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Bad Times at the El Royale
(2018)
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Rob Vaux
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A crackerjack neo-noir that never confuses artifice with elegance and never allows the mechanics of its labyrinthine plot to substitute for human drama.
Posted Oct 11, 2018
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Please Stand By
(2017)
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Rob Vaux
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The journey itself matters less than the particular steps that this character needs to take.
Posted Feb 01, 2018
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Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
(1964)
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Rob Vaux
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Take away the arch tone and deadpan ridiculousness, and the scenario is all too real.
Posted Dec 19, 2017
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
(2017)
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Rob Vaux
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It arrives at a very dark moment indeed, and yet like the movies that preceded it, it speaks very powerfully to where we're at right now.
Posted Dec 13, 2017
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Gladiator
(2000)
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Rob Vaux
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A movie initially intended as summer popcorn, but which somehow scored a Best Picture Oscar: the only one of Scott's lengthy and impressive canon to have done so.
Posted Dec 05, 2017
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12 Monkeys
(1995)
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Rob Vaux
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Terry Gilliam always had a unique spin on dystopian fantasy
Posted Nov 29, 2017
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Life of Brian
(1979)
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Rob Vaux
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The Pythons' instincts strike home, not only in Brian's miserable failure to imbue his followers with some basic decency, but in the self-apparent barbarism that he's fighting against.
Posted Nov 29, 2017
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The Thing
(1982)
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Rob Vaux
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Carpenter uses Bottin's effects to release the tension... which lets them hit all that much harder. But he didn't need special effects to find the real horror in the scenario.
Posted Nov 01, 2017
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Denial
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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Denial concerns itself more with the substance of how to fight such a man than the normal hammer-and-tongs courtroom stuff.
Posted Oct 03, 2017
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Network
(1976)
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Rob Vaux
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It was the height of satire in 1976: dark as hell, but patently absurd and surely nowhere close to objective reality. Objective reality surpassed it somewhere in the Jerry Springer era.
Posted Sep 05, 2017
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Richard III
(1995)
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Rob Vaux
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But when thoughts turn to the Bard, and his unique way of pinpointing the flaws in human nature that bite us again and again, they inevitably settle on Richard III.
Posted Aug 30, 2017
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The Matrix
(1999)
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Rob Vaux
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It’s still just goofy fun, but its perspective reminds us that all voices need a seat at the table. The Kung Fu Awesome is just a way to connect to the bigger picture -- ludicrous and over-the-top, but reveling in an all-too-rare fresh perspective.
Posted Aug 22, 2017
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Cabaret
(1972)
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Rob Vaux
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"The Nazi musical," as star Liza Minnelli glibly put it, has felt pertinent for a long time.
Posted Aug 15, 2017
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The Devil's Advocate
(1997)
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Rob Vaux
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Critics called it out for its melodramatic tone, but the theatrics are far more feature than bug, and the participants seem just aware enough of the overheated material to wink without upending the whole apple cart.
Posted Aug 09, 2017
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Apocalypse Now
(1979)
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Rob Vaux
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An indelible statement on the lunacy of war.
Posted Aug 01, 2017
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Atomic Blonde
(2017)
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Rob Vaux
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If you can live on flashiness alone, it knows how to get the job done. Just don't expect much steak beneath the sizzle.
Posted Jul 28, 2017
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Dunkirk
(2017)
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Rob Vaux
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Soldier and civilian alike are left powerless in the face of a seemingly hidden enemy who can come from anywhere at any time.
Posted Jul 26, 2017
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The Purge: Election Year
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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The Purge becomes reality the same way any real-world horror does: by the consent of the governed
Posted May 16, 2017
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The Purge: Anarchy
(2014)
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Rob Vaux
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The questions beneath it linger longer than the slightly greasy joy of watching bad people pay for our collective sins.
Posted May 16, 2017
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The Purge
(2013)
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Rob Vaux
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The interesting thing about The Purge series is how readily and easily the central premise develops into something with a little more bite.
Posted May 16, 2017
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Ghostbusters
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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With these four performers in place, the movie finds some magic.
Posted Apr 25, 2017
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Citizen Kane
(1941)
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Rob Vaux
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Citizen Kane helped define the language of film, and the totality of its achievement provides no end of fascinating topics to discuss at length.
Posted Apr 18, 2017
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The Fate of the Furious
(2017)
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Rob Vaux
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Vin Diesel is just fireproof, isn't he?
Posted Apr 14, 2017
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1984
(1984)
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Rob Vaux
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Like the book, 1984 understands that forgetting these lessons puts us a step closer to the unthinkable.
