John Fink

Yesterday, a sweet and well-meaning comedy, is a cautionary tale in taking on such an iconic musical output without adding much new to it.

Give Me Future isn’t just a film for Major Lazer fans; it’s a light, yet illuminating geopolitical documentary that’s rousing while just stopping short of tearing the roof off the theater.

Well-acted by lead James Freedson-Jackson, the film takes its subject matter more seriously than it takes its plot. It’s one of those films that captivates in the moment until it all falls apart.

Despite feeling too familiar, as far as late-summer comedies go, it’s hard to deny War Dogs is entertaining and skillfully crafted, playing fast and loose with the actual story, while remaining politically middle of the road.

The characters are just complex enough and the action is just engrossing enough to keep us interested, but Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, working from Jeanne Ryan’s novel, haven’t quite built a solid-enough foundation to foster a genuinely compelling commentary on today’s social media obsession.

A stronger character investment up front would have led to a fuller character study as we watch Cathleen walk through the fire.

As far as straightforward crude comedies go, The Brothers Grimsby succeeds at times, even if the confines of narrative cinema restrict just how wild Sacha Baron Cohen can be.

Fans may find it less than comprehensive in the later years of their history following Hello Nasty, but there perhaps is only so much one can do in this forum and the film largely succeeds at encapsulating their camaraderie and spirit.

Anselm at its most effecting shows how cinematic exhibition thoughtfully utilizing 3D can make an intimate encounter with an artist. When it’s less powerful, the experience suggests rushed cliffnotes of a fascinating life.

Language Lessons is often likable thanks to its small cast and improvisational nature which delivers beyond the kind of Zooom table reads that nonprofits were offering as pandemic fundraisers throughout the last year. However, in terms of its cinematic value, it never quite transcends, feeling like a film that’s necessary in the moment without exploring the impact of the pandemic head-on.

The film does fall short of being the rousing comedy it sets out to be, falling into a fairly predictable pattern with a neat resolution and concept that it delicately doesn’t turn on its head.

Run hits familiar beats and is often too guarded, leaving us grasping for a little more than its 78-minute run time can provide.

In the cinematic wasteland of January, Dirty Grandpa is a minor bright spot: perverse and subversive, if not somewhat predictable

Framing John DeLorean suffers from functioning as two potentially entertaining films in one, fighting it out on screen.

Like Cage, it’s a curious creation, one that never quite matches the ambitions of the man of the hour, but does allow him to poke fun at himself and treat fans to something cathartically silly.

The craft is quite admirable, while the elements feel a bit recycled.

While there’s a lot to admire and some big laughs courtesy of Deutch, the film will wear down audiences a bit, feeling both redundant and, as many romantic comedies do, ultimately predictable.

While it aims to generate outrage it does so rather quietly (unlike the recent blunt satirical work of Adam McKay) with a predictable outcome as all rigged games do. The process of getting to that point feels terribly uneven; at times a bit over the top in passages and yet restrained in others as certain transactions are treated as just the cost of doing business in The War on Terror.

This is much more than an ethnic family drama that aspires to have “cross-over universal” appeal, even as it generates such by throwing too many elements together alongside three unique, compelling stories.

The film is a compassionate portrait of a young man finding his place in several communities with a rigorous support system of mentors and family members in place. I just wish writer-director Khan would have given us a little more time with the rich ensemble around him.

The arc of the story feels a bit rushed as it darts between past and present, focused around a journey that is incomplete. Perhaps with a few more weeks or even another year, Berns’ story might have grown into something slightly more compelling as he transition into his new role as a grandfather and provider on a dwindling income.

For horror fans particularly dedicated to this franchise, the character development might not matter as much as the horror sequences, which are extraordinarily well-executed, drawing upon the art deco aesthetic of an aging building filled with secondhand vintage furniture and random found objects.

Sick and twisted for the sake of being sick and twisted, Kuso is a certainly not a film for everyone, or perhaps anybody. I imagine the experience is like being high on something spiked with an agent that can induce awful nightmares. Though I’m not sure being drunk or high will make Kuso a delightful experience.

Well-acted and handsomely lensed by Aaron Kovalchik, Blame is an engaging debut that subverts the male gaze that might be associated with this kind of teacher/student relationship drama. It is objective without being titillating as it delivers low-key character driven thrills.

The Hunt for Planet B is an evocative documentary.

The foundation for a terrific, informative and bone-chilling documentary about where we currently are is here, but the problem is that we’re still very much in the middle of this story.

A horror film populated by smart characters that take on the patriarchy by refusing to play by its rules, its anger and its heart is in the right place. The problem is how it achieves these ends with plot devices that feel borrowed from cheap studio cash grabs usually dumped in theaters in January and September.

The Beach Bum is a skillfully crafted and often hilariously entertaining, but like an evening with Moondog, it might leave you with a hangover.