|
|
Diner
(1982)
|
Max Weiss
|
I think it’s time to forgive Diner for being a product of its time and embrace it as the coming-of-age masterpiece it truly is.
Posted Dec 08, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
May December
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
All the acting here is extraordinary, but there’s a reason why Charles Melton has been picking some early awards hardware for his role as Joe.
Posted Dec 06, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Nyad
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Mostly it’s a film about female friendship, about a friend who will love you at your best and your worst—and who will truly bask in your triumphs.
Posted Nov 27, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Saltburn
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
A character who acts without context or motivation is not compelling to me. Saltburn tries to shock us, again and again—instead, it ends up being a bit of an empty suit.
Posted Nov 27, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
The Holdovers
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Wry, funny (with some zingers that will stay with you long after the film is over), and closely observed, The Holdovers is my kind of Christmas film.
Posted Nov 10, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Priscilla
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Again and again, [Coppola 's] films proclaim: There is so much more to this woman than meets the eye. Do not be distracted by the shiny baubles -- something far more interesting happening here.
Posted Nov 09, 2023
|
|
4/4
|
Killers of the Flower Moon
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Yes, the film is three and a half hours. What’s so impressive about it is how Scorsese manages to inject urgency into even small moments.
Posted Oct 25, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Passages
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Passages is one of the best love triangle movies I’ve ever seen, primarily because it is about the fluid nature of not just sexuality but desire. And as Tomas, Rogowski gives an electrifying, star-making performance.
Posted Sep 01, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Wham!
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
I used to think of Andrew Ridgeley, one half of the pop duo Wham!, as this lucky guy who had hitched his cart to George Michael. Turns out, the real story is far more interesting.
Posted Jul 27, 2023
|
|
4/4
|
Oppenheimer
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Thanks to Nolan and Murphy, we see the full Oppenheimer -- neither monster nor savior, victim nor villain, but in the end, just a man.
Posted Jul 27, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Barbie
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Mostly, Barbie is laugh-out-loud funny and a sheer delight.
Posted Jul 27, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
I realize, as I describe this, that it all sounds kind of... good? The problem is, I’m describing the best parts. Dial of Destiny has the only the barest thread of a storyline on which to hang its many elaborate action scenes.
Posted Jun 28, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Past Lives
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Past Lives is lovely—smart, deeply felt, carefully observed, pleasingly patient with its characters and their emotions.
Posted Jun 28, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Asteroid City
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
I’ll definitely need to see Asteroid City again to make all the nesting doll pieces fit. But I felt melancholy and contemplative when I left the theater, in that way you do when a movie’s emotions sneak up on you.
Posted Jun 21, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
You Hurt My Feelings
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
It’s wonderful to watch these great actors living out this minor (to us), but major (to them) crisis.
Posted Jun 02, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret.
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Indeed, the film’s gentleness, its goodness, feels like a bit like a tonic. Fifty-three years after its publication, they finally made a film out of Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. And not a moment too soon.
Posted Apr 27, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Air
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Only Affleck and Damon could turn this tale of corporate triumph into a scrappy underdog story.
Posted Apr 03, 2023
|
|
3.5/4
|
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves was a blast. Not sure if hardcore D&D Heads are going to love it, but I sure as heck did.
Posted Mar 30, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
I Got a Monster
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
The film leaves room for at least a shred of optimism. As long as there are people willing to work toward justice, all hope is not lost.
Posted Mar 09, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Cocaine Bear
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
The film is well made, efficient, clever, and some of its funny lines will have you, um, snorting. But in the end, it’s still about a bear on a coke binge.
Posted Mar 02, 2023
|
|
2/4
|
Close
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Out of the gate, I didn’t really buy this friendship: It seemed too idealized and overly aestheticized.
Posted Feb 15, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Knock at the Cabin
(2023)
|
Max Weiss
|
I can mildly recommend A Knock at the Cabin as a slick, shallow crowd pleaser, but it feels like a wasted opportunity.
Posted Feb 02, 2023
|
|
3/4
|
Living
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
The quietly powerful Living defies expectations at every turn.
Posted Jan 26, 2023
|
|
2.5/4
|
Babylon
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
I admire Chazelle’s ambition. He swings for the fences here -- and he’s obviously an enormously gifted director. But to me, this is a swing and a miss.
Posted Dec 22, 2022
|
|
1.5/4
|
Empire of Light
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Empire of Light is so dewy and sentimental, it’s practically moist. What’s more, it’s almost desperate to be the kind of film that wins awards. A shame, because it wastes an excellent Colman performance.
