The film, which premieres on Netflix on July 27, traverses the spectrum of medical devices but opens and closes on one particular item, Essure, a metal coil that’s inserted into the fallopian tubes for sterilization purposes
The film, like Oakland itself, is forever evolving, always becoming some new thing just when it at last seems to have revealed its full self
A cinematic centrifuge of acrobatic stunt work, breakneck chases and immersive action, Mission: Impossible – Fallout is a perfectly calibrated piece of filmmaking that plays the viewer like a drum right from the start
As with most horror films, the cast gets whittled down one by one by the killer, in this case, a cabal of folks in black hoods capable of showing up at the characters’ homes at a moment’s notice — they’re maniacally smart, always 10 steps ahead of the gang
Despite some distracting narrative choices and sketchy character development (especially with Mara’s character, who, of course, turns into a love interest), the film does eventually find its footing
Part of Eighth Grade’s charm comes from a refusal to go for easy confrontations or humiliations; it keeps threatening to become a cringe-fest, but pulls back, as Burnham opts instead for something more human and realistic
In Season 2, that tension gathers over Sam and Ruth (Alison Brie), a GLOW wrestler/cast member and veteran of discouraging, often humiliating Hollywood casting calls
The film’s half-baked story about a girl trying to live out her slutty, wonderful, deceased mother’s dream of operating a hotel on a Greek island (all set to the music of ABBA) is so thoroughly entertaining and ridiculous that the cast members can’t help but crack into dumb grins at what they’re doing
All that lashing wind and rain, and Fuqua’s sometimes haphazard storytelling, deny us the grim pleasures of Denzel’s methodical slayings, which often take clever advantage of whatever tools happen to be handy
Harper and Charlie’s flirty dialogue rushes by at screwball comedy speeds, a funny affectation that’s no less effective now than it was in movies like It Happened One Night or The Lady Eve
Van Helsing is a distant memory by the time we reach Dracula (aka Drac) in the present day, feeling lonely at Hotel Transylvania, his secret resort run by and for monsters, where demonic creatures and other surreal abominations of nature are allowed to vacation free of human meddling
Sorry to Bother You sings in a voice all its own, thanks to the righteous vision of Riley, known for his 1990s hip-hop group The Coup and his vocal support for labor rights
Shock and Awe is a 90-minute liberal told-you-so, a polemic that, like a long Rachel Maddow segment, is more cheery than thunderous, even as it names the names that must be named
“Sometimes people fixate on the thing that represents a happy time in their lives, and they’re unwilling to transfer that energy to new things or experiences.”
… The plot’s developments at times could seem tenuous, but I found them totally daring and confident, as though Riley knew the rules of every screenwriting guide and the demand for “realism,” and he said, “Nah, I’m good,” because he had bigger points to make …
Skyscraper is a family-bonding adventure film starring Dwayne Johnson, Neve Campbell and two elementary-aged children who are as good at appearing darling (in the early scenes) as they are at playacting the role of traumatized hostages (in the later scenes)
… There’s an urgency and an anger this time around that helps paper over some of the story’s messiness, as well as some of the awkward drama of trying to explain where this whole crazy Purge idea actually came from
The writers, who include Flynn as well as series creator Marti Noxon (Mad Men, UnREAL, Dietland), don’t exactly hit viewers over the head with the retrograde gender politics of small-town America, but those dynamics are firmly on display
Granik says this about that near-decade between her narrative films: “It’s been like psycho-cardio workout on steroids the past eight years.”
Like Nanette, Rape Jokes is in part a deconstruction of comedy itself, particularly the debates in recent years over what should, or shouldn’t, be acceptable in a stand-up set
Overall, the film plays more like a survey of Williams’ life, an ordered and abridged history that allows fans to say, “Oh, I remember that,” as a clip from one of his more notable films plays
The film even confronts its own audience in some ways, as it goes from a tale of three people learning more about their identities, to one about the very nature of human identity itself …