Posted Apr 04, 2017
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Beauty and the Beast
(1991)
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Rob Vaux
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Songwriter Howard Ashman - a gay man dying from AIDS-related complications in Reagan's America - knew the real face of the mob all too well.
Posted Apr 04, 2017
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The Great Dictator
(1940)
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Rob Vaux
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The lessons remain, and the strength of his statement still inspires his descendants - professional or otherwise - to follow his example.
Posted Apr 04, 2017
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Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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It emphasizes the necessity of sacrifice for victory, and celebrates the anonymous, forgotten fighters who put it all on the line before that Skywalker kid even got up to bat.
Posted Apr 04, 2017
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Les Misérables
(2012)
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Rob Vaux
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If we embrace our proximity instead of being shaken out of the characters' woes, then the film turns into a thing of beauty.
Posted Mar 22, 2017
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Gaslight
(1944)
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Rob Vaux
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We rely on the actors and the script to convey the mood, and director George Cukor matched no less a figure than Alfred Hitchcock with the results.
Posted Mar 15, 2017
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
(2007)
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Rob Vaux
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Author J.K. Rowling clearly knew a totalitarian regime when she saw one, and never hesitated to call out the toadies and enablers along with her big baddie.
Posted Feb 28, 2017
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Idiocracy
(2006)
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Rob Vaux
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Here we are, watching TPTB water the crops with Brawndo EVERY SINGLE DAY and a substantial chunk of the populace actively wondering why the rest of us are freaking out.
Posted Feb 28, 2017
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Gandhi
(1982)
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Rob Vaux
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The movie aims primarily to demonstrate how such a man could accomplish so much, but also how monumental his task was and how it ultimately claimed his life
Posted Feb 28, 2017
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Get Out
(2017)
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Rob Vaux
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Get Out knows how to mine a real social voice from simple scares, and turn a reliable thrill ride into the first truly great film of the Trump era.
Posted Feb 28, 2017
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Escape From New York
(1981)
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Rob Vaux
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Power corrupts. Truth is the antidote. And if the masters of the universe don't like that, it only takes one nasty bastard in the right place at the right time to correct them. The eyepatch is optional.
Posted Jan 25, 2017
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Mifune: The Last Samurai
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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[It] wants us to understand how the actor's life influenced his work, and what he drew from to create such memorable onscreen figures.
Posted Dec 03, 2016
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Hell or High Water
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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It's a simple equation, but the details make it sing.
Posted Nov 21, 2016
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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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Its joys are modest, but they're well-earned and Zwick gives us a reliable rooting interest in the outcome.
Posted Oct 21, 2016
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Bridget Jones's Baby
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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This is a hug from an old friend, one we haven't seen in a while and who, as it turns out, some of us have missed more than we'd anticipated.
Posted Sep 20, 2016
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The Phenom
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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A cold, hard look at how the scars of our youth follow us into adulthood and what attempting to make peace with one's demons actually feels like
Posted Jul 07, 2016
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Warcraft
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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A good story poorly told is often worse than a bad story told well.
Posted Jun 17, 2016
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Eddie the Eagle
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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The lack of cynicism may be Eddie the Eagle's biggest weapon.
Posted Feb 26, 2016
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Kung Fu Panda 3
(2016)
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Rob Vaux
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Makes January at the movies a little brighter.
Posted Feb 09, 2016
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The Big Short
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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It never comes across as sanctimonious or preachy. It simply elevates what McKay and Ferrell perfected with earlier films into the tragic absurdity of the real world.
Posted Dec 24, 2015
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Cooties
(2014)
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Rob Vaux
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A delicious treat for gorehounds, as well as those who survived elementary school as a child or an adult.
Posted Dec 03, 2015
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The Peanuts Movie
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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The price is some excessive familiarity and a very slow development. In exchange, we get the gang exactly the way we remember them, and their message is still as surprisingly sweet as ever.
Posted Nov 07, 2015
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Bone Tomahawk
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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It wants to be grim, but not necessarily despairing: genuinely fearing for its protagonists' lives while still holding legitimate hope that they're smart enough and tough enough to emerge out the other side intact.
Posted Oct 26, 2015
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Avengers: Age of Ultron
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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Stan Lee says, "Excelsior." If that doesn't get you bouncing off the walls, you've clearly come to the wrong franchise.
Posted Jun 12, 2015
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Get Hard
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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Ferrell has made shaky projects work on pure star power before, but even he seems to have given up on this one. The audience is strongly advised to follow his example.
Posted Jun 12, 2015
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Cinderella
(2015)
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Rob Vaux
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For those who don't look for miracles, this Cinderella resolutely delivers everything you could reasonably expect.
Posted Jun 12, 2015
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