In his first feature film, Belgian director Michel Blanchardt takes a simple, familiar action movie setting and gives it his own spin by adding relevant social commentary. In Night Call, Maddy (Jonathan Veltri), a young locksmith, spends a violent and eventful evening in Brussels. He tangles with sinister characters, makes influential friendships, and runs against … Read more
In “Back in Action,” a generic domestic spy thriller like its title, Jamie Foxx and Cameron Diaz, as two CIA agents who become a romantic couple, attend a birthday party for children thrown by a Belarusian cyber-terrorist whose safekeeping they keep. Re-planning the storm. But their identities are revealed in about five minutes. They must … Read more
In a small way, the small-budget British independent film “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” lured audiences back to theaters two years ago. The concept of Bad Taste and the trailer have generated viral appeal for a guilty pleasure. Then Fathom Events’ theatrical window was so short, there was no chance for word of mouth to spoil … Read more
As a movie star, Gerard Butler owns January like Will Smith owns Memorial Day and the Meg movies own August. That Butler’s B-grade thrillers now dominate frozen oblivion at the box office in the first weeks of the year may seem like a Pyrrhic victory, but at least he’s king. Something. And Butler’s gruff, beady-eyed, … Read more
It’s ordinary people, not superheroes, who bring justice and change in the real world. In “Lilly,” writer-director Rachel Feldman follows the era-defining work of one of these everyday women: pioneer Lilly Ledbetter, a trailblazer from humble beginnings who sued her employer, Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company, on the basis of gender. Pay discrimination. But while … Read more
This year saw one of the most closely guarded corporate intellectual property empires leak, as all the horses and men of the Magic Kingdom couldn’t stop Mickey Mouse from entering the public domain. Strictly speaking, what is no longer protected are the first three pants in which this legendary rodent appeared, all of which were … Read more
Ethan Kubiak, the kind of everyday hero who might have been played by Mel Gibson or Bruce Willis in the 1980s, always wanted to be a cop. Instead, he works in airport security — not even the basic task of checking passengers’ luggage for bombs. For the past three years, a stranded TSA agent has … Read more
In his second theatrical feature, Mehran Modiri, one of Iran’s most beloved satirical TV comedians, turns his hand to the thriller genre, with mixed results. He writes, directs and performs in the intense and increasingly contrived social issues thriller “6 AM,” in which a small incident escalates into a major tragedy. Although this independent feature … Read more
Arguably one of the most insufferable characters in literature is the main character in Johann Wolfgang Goethe’s novel The Sorrows of Young Werther – a martyr of unrequited love who ultimately commits suicide. The author quickly distanced himself from this early work, despite the fame it brought him. There is no doubt that this is … Read more
Finishing fifth and still on the Formula 1 podium was an unusual end to George Russell’s Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. On the other side of the stand was Charles Leclerc, the Ferrari driver who had already reached the podium on Sunday evening after coming from 19th on the grid to finish third behind Lando Norris … Read more