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2/4
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Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
(1992)
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Bob Strauss
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This mostly Japanese-made endeavor throws out everything but the fundamental tenet of surrealism: It doesn't make any sense. Rather than wonder, it evokes a feeling of confused calculation.
Posted Mar 07, 2023
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2/4
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Godzilla
(1998)
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Glenn Whipp
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Unfortunately, Godzilla cannot be on screen all of the film's near-interminable 140 minutes. And when Godzilla goes missing, so does the film.
Posted Feb 14, 2023
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The Last Time You Had Fun
(2014)
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Bob Strauss
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Earns enough good will to carry us through this night-in-a-rented-limo adventure to its sunrise conclusion.
Posted Jun 11, 2020
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Whitney Cummings: I'm Your Girlfriend
(2016)
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Rob Lowman
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"I'm Your Girlfriend" is never manic or outright hilarious, but Cummings is quick-witted -- she interacts well with the audience -- while being right on target about so many things.
Posted Aug 01, 2019
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And Then I Go
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Indie stalwarts Melanie Lynskey and Justin Long play perfect imperfect parents, but Arman Darbo and Sawyer Barth really kill it as the boys.
Posted Apr 23, 2018
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May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers
(2017)
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Erik Pedersen
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Apatow and Bonfiglio do a fine job creating a portrait that should satisfy fans and serve as an inviting introduction to those who don't know the Avett's classic American music.
Posted Apr 04, 2018
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Bucky and the Squirrels
(2013)
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Bob Strauss
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Actors Josh Duvendeck, Kyle S. More, Matt Cook and Matt Shively get some OK slapstick energy going with this, but advocates for those with learning disabilities would not be wrong if they have complaints.
Posted Jan 31, 2018
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On Body and Soul
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Their tentative but needful efforts to relate in the waking world are fascinating and more than a little heartbreaking, and suspense rises while outside parties try to figure out what's going on.
Posted Jan 31, 2018
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A Fantastic Woman
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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[Daniela] Vega's performance could have been a little more dimensional, but her determined self-possession is as inspiring as anyone could want.
Posted Jan 31, 2018
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A Ciambra
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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[Jonas Caprignano] captures the life of a boisterous Romani family in Southern Calabria with remarkable authenticity.
Posted Jan 31, 2018
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Have a Nice Day
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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The actual animation is limited and the pacing deliberate with eruptions of shocking violence, but the backgrounds are both graphically detailed and sociologically illuminating.
Posted Jan 31, 2018
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Please Stand By
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Yes, it's too cute by several parsecs, but it does boast Patton Oswalt playing a Klingon-speaking police officer.
Posted Jan 26, 2018
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American Folk
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Neither character is particularly compelling, nor are the goodhearted folk they meet along the way because It Was A Time When All Kinds of Americans Briefly Came Together and Heinz is only interested in pounding that idea home.
Posted Jan 26, 2018
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Like Me
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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The filmmaker captures the nasty world of viral outrage better than most who attempt it, too, even if he seems to have no idea what to say about it.
Posted Jan 26, 2018
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Maze Runner: The Death Cure
(2018)
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Bob Strauss
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Much of it defies logic or even the commonest of sense, but all the explosions and riots and zombie chompdowns satisfy a certain itch for spectacle.
Posted Jan 26, 2018
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Lover for a Day
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Philippe Garrel's latest French relationship kerfuffle boasts solid acting and credibly crafted behavior, as all of the director's black-and-white, latter-day Nouvelle Vague dramas do.
Posted Jan 26, 2018
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Thank You for Your Service
(2017)
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Rob Lowman
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You get the irony from the title, but it's also sincere in its wishes for these young soldiers.
Posted Jan 22, 2018
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The Killing of a Sacred Deer
(2017)
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Rob Lowman
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A lot of the story's impact quickly evaporates when it's over.
Posted Jan 22, 2018
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Den of Thieves
(2018)
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Bob Strauss
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"Den of Thieves" is an action vehicle that barely moves.
Posted Jan 19, 2018
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My Art
(2016)
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Bob Strauss
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It's fairly watchable, especially since Simmons' character Ellie has no time for single older woman clichés and is likably easygoing about everything but her unwell dog and questionable work.
Posted Jan 19, 2018
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Mom and Dad
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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[Nicholas] Cage recalls his "Vampire's Kiss"/"Kiss of Death" era go-for-broke lunacy as the homicidal Dad; it's not quite at the inventive quality of those old, extreme performances, but still oodles of crazy fun.
Posted Jan 19, 2018
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The Road Movie
(2016)
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Bob Strauss
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There's lots of snow, ice, torrential rains, floods, wildfires and ample additional proof that folks over there hardly need help from inclement weather to spectacularly wreck their vehicles.
Posted Jan 19, 2018
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12 Strong
(2018)
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Bob Strauss
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Rah-rah while making a few stabs at humanizing humor, the movie also gives both credit and hints of complexity to our Afghan allies. This is no thinking man's war movie, but it is almost thoughtful for something like that.
