“Polite Society” follows the misadventures of Ria (Priya Kansara), a teenager who dreams of becoming a stunt woman. After school and hanging out with her close friends, Clara (Seraphina Beh) and Alba (Ella Bruccoleri), Ria often spends time in the company of her older sister, Lena (Ritu Arya), who supports and understands her like no … Read more
The political fallout caused by Liddy, Hunt, their first arrested associates, the Nixon administration, etc., used to imbue paranoia, conspiracy, and distrust. Fifty years later, those concepts are old hat on a national scale. Now, Watergate is a joke about the infrastructure of America. “White House Plumbers” offers the lightest amusement in retracing these country-defining … Read more
“Flight. 3” opens with Rocket Racoon (voiced by Bradley Cooper) listening to “Creep” by Radiohead. In another film filled with clever needle drops, it’s a tone-setter. Rocket sees himself as the weirdo, the creep, but the movie will teach him that he’s so f-ing special, of course. It all starts with an attack. The golden-hued … Read more
The story begins with Wendy Darling (Ever Anderson) leading her younger brother John (Joshua Pickering) and kid brother Michael (Jacobi June) in an enthusiastic play session that includes swashbuckling sword fights and running and jumping, followed by a couple of nice moments between the children and their parents (Molly Parker and Alan Tudyk). Soon enough, … Read more
In “Part I,” Vallavairyan embodies the Byzantine, freely-associated story-telling traditions that clearly inspired both Ratnam and his two Tamil-speaking co-writers. What arguably puts “Ponniyin Selvan: Part 2” over the top, as an overburdened sequel to a long-gestating adaptation, is Ratnam’s characteristic visual acuity, his co-writers’ careful attention to detail, and his mega-watt ensemble cast’s performances. … Read more
This calls to mind “Blade Runner,” and its source material, Philip K. Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? If a memory is implanted into an android’s brain, a “personal” memory of a childhood that never happened, then isn’t that memory a real thing to the android? The android can’t tell the difference. It feels … Read more
Olsen plays Montgomery, an ordinary citizen of the very ordinary Wylie, Texas. She’s a devout Methodist who seems happy with her church and her husband Pat (Patrick Fugit), who’s a nice-but-bland individual. He likes to chuckle slightly at “The Love Boat,” and one gets the impression that such moments are the peak of excitement in … Read more
The word “sisu” is nearly untranslatable, but its closest meaning suggests an unbreakable determination, one that seems to even stave off death. Determination is exactly what Korpi will need when, on his way home with his fortune of nuggets hanging on his horse’s saddlebag, he comes across a band of sullen Nazis. The Nazis are … Read more
Director Steven K. Tsuchida, a TV veteran, was also behind 2021’s “Resort to Love,” another Netflix romantic comedy set in a picturesque vacation destination. This is pure formula, but the leads have such a sweet chemistry with each other, and the locations are so enticing, that you may as well just surrender. Cook stars as … Read more
Was this the year ‘Mandalorian’ jumped the sand worm? Continue reading…