Posted Dec 16, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
The Menu
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Foodie culture is slayed, literally, in this expert black comedy.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
The Fabelmans
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
The Fabelmans is beautiful, involving, often spellbinding. Spielberg has now demonstrated that he can look inward, as well as outward, and still command every frame.
Posted Nov 30, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
The Banshees of Inisherin
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
The film toggles masterfully between comedy and tragedy; realism and fable. It manages to be both of the moment and completely timeless.
Posted Nov 18, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Armageddon Time
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
The real nourishment comes from unflinching honesty, served with compassion, insight, and a bit of sadness. In that sense, Armageddon Time is a full meal.
Posted Nov 12, 2022
|
|
4/4
|
Tár
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Tár had me in its clutches from the overture.
Posted Oct 20, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Bros
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
I want to be clear about something -- Bros is radical in its own way and a cultural breakthrough. It’s also just a damn good rom-com.
Posted Sep 30, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Don't Worry Darling
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
That said, while the film isn’t adding anything new to the conversation about gender imbalance in our society, it’s a conversation we need to keep having... again... and again... and again.
Posted Sep 23, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Nope
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Nope grapples with enough issues of representation, voyeurism, exploitation, and spectacle to fill up 10 philosophy classes. Which is not to say it’s not just a straight-up thrilling and hilariously unhinged horror/sci-fi.
Posted Jul 22, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
If you’re allergic to this sort of thing it all sounds insufferable. But the film is very good at what it does -- gorgeous to look at and put together with manifest affection and care by director Anthony Fabian and crew.
Posted Jul 14, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
In the hands of Slate and her director and creative partner Dean Fleischer-Camp, it’s charming, laugh-out-loud funny, and surprisingly poignant.
Posted Jul 01, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Sophie Hyde’s [film is] delightful -- and sneakily radical.
Posted Jun 23, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Elvis
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Elvis is too long, too melodramatic, too everything. But it’s also often wildly entertaining.
Posted Jun 16, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Hit the Road
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
Panah Panahi’s debut feature is remarkably assured—tender, funny, artfully shot, and wise.
Posted Jun 06, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Sirens
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Lilas is a fascinating figure, straight out of a work of fiction.
Posted Jun 06, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Neptune Frost
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
The film Neptune Frost is best enjoyed as a thoroughly immersive experience.
Posted Jun 06, 2022
|
|
4/4
|
Fire of Love
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Directed with care, curiosity, and insight by Sara Dosa.
Posted Jun 06, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Top Gun: Maverick
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
All in all, I have to hand it to Cruise, director Joseph Kosinksi, and all the folks behind Top Gun: Maverick. They channeled ’80s nostalgia into a clever, exciting, and fun package that reminds us why we loved those cheesy movies to begin with.
Posted May 25, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Everything Everywhere All at Once
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
There’s lots to recommend about Everything Everywhere All at Once, but the film’s frenetic busy-ness wore me down.
Posted Apr 21, 2022
|
|
2/4
|
Deep Water
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
In some ways, I’m happy to have even a simulacrum of a movie for grownups. But I’ve been waiting 20 years for the new Adrian Lyne to drop, as it were. This wasn’t worth the wait.
Posted Mar 25, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Cyrano
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
This Cyrano is a beautiful bummer.
Posted Mar 03, 2022
|
|
2.5/4
|
Marry Me
(2022)
|
Max Weiss
|
Look, Marry Me is no Notting Hill, the ne plus ultra of “regular schmo dates celebrity” movies. But it gets the job done.
Posted Feb 18, 2022
|
|
3.5/4
|
Parallel Mothers
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
There are more twists and turns in Parallel Mothers that I won't disclose but the film is mesmerizing.
Posted Jan 14, 2022
|
|
2/4
|
Don't Look Up
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
Ultimately, Don't Look Up is more than just mean-spirited and smug. It's aggressively those things -- that is, until that sentimental coda.
Posted Jan 06, 2022
|
|
3/4
|
Being the Ricardos
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
It's fun -- particularly to see such accomplished actors embodying the roles. But it feels shallow and showy.
Posted Dec 17, 2021
|
|
3.5/4
|
House of Gucci
(2021)
|
Max Weiss
|
It gave me everything I needed -- and then some. I wanted the film to be over-the-top, messy, silly, involving, gorgeous, stylish -- and it's all those things.
Posted Dec 10, 2021
|
>