We’re just minutes into Tobias Lindholm’s A War when the first IED explodes in a heretofore tranquil stretch of desert in Afghanistan. The 21-year-old soldier struck by the device dies moments later, leaving his fellow-troops shaken, grieving and enraged — questioning the direction of their mission, fighting a deluge of tears and snot, asserting that they’re not cut out for … [Read more...]
Anything but deep, ‘Counselor’ is a fun, trashy ride
The Counselor is really, really, really good trash. It’s trash elevated to a fine art, which has been the goal of B-movie muck-divers since the Poverty Row noirs of the ’40s. Prudes and humorless folk may linger on the trashiness and question the movie’s artistic purpose, and if that’s the case, the film provides plenty of ripe opportunities to walk out. The rest of us will … [Read more...]