Like most adaptations of Hamlet, Aneil Karia’s take lives and dies, literally and figuratively, by the lead performance coming from his top muse and collaborator. Through Riz Ahmed, all the private asides and whispered portending, venting, and plotting still stir the Bard’s vengeful pot, even with simplifying trims from Lesslie. This is a well-deserved and provocative showcase for Ahmed. He’s the reason to witness and appreciate this film.
Read MoreAt the 57-minute mark in Heads or Tails?, Reilly’s transported icon speaks the promise again to say, “Mark my words, boy, this is going to be quite the story.” At that point, with only 50 minutes to go of running time, there’s a good chance that, outside of the charismatic involvement of Reilly, you haven’t felt or fallen for the ensured charm of the film.
Read MoreTheir competing attitudes of care are warranted, but take away from the cinematic possibilities of the surreal and existential, like that aforementioned billiards scene. Through all the external squabbling around him, the impressive lead performance of Hugo Armstrong shines. Sam Bullington rightfully steals his share of the spotlight, but the gravitational weight of Watching Mr. Pearson always moves through Armstrong.
Read MoreWithout that type of dramatic weight that pushes harder than a liar’s loose regret, the most performance range we get out of Emanuelle Chriqui and Hayes MacArthur is a minor shift and transformation towards a balanced plane of apology when disagreements create a verbal blow-up. The pain registers differently between the two as the reservation clock is running out.
Read MoreSome of the best acting moments in any given film can happen without dialogue. A facial expression or a piece of body language can mean as much as a multi-page monologue. Those performers who can nail that moment are onto something special in their roles. When possible, Fantasy Life, from writer-director-star Matthew Shear, seeks to make the most of those wordless character statements.
Read MoreWhat is more important: the creation or the creator? While we could open that very debate to a movie and its director—especially this one returning to the director’s chair for his first feature in a tumultuous eight years—this film focuses on the field of architecture. So, more specifically, does the created structure matter more than the artist who conceived the design?
Read MoreAs a short-form storyteller, Marcellus Cox nails this thematical platform with his dialogue, and Cofield gives those lines the proper meaningful heft. All in all, the previous foreboding question remains for where Jamarcus’s life can go after this new partnership. The low angles and those aforementioned shadows which frame his home life are juxtaposed with the symbolic blue sky of potential above that ballfield.
Read MoreUnshy with its sorrow, the film finds lift in showing one person helping another see why they survived when others they care for did not. There’s an aim to making choices for how one can and should endure after hurtful losses, and it starts with forgiving yourself. Hopeful and reflective lessons like that—delivered with dignity and put to film for impressionable audiences—will always have a vital place for thoughtful entertainment.
Read MoreIn Storm Rider: Legend of Hammerhead, you’ve got muscular, heavy-metal boats racing for survival through surf laced with dazzling electrical bolts dropping from the sky. That doesn’t have to be entirely serious. Swash that buckle up a bit and squeeze some more color and courage out of this spectacle.
Read MoreSometimes, the low point of a screw-up is the necessary springboard and not the “I told you so” gotcha moment. When that clarity is found in For Worse, it’s treated more as confirmation than a delayed epiphany, which plays truer to life than orchestrated movie moments that plant those revelations in grandiose gestures and climaxes.
Read MoreThat positive togetherness among solid friends is your stamped answer to Lesson #2. The small yet serious life-and-death situation does not need an extra roller coaster. This is a keen balance in a film that is rightly not trying to create pitfalls to rattle cinematic seismometers for the action junkies because the wisening emotions displayed are more than enough.
Read MoreEveryone who grew up with pets knows that they can teach us a lot about life. If we pay close attention, we see that the way we look at them often reflects our own inner demons, beliefs, and insecurities. Pets also show us what loyalty looks like in its purest form. At the same time, they can reveal how easily we grow overly attached, or where our ability to connect with others starts to falter.
Read More
