Disclosure Day may be a more important movie than a successful one. This isn’t to say that Steven Spielberg’s latest dive into what ET enthusiasts refer to as “the phenomenon” is not, by and large, a successful work of both art and entertainment. It means that its cultural impact, which should be galvanizing and could be volcanic, far outweighs the typical barometers of … [Read more...]
‘1917’: All soulless on the Western Front
How’s this for a criticism: There’s something unbearably perfect about Sam Mendes’ World War I picture 1917. On the one hand, the film — specially formatted for IMAX’s expansive 1:90:1 aspect ratio — takes great pains to reestablish moviegoing as a necessary cinematic experience, an increasingly quaint notion in the day-and-date streaming era. But it reaches for this … [Read more...]
Bloated ‘Kingsman’ retread hits highest point with its villain
Excised from its hulking 141-minute running time, the opening sequence of Kingsman: The Golden Circle would make a dynamite audition tape for director Matthew Vaughn, if not an award-winning music video. We’re not yet acclimated into the film’s space-time, but its lead character, millennial super-spy Eggsy (Taron Egerton) nearly dies about 20 times. He’s just getting off … [Read more...]