the attention span of a gopher, and is more concerned with appearances than getting to the root of anything.

The ham-fisted approach undercuts the valuable information that makes up Fail State.

With characters that we watch but never know and some imitative storytelling, Galveston can’t help but feel like a compilation of cover songs, which, while listenable, are stilted and perfunctory.

It’s Cangialosi’s writing and direction that result in a watered-down, emotionally manipulative experience.

The movie feels like a Sunday drive with your own thoughts, where you get some good thinking done, even if you don’t come to any lasting conclusions.

There are occasional moments of inspiration, stylistically and thematically, where the movie hints at its true potential. But most of the time, the movie is tripping over its desire to be noticed.

As far as romantic laments of starving artists go, Blaze is one of the better ones.

The Europeans expects you to meet it halfway. When you do, you’re rewarded with a story that’s rich with complicated emotions, despite its self-confident exterior. It’s like its characters in that way, and also in the way, it thinks highly of itself and presents itself accordingly. Modesty never did a movie good.