"The producers consulted the Chinese Academy of Sciences, though what questions they asked is not immediately clear. I'd like to think I know at least as much as the average college graduate about the physical sciences, but they lost me when the Earth stopped rotating. "
"Romantic comedies too often forget the second part of that description. Wong and Park put the emphasis on the comedy and leave the romance to fend for itself."
"The Perfection is one of the few films in which the trailer seems to give it all away, but it really serves to set the viewer up for something entirely different. This is primarily a pleasant surprise. "
"I saw this film on a dare from someone who saw the first 10 minutes then fast forwarded to the end. Both he and I had seen this film pushed to the top of our Netflix login, saying there was a 90+% chance we'd like this film. Not sure what the criteria is, but it's not nearly as accurate as those Amazon adbots that put items similar to what you were browsing for on every future page you visit. He wins, even if he saw only 5 minutes less than I did. "
The Silence - 2019 Director John R. LeonettiScreenplay Cary and Shane Van Dyke based on the book by Tim LebbonStarring Kiernan Shipka, Stanley Tucci, Miranda Otto, John Corbett, Billy McClellan Just about the time when The Silence meets it's ultimate antagonist, The Reverend (McClellan). My daughter came downstairs from studying. It's her spring break, so … Continue reading The Silence (*1/2) rightly gives up in the last act
"The Warren Beatty film has received a gentle critical wind in the ensuing years, remembered more for its groundbreaking violence than for any of the many nominated performances. In retrospect, its not a bad film, but it's not a classic, either. The main thing it lacks is a cohesive story that's not real accurate with any amount of character development. "
Malevolent - 2018 Director Olaf de Fleur Screenplay Ben Ketai, Eva Konstantopoulos Starring Florence Pugh, Celia Imrie, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Scott Chambers, Georgina Bevan The never-ending stream of films being released by Netflix often seem to have the air of rejection by other studios. There is also a slew of smaller films that have solid, if lesser known talent. One such … Continue reading Malevolent (***) is a building block for Netflix
Director Adam Wingard Screenplay by Charles Parlapanides, Vlas Parlapanides, Jeremy Slater Starring Nat Wolff, Lakeith Stanfield, Margaret Qualley, Shea Whigham, Paul Nakauchi, Jason Liles, Willem Dafoe Before we go too far in any direction, this film is not great. It's not a giant disappointment, though. It is just a little one. Anyone who has time to accuse the filmmakers of whitewashing the original material … Continue reading Death Note (***) is Pandora’s Box by another name
The film works best when it concentrates on the relationship between the two protagonists. Rudd and Roberts play well off of each other, and when it goes deeper than words, it's believable and entertaining. If they'd given the bit players smaller portions, the story might flow better.
