R | 2h 32min | Action, Drama, History | 15 October 2021 (USA) Based on the 2004 novel “The Last Duel: A True Story of Trial by Combat in Medieval France” by Eric Jager, “The Last Duel” is overflowing with virtually every filmmaking tool found in director Ridley Scott’s formidable creative wheelhouse. You’ll notice nods to his debut effort “The Duellists,” as…
Film Review: ‘The Last Duel’: Director Ridley Scott Recounts a True Medieval Scandal
Film Review: ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye’: Jessica Chastain Gives an Acting Clinic
PG-13 | 2h 6min | Biography, Drama | 17 September 2021 (USA) Given Hollywood’s dismal track record when it comes to the unbiased portrayal of organized religion, it’s a near-miracle that the content found in “The Eyes of Tammy Faye” is so clear-eyed and nonjudgmental. While many of the characters in the film “spreading God’s…
Film Review: ‘Reminiscence’: First-Time Filmmaker Lisa Joy’s Sci-Fi Noir Pot-Boiler
PG-13 | 1h 56min | Action, Drama, Thriller, Sci-Fi | 20 August 2021 Inspired by German Expressionism in the late 1940s, film noir flourished and then mutated into other mystery genres: “neo-noir,” “sci-fi noir,” and, most recently, “tech-noir.” With few exceptions, all of these movies featured a world-weary leading man (often private a detective or cop) who falls for or is duped by…
Film Review: ‘Free Guy’: A Funny and Insightful Indictment of Video Game Culture
PG-13 | 1h 55min | Action, Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy | 13 August 2021 (USA) Beginning in 1993 with “Super Mario Brothers,” there have been 45 live-action and animated films based on video games released by U.S. studios with another 20 in some form of pre-production. For the most part, these movies do well at the box office thanks largely to the established…
Film Review: ‘Jungle Cruise’: Another Hit-and-Miss Disney Theme-Park Adaptation
PG-13 | 2h 7min | Action, Drama, Comedy, Fantasy | 30 July 2021 (USA) Before hitting the mother lode with the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, Disney adapted two other theme park attractions into feature films and both failed miserably. “Mission to Mars” (2000) and “The Country Bears” (2002) were loathed by critics and barely dented the box office. Released mere months after…
Film Review: ‘A Hidden Life’
“It is better to suffer injustice than to do it.” Once in a long while, a film is produced that provides its audience a genuine spiritual experience that directly confronts one’s soul. Terrence Malick’s masterful film, “A Hidden Life,” explores the true story of the courageous Austrian farmer, Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector in World…
Rewind, Review, and Re-rate: ‘Paterson’: Elevating the Ordinary to the Extraordinary
R | 1h 58min | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 2016 Many films recount the lives of famous creative folk throughout the ages. Most of them, however, are about the world’s revered visual artists. Films about important poets, on the other hand, seem to be less popular. Besides a few standouts, such as 1998’s “Shakespeare in…
Film Review: The Documentary ‘Chasing Childhood’ Explores the Dangers of Helicopter Parenting
NR | 1h 18min | Documentary | 25 June 2021 (USA) It is an unwritten but widely-subscribed-to belief that parents want their children to be more financially successful, better-educated, healthier, and happier than themselves. Perhaps this is merely something imprinted on human DNA by a higher power, or, maybe it’s a mission taken on by many parents to prove their…
Film Review: The Bio-Documentary ‘Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It’
R | 1h 30min | Biography, Documentary | 18 June 2021 (USA) As plum and deserving as any entertainer living or dead for their own biographical documentary, the now 89-year-old Rita Moreno is an undeniable national treasure both in her native Puerto Rico and in the United States. She is the only person to ever win competitive Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and…
Film Review: ‘12 Mighty Orphans’: A Period-Piece Football Flick With a Lot of Heart
PG-13 | 1h 58min | Sports, Drama, Historical | 11 June 2021 (USA) In the space of 100 years or so, there have been over 200 feature and made-for-TV movies released that have a connection to American football. The majority of these films are, for the most part, forgettable. Some notable exceptions include “The Longest Yard” (1974), “Heaven Can Wait” (1978), “Rudy” (1993),…
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