Posted Jan 19, 2018
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Molly's Game
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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That despite how much talk there is about it; interest fades, and [Jessica] Chastain's technically astounding performance becomes so much noise.
Posted Dec 29, 2017
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Phantom Thread
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Weird, unusually funny and rather self-controlled for a Paul Thomas Anderson drama.
Posted Dec 29, 2017
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In the Fade
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Johannes Krisch, the guy who plays the defense attorney, arguably delivers the most hiss-worthy antagonist of the year - and he's not even the worst person in the movie!
Posted Dec 29, 2017
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Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Director Paul McGuigan pulls off some marvelously theatrical effects that collapse time into emotional memory.
Posted Dec 29, 2017
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All the Money in the World
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Ridley Scott should've gone on to also do over (or at least eliminate some of ) the endless footage of Mark Wahlberg explaining strategy and tactics to Michelle Williams, which grows so tedious it sometimes felt like I was being held for ransom, too.
Posted Dec 29, 2017
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Psych: The Movie
(2017)
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Rob Lowman
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If you liked the series - you had eight years to find out - you'll like the movie.
Posted Dec 28, 2017
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Pitch Perfect 3
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Out of tune.
Posted Dec 22, 2017
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Downsizing
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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While the whole thing looks interesting and there's no shortage of provocative ideas, it all seems to float off into one big muddle.
Posted Dec 22, 2017
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The Post
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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When Spielberg's just showing us independent thinking in action ... he's got a great movie.
Posted Dec 22, 2017
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Hostiles
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Cooper ... wants to shock and compel with equal fervor, and it's remarkable how often he succeeds at doing both.
Posted Dec 22, 2017
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Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Each performer gets more-or-less comic traits to work to death, but [Jack] Black is the only one who comes close to inspired lunacy as the formerly attractive girl appalled, yet intrigued, by her new male equipment
Posted Dec 15, 2017
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The Leisure Seeker
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Played by Donald Sutherland and Helen Mirren, these two dodge much of the icky adorableness movies such as this usually heap on old people, but that's not to say the characters are all that noteworthy, just very well acted.
Posted Dec 15, 2017
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The Ballad of Lefty Brown
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Slightly more interesting of this week's mediocre old folks movies.
Posted Dec 15, 2017
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Birdboy: The Forgotten Children
(2015)
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Bob Strauss
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Impressively weird Spanish cartoon about cute talking animals wandering around a danger-filled, post-apocalyptic island.
Posted Dec 15, 2017
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Star Wars: The Last Jedi
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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My favorite among the new castmembers is Laura Dern as Leia's Vice Admiral Amilyn Holdo, a poker player of near-Vulcan inscrutability.
Posted Dec 12, 2017
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Song of Granite
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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The film's monochromatic images are so beautiful they're almost as soul-nourishing as the transporting vocals and otherworldly reels the soundtrack envelopes us in.
Posted Dec 08, 2017
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The Shape of Water
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Few films leave me awestruck for weeks. But the way Guillermo del Toro juggles heart, imagination, suspense, social history, outsider attitude and weird artistry so successfully in this Cold War monster romance continues to astound me.
Posted Dec 08, 2017
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Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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There are Hollywood biographies, then there are fascinating lives. One of the most beautiful - and arguably the smartest - actresses of all time could certainly claim the latter.
Posted Dec 08, 2017
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Foxtrot
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Writer-director Samuel Maoz pulls some narrative sleight-of-hand that may feel like cheating to some, but it also builds a powerful case against numb acceptance of war's brutal stupidity.
Posted Dec 08, 2017
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Wonder Wheel
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Too declamatory, and too often punctuated by hackneyed dialogue, for me.
Posted Dec 01, 2017
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The Other Side of Hope
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Too sentimental and not absurd enough in addressing its hot-button subject, this is no "Leningrad Cowboys".
Posted Dec 01, 2017
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Loveless
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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But there's enough complex sadness and relatable need in "Loveless" to make it more than just a study of awful people.
Posted Dec 01, 2017
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Daisy Winters
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Some dark ideas and a strong young lead elevate this above its Afterschool Special basics.
Posted Dec 01, 2017
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The Disaster Artist
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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A galaxy of great guest stars adds comic coats of appalled disbelief as Tommy makes his movie every wrong way he possibly can - while Franco, off-camera, makes one of the weirdest and best films about a movie ever.
Posted Dec 01, 2017
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The Newspaperman: The Life and Times of Ben Bradlee
(2017)
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Rob Lowman
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The documentary doesn't overplay the JFK material - there is a whole documentary or two there. It's an important point
Posted Dec 01, 2017
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Logan Lucky
(2017)
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Rob Lowman
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The film is a breezy, undemanding romp, a nice respite from what's in theaters now.
Posted Nov 27, 2017
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Coco
(2017)
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Bob Strauss
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Not only do Coco's plot twists work like bone-shaking magic when they're finally revealed, but the way its musical and familial themes are woven together like the world's warmest serape earns enough emotional waterworks to flood the Sonoran Desert.
Posted Nov 22, 2017
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