HollywoodandFine.com Be warned. John Maclean’s directorial debut, “Slow West,” practices truth in advertising. But “slow” seems harsh as an adjective for this compelling film. “Patient” would be a more apt description; “studied” or “measured” would be two more. Because, in presenting this Scotsman’s gloss on a tale of America’s Old …
HollywoodandFine.com As squirm comedies go, “The D Train” is a breed apart, a film that puts new spin on the bromance. The bros in question are Dan Landsman (Jack Black) and Oliver Lawless (James Marsden), who haven’t seen each other since high school. Now Dan is on the high-school reunion …
HollywoodandFine.com These feel like cinematic end times – not in terms of Hollywood movies (that horse is already out of the barn), but in the pack-mentality, “hey, it’s good enough” approach of critics to the colossus that bestrides summer movies, otherwise known as the Marvel Universe. I speak specifically of …
HollywoodandFine.com “Ex Machina” is both tastily minimal and frustratingly simplistic. Alex Garland’s directing debut (he wrote “28 Days Later” and “Sunshine”) is, in essence, a three-hander about three people in a house. OK, a high-tech mansion, but you get the point. Yet, after tantalizing us with increasingly imaginative developments and …
HollywoodandFine.com Certainly the pedigree of “Child 44” makes it seem promising. Directed by Daniel Espinosa (“Safe House”) from a script by Richard Price, it features a sturdy, heavily British international cast led by Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, Joel Kinnaman, Vincent Cassel and Noomi Rapace. But the timing of the release …
HollywoodandFine.com The directing debut of actor Chris Messina, “Alex of Venice” is as notable for what it doesn’t do as for what it does. This is the story of a married parent suddenly forced to realign priorities when their spouse walks out. Think “Kramer vs. Kramer” – and then make …
HollywoodandFine.com “True Story” is not a bad movie; indeed, it’s a creepy little tale that has moments that will unnerve you. But the limitations of its script and of Jonah Hill’s performance in the central role keep it from transcending its shortcomings. Based on actual events, “True Story” feels like …
HollywoodandFine.com Sean Penn is a global activist who puts his money – and, more important, his physical self – where others barely pay lip service. His advocacy on behalf of the voiceless is stirring, but it obviously is also time-consuming and costly. So when a paycheck role like “The Gunman” …
HollywoodandFine.com Writer Bruce Wagner’s script for David Cronenberg’s “Maps to the Stars” is of a piece with his other work. It blends a cynical vision of people with an even darker examination of the worship of the superficial that is Hollywood life. But instead of the kind of roiling tale …
HollywoodandFine.com Glenn Ficarra and John Requa’s “Focus” brings to mind Tony Gilroy’s similarly complex but more fun “Duplicity,” from a couple of years ago: a tale of love among the con men, in which emotion – considered weakness in this trade – becomes a factor. “Focus” works hard and does …
HollywoodandFine.com When James Bond rebooted with Daniel Craig in “Casino Royale,” the blend of old-school spy tale and modern-action sensibility seemed right – if still a little restrained. Imagine now what would happen if James Bond were put in the hands of someone who was willing to not just rethink …
HollywoodandFine.com Amusing and slight, “What We Do in the Shadows” is a mockumentary drawn from the same sensibilities that produced “Flight of the Conchords,” “Eagle v. Shark” and “Boy,” among others. Written and directed by the team of Jemaine Clement and Taiki Watiti, this film presents a flock (coven? pride? …
HollywoodandFine.com There aren’t many films from the past 15 years that bowled me over the way “The Matrix” did. Unfortunately, the Wachoskis – Andy and Lana – haven’t come close since then. The “Matrix” sequels proved that not every successful movie deserves to be a trilogy. “Speed Racer” was an …
HollywoodandFine.com Submarine movies rarely end well for the characters, almost never for the submarine itself. It’s a claustrophobic genre and, no matter what the actual plot, the story is always about men trapped in a nature-defying environment when that environment is threatened, often by the actions of the men themselves. …