Three very different Netflix Original offerings finds Redford and Fonda back at their peak, Gugino and Greenwood at a low point, and Angelina Jolie directing another film where the main characters are brutalized for two hours-plus… First They Killed My Father…I’ve mentioned several times that Jolie is a pain-freak in her directorial efforts, piling on… Read More »
I can’t really even pretend these films have anything in common except that I watched them. That’s about it, but this is a strong group over all… Everything Everything…This unfairly dismissed teen romance (mediocre reviews and box office) follows Amandla Stenberg’s immune-disease afflicated teen (the movie calls it something, but you may know it as… Read More »
Love, war, and two very different movies with “song” in the title… The Lovers…This “best of the bunch” film involves a long-married couple (Debra Winger, in a comeback role, and Homeland’s Tracy Letts, more known for being a great playwright) who are also having long-running affairs (with Magnolia’s Melora Waters and Aidan Gillen, cornering the… Read More »
Today rounds up a series of films where Anglos are in peril in hostile, lawless lands, including the state of Florida in the case of “Gifted”… The Bad Batch…In yet another Dystopian vision of America (sigh), former model Suki Waterhouse—whose best performance so far was pretending to love Bradley Cooper for two years while she… Read More »
Episodes…Halfway through its fifth and final season, “Episodes” is playing to its already established strengths (a showbiz-satire that’s actually accurate, sharp dialogue, and Matt LeBlanc’s excellent skewering of himself, he’s clearly enjoying the best role he’ll likely ever get) more than risking it all on too many bold new directions, but that’s probably for the… Read More »
Another crop of low-key films, but these had less of a theaterical release than our last batch, and are now currently available on Netflix. Vincent N Roxxy…Another film centered on black/white love (Zoe Kravitz/Emile Hirsch) where the two lovers are headed for tragedy. One of these days maybe someone in the film industry will get… Read More »
By now, you know the drill…Rather than review each bad or lesser-known movie when it hits theaters, I bundle a bunch of the shittier ones together in the film review equivalent of bad Wall Street bets on junk mortgages. How to be a Latin Lover…A movie that some people will love—if you like “broad” (dumb)… Read More »
The premieres of two big period dramas were last Sunday, and I had a somewhat mixed reaction to them overall, even as I’ll freely admit I’m excited to see where both go… The Deuce…In a bizarre way, David Simon’s new HBO series (loaded with sex scenes, most of which aren’t sexy) is just as romantic… Read More »
If the last round-up of movies were under-liked box office busts, this crop (or 4 out of 5 anyway) are critically beloved indies or documentaries. I like to keep things interesting around here. By now, the randomness is either part of the charm of this place or the reason it’s not more successful (like a… Read More »
I’m a completist. It doesn’t matter how badly reviewed a movie is or how much it tanks at the box office or maybe both (as is the case for most of these films). No matter how unnecessary a film might be to watch for reviewing purposes—is anybody really coming to Alabama Liberal with baited breath… Read More »