movie reviews
Movie Review: Born Innocent — The Redd Kross Story
4 stars out of 5 This rock doc checks all the boxes: sex, drugs, sibling rivalry, breaking up, getting the band back together. There’s one tiny problem: It’s quite possible you have no idea who they are. Yes, lovers of glammy power pop absolutely worship Redd Kross, and record store ghouls have certainly come across […]
Movie Review: Y2K
3.5 stars out of 5 I began to realize a girlfriend wasn’t right for me when she couldn’t pay attention to Kyle Mooney’s previous screenwriting effort, the ingenious Brigsby Bear. Now it’s 7 years later, the SNL vet has added director to his credits, and I went to the theater alone to see Y2K. Mooney, […]
Movie Review: Gladiator II
4 stars out of 5 All I remembered about the first Gladiator, from 2000, is that I liked it a lot more than I thought I would, and also that it was one of the movies which made me realize that even though Russell Crowe seemed like a jerk in real life, he was a […]
Movie Review: Small Things Like These
4.5 stars out of 5 In my review of the excellent 2022 movie The Quiet Girl, I wrote that the “script is adapted from the novella Foster by Claire Keegan; will have to check out her work.” Since then I’ve indeed read the bulk of Keegan’s work, including her masterwork to date, Small Things Like These. My […]
Movie Review: Anora
4 stars out of 5Brooklyn exotic dancer falls for son of a Russian oligarch, but daddy doesn’t approve. In different hands, this random draw from Hollywood’s Big Hat o’ Plots could’ve been: a raunchy comedy with Adam Sandler [large budget] or Rob Schneider [small budget] as the dad; a Pretty Woman-esque rom-com [full disclosure: Have […]
Movie Review: Smile 2
4 stars out of 5 I was slightly skeptical about this sequel, knowing Sosie Bacon could not reprise her lead role. But noticing that writer/director Parker Finn was back, and having enjoyed the first installment so much, I didn’t stay away long from Smile 2. Plus it’s spooky movie season! Plot, you want to hear […]
Movie Review: Tom Petty — Heartbreakers Beach Party
4 stars out of 5If you’re really feeling Petty, take a deep dive into Peter Bogdanovich’s 4-hour, 19-min documentary from 2007, Runnin’ Down a Dream. But for a looser experience capturing Tom and band at the height of their powers, Cameron Crowe’s restored film Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party is the one for you. Produced […]
Movie Review: The Wild Robot
4 stars out of 5I was not planning on seeing The Wild Robot. I was set on Joker II. (I like watching Joaquin Phoenix go nuts.) But a little last-minute research turned up that the new Joker was not particularly good and also, a musical. WTF? Much like the Mean Girls reboot, Joker II was […]
Movie Review: Megalopolis
4 stars out of 5 It’s not too often that an 85-year-old throws me off my game. But when the octogenarian in question is Francis Ford Coppola, perhaps I shouldn’t be too surprised. He has perhaps the greatest résumé of any filmmaker, living or otherwise: The Godfather, Godfather II, Apocalypse Now, The Conversation, and not […]
Movie Review: Will & Harper
4.5 stars out of 5When I first read the description of this documentary — Will Ferrell and a longtime friend who has recently transitioned take a cross-country road trip — I immediately wanted to see it. I figured Ferrell would be a gentle guide into questions about transgender life that many of us have. And […]
Jack Silbert, curator