A bleak comedy from a talented team, “Downhill” is a real conundrum, with some things done very well and others completely botched.
Glenn McDonald
Posted inFilm & Television
“The Gentlemen” Is the Guy Ritchiest Guy Ritchie Movie in Years
Action comedy “The Gentleman”turns on an ace Matthew McConaughey performance as a good-guy weed baron, a twisty script, inventive action, and baroque bad-guy dialogue.
Posted inFilm & Television
How to Resist the Dark Lure of Fascism in Terrence Malick’s “A Hidden Life”
Based on the true story of a conscientious objector in WWII Austria, Malick’s latest grand cosmic vision also has contemporary resonance.
Posted inFilm & Television
‘Marriage Story’ Is One of the Year’s Best Films. But Maybe Don’t Watch It with Your Spouse.
A relatively amicable split goes supernova when lawyers get involved in Noah Baumbach’s indictment of the divorce-law machine.
Posted inFilm & Television
The Unsinkable Journalist, Crusader, and Freethinker Molly Ivins Gets Her Due in “Raise Hell”
Ivins bucked both geography and genealogy to become a leading voice of the liberal left for more than fifty years.
Posted inFilm & Television
Performers Like Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams Outshine Their Script in “After the Wedding”
There’s a moment in this gender-flipped remake of a 2006 Danish drama when Julianne Moore unleashes all of her firepower, and I swear my heart actually stopped for a beat.
Posted inFilm & Television
“The Peanut Butter Falcon” Is a Heart-Warming Tom-and-Huck Tall Tale
Shia LaBeouf risks becoming more famous for his offscreen adventures than his onscreen ones, but he’s a genuinely soulful presence here.
Posted inFilm & Television
Director Lynn Shelton and Actor Marc Maron Bring Out the Best in Each Other in “Sword of Trust”
In the very funny and surprisingly moving new film, Maron is a pawnshop owner in Birmingham, Alabama, who stumbles into a strange moneymaking opportunity.
Posted inTheater
See Podcast Master Marc Maron in His Natural Habitat, the Stage
The actor and comedian might be most famous for his podcast, “WTF,” but his screen roles and stand-up are close seconds.
Posted inFilm & Television
An Underachieving Villain Drags Down Spider-Man’s European Vacation
It doesn’t bode well for “Spider-Man: Far From Home” that its Venice, Berlin, Prague, and London all feel like Busch Gardens in August, and Jake Gyllenhaal’s Mysterio falls flat.
