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
Ambition trumps experience in writer-director Phil Plattenberger’s “Laws of Man,” whose meandering plot ends up looking like a wild goose chase — and whose execution should have been even wilder. Suspense and atmosphere are so poorly provided that this stab at an old, noisy thriller comes across as anything other than talky, weird, and unconvincing. … Read more
Stories about survivors in a post-apocalyptic world continue to fascinate viewers in streaming series like “Fallout” and “The Last of Us,” but “Homestead” likely marks the first time such a scenario has been used in a faith-based film. . This is certainly the first time that a theatrical film of this type has been designed … Read more
One of the darkest chapters in South Korean history is chronicled in “12.12: Today,” a dramatic account of the 1979 coup that followed the assassination of authoritarian President Park Chung-hee on October 26. Meticulously written and extremely well performed by a first-rate cast including Hwang Jung-min (“Deliver Us from Evil”), director and co-writer Kim Sung-soo’s … 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
Sylvester Stallone has rarely played a villain on screen, and judging by the deadpan of his role in “Armor,” it seems unlikely that he would have wanted to do so. This lack of enthusiasm will resonate with most viewers watching this uninspiring action show, in which Jason Patric’s driver and co-worker Josh Wiggins are attacked … Read more