Kings

Interracial tensions boil over in 1990s L.A.

"...and far-fetched story in which good intentions outweigh good storytelling...."

May 4, 2018 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Endless

Sibling banter and cosmic terror means observational comedy horror.

"...have yet again taken a dozen standards of genre storytelling and recrafted them into something fascinating, obtuse, and ultimately..."

April 20, 2018 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Lowlife

Sleaze, violence, and a weirdly nuanced take on race relations.

"...Subtlety and tact may be the only aspects of storytelling missing from Lowlife, the wild, multistranded feature debut of..."

April 20, 2018 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

A Quiet Place

As monsters lurk, the world survives with a whisper

"...genre that has often been plagued by nudge-nudge, wink-wink storytelling, the simple honesty of a family facing impossible odds..."

April 6, 2018 Movie Review by Richard Whittaker

Forever My Girl

Nashville corporate country goes home in this sudsy snoozefest

"...McLaughlin’s bestselling Beaumont series, this is not especially sophisticated storytelling, nor is it sudsy enough to satisfy prurient interests...."

Jan. 19, 2018 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Breadwinner

A young girl tries to provide for her family in Afghanistan

"...exist. There’s a multi-faceted significance in the act of storytelling, though some of the dialogue is delivered in a..."

Dec. 1, 2017 Movie Review by Danielle White

All Saints

Planting seeds to save a church

"...strikes an unusual tone in its devotion to good storytelling over proselytism. Doing the first thing well, it seems..."

Sept. 1, 2017 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

T2 Trainspotting

The sequel to the 1996 classic

"...entirely worthy sequel, very nearly an overdose of bravura storytelling and adrenalized, gorgeous cinema...."

March 24, 2017 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

2017 Oscar-Nominated Short Films: Animation

Watch and prepare for your Oscar pool

"...of animation – CG, woodcut, traditional cel – and storytelling they employ. All are representative of animators working at..."

Feb. 10, 2017 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Hidden Figures

True story of NASA's black women mathematicians

"...seems better suited to the TV-movie-of-the-week format than big-screen storytelling. Still, this affecting story of reclaimed history is something..."

Jan. 6, 2017 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Hacksaw Ridge

A pacifist goes to war in Mel Gibson's brutal film

"...Honor, is a versatile effort, combining tasteful old-school Hollywood storytelling in the first half with a second half dedicated..."

Nov. 4, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Kevin Hart: What Now?

Comic plays to record crowd in Philadelphia

"...invests every fiber of his being into his stand-up storytelling, creating a whirlwind that practically siphons the laughs out..."

Oct. 21, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

American Honey

Youths hit the road in this rambling epic

"...this approach is well-suited to Arnold’s observational mode of storytelling. Star never reveals her inner thoughts, but they manage..."

Oct. 7, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Dheepan

Cannes Palme d'Or winner about Tamil refugees in France

"...the film evidences the filmmaker’s realist tendencies and brash storytelling skills, although Dheepan’s interpersonal and cultural observations are overtaken..."

June 24, 2016 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Me Before You

A paraplegic and his quirky caregiver form a bond in this British romance

"...isn’t going to win any awards for sophistication in storytelling or direction, but it tenderly reproduces the book’s most..."

June 10, 2016 Movie Review by Kimberley Jones

The Martian

Circumstances force Matt Damon to become a wily Robinson Crusoe on Mars

"...than its source, the film is a triumph of storytelling, a tribute to the power of the crowd-pleaser. To..."

Oct. 2, 2015 Movie Review by Steve Davis

Child 44

Tom Hardy leads an international cast in this Soviet-era serial killer thriller

"...feels spot-on, the narrative is a victim of serpentine storytelling. Indeed, there are several plot strands that circle back..."

April 24, 2015 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?

Audiences shrug back.

"...easily the weakest. Stylistically mundane it combines bizarrely leaden storytelling with some truly awful acting. The center of the..."

Sept. 19, 2014 Movie Review by Louis Black

Night Moves

Three radical environmentalists plot to destroy a hydroelectric dam in Kelly Reichardt's thoughtful drama.

"...Kelly Reichardt is a distinctive filmmaker whose relationship with storytelling marches to its own beat. In fact, Reichardt allows..."

June 6, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

A Million Ways to Die in the West

Seth MacFarlane furthers his Hollywood onslaught with this Western spoof in which he's no longer strictly a voice talent but is now playing the onscreen lead.

"...can only improve as a filmmaker by honing his storytelling skills and swallowing some anti-diarrheals...."

May 30, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Oscar-Nominated Short Films 2014: Documentaries, Program B

A man carves majestic caves in sandstone rocks, and a prison hospice sees a lifer to the end.

"...share a similar tendency to indulge their subjects. Tighter storytelling would probably enhance both shorts, but they receive extra..."

Feb. 7, 2014 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

The Book Thief

This print bestseller about a girl's coming of age amid the horrors of Nazi Germany is swaddled in maudlin melodrama in this film adaptation.

"...Michael Petroni, chucks out the novel’s crisp, occasionally sublime storytelling in favor of huge swaths of maudlin melodrama and..."

Nov. 29, 2013 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

V/H/S/2

Horror anthology scares up few thrills.

"...it. But following in the found-footage mode of horror storytelling (a mode that two of this film’s seven filmmakers..."

July 26, 2013 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Kon-Tiki

Real-life adventurer Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 trip across the Pacific on a raft is re-created in this beautifully lensed film.

"...real. It’s an absorbing and often lyrical piece of storytelling that doesn’t overembellish the facts or rely on a..."

May 31, 2013 Movie Review by Steve Davis

The Other Son

Palestinian and Israeli baby boys are accidentally switched at birth, and that discovery in adulthood creates many repercussions.

"...is nevertheless workmanlike. The actors are all excellent, the storytelling compassionate, and the overall sense one takes from the..."

Dec. 14, 2012 Movie Review by Louis Black

Cloud Atlas

This spellbinding adaptation of a supposedly “unfilmable” novel achieves near-perfection on virtually all levels.

"...equal measures of compassion for the human spirit, cliff-hanging storytelling that sucks you in and keeps you rapt for..."

Oct. 26, 2012 Movie Review by Marc Savlov

Beyond the Black Rainbow

Visually striking but completely nuts, this filmmaking debut received a Special Jury Award for Boldness of Vision at last year's Fantastic Fest.

"...mind frequently when trying to describe this eccentric endeavor. Storytelling is not Cosmatos’ strong suit, and a fuzzy denouement..."

June 8, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

For Greater Glory

This epic starring Andy Garcia about Mexico’s anticlerical Cristero War of the late 1920s is a plodding and poorly plotted tale.

"...relatively easy to follow the movie despite its choppy storytelling...."

June 1, 2012 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Hugo

Martin Scorsese steps outside his comfort zone to create an effects-heavy children’s film set in France – and winds up creating one of his most splendid and personal films.

"...3-D as a potential enhancement to the art of storytelling rather than its contemporary bastardization as a requisite gewgaw...."

Nov. 25, 2011 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

Puss in Boots

As infectious as the latest viral cat video, this animated film has the added slam-dunk of Antonio Banderas purring the voice of the title character.

"...title character. DreamWorks’ hero’s tale is bolstered by solid storytelling and voice work, more of the deranged fairy-tale mash-ups..."

Oct. 28, 2011 Movie Review by Marjorie Baumgarten

« 1    ‹ BACK    1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10     NEXT ›    34 »