Directed by Leigh Whannell In Upgrade a man who loathes automation will have to rely on a computer in order to gain back some agency in his own life. His story, a revenge thriller in the style of John Wick (2014), becomes something more thought-provoking, even if working in well-tread territory, like Ex Machina (2015). Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) … Continue reading Upgrade (2018)
Uncategorized
The Meg (2018)
Directed by Jon Turtleltaub The Meg is a movie about Jason Statham, and a giant shark, that's all you need to know. It's campy, exciting and gets a little cynical (people brutally, quickly killed) before it gets romantic and sappy (when the shark is inevitably killed, and the heroes put their arms around each other), … Continue reading The Meg (2018)
Thunder Road (2018)
Directed by Jim Cummings Thunder Road is adapted from Jim Cummings' short film of the same name. This movie, in fact, begins with a recreation of that original short film, a long take of a uniformed police officer's grief and desperation at his mother's funeral (dancing to Bruce Springsteen music). This man is Officer Jim … Continue reading Thunder Road (2018)
Hollow Man (2000)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven A silly, campy movie quickly becomes a much more disturbing one in Hollow Man as a pervert turns invisible. That pervert is Sebastian Caine (Kevin Bacon), an intelligent scientist working on a serum that can turn someone invisible and an accompanying serum that can bring you back. In his rush to prove … Continue reading Hollow Man (2000)
After the Storm (2016)
Directed by Hirokazu Koreeda "I wonder why it is that men can't love the present." After the Storm splits its story amongst several family members, though the main character at the center of all of this is a once-successful novelist who is now a gambling-addicted private investigator spending most of his time tailing his ex-wife … Continue reading After the Storm (2016)
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (2018)
Directed by Morgan Neville Morgan Neville has had quite the year, and the subjects of his two 2018 documentaries, this and Won't You Be My Neighbor? couldn't be more different. One was Mr. Rogers, the man you wish was your grandpa, and the other is Orson Welles. This documentary chronicles the struggle for Welles to finish … Continue reading They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (2018)
Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Directed (for some reason) by Bryan Singer Bohemian Rhapsody took a long time to get to the screen, mostly due, from what I can tell, to the push and pull between those who wanted to examine the true story behind Freddie Mercury and the band and those who sought to maintain a certain mystique to … Continue reading Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)
Total Recall (1990)
Directed by Paul Verhoeven Paul Verhoeven's movies have a knack for raising grand, philosophical questions about the world which he rushes through in order to tell a more entertaining, even silly story. It's in that rush to move past the horrifying implications of these dystopian worlds, as if they don't deserve a second thought, that … Continue reading Total Recall (1990)
Ride in the Whirlwind (1966)
Directed by Monte Hellman Ride in the Whirlwind is one of Monte Hellman's two bleak, sparse westerns made with Jack Nicholson in 1966. The other is an existential little thing called The Shooting. Like that film this one is brief and slow at the same time. They chronicle ever tightening nooses, so to speak, as a … Continue reading Ride in the Whirlwind (1966)
Wildlife (2018)
Directed by Paul Dano Wildlife is a tense, bleak family drama set in the early 1960s, kind of like Sam Mendes' Revolutionary Road (2008). Both films deal with young married couples who are no longer happy and don't know why. Presumably they were sold a false bill of goods about the American Dream, particularly in postwar … Continue reading Wildlife (2018)
idrawonmywall.com 