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| EFC STATS |
| Movies Listed: |
32267 |
| Total Ratings: |
249076 |
| Total Reviews: |
28263 |
![[181223051 Hits]](/cgi-bin/gd.cgi?181223051)
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| COLD CASE HAMMARSKJOLD |
"That it's not the movie it looks like is perhaps the point."
Jay Seaver says... "SCREENED AT INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON 2019: In "Cold Case Hammarskjöld", satirical documentarian Mads Brügger does a convincing imitation of a dog who has finally caught the tail he's been chasing and realizes he's got no idea of what comes next. It doesn't quite become a repudiation of Brügger's life's work, and that of the thriving industry that uses comedy to help people process what is often an insane world, but it runs hard into the limits of that approach. I half-suspect that the film still has the form it does both because reshaping it would have felt less honest and because hitting those limits wound up fascinating him." (more)
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| CHAINED FOR LIFE |
"No pity allowed."
Rob Gonsalves says... "A little while back, Scarlett Johansson took some heat for wanting to play a transgender character. The controversy came on the heels of earlier heat attached to Johansson playing a formerly Japanese character in 'Ghost in the Shell.'" (more)
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| READY OR NOT |
"Runaway Bride"
Peter Sobczynski says... "The history of cinema is filled with weddings that have not gone exactly to plan but I cannot immediate recall one that has gone as gruesomely sideways as the one that kicks off “Ready or Not.” If you can imagine a combination of “Clue,” “Crazy Rich Asians” and “Get Out” that has been further spiced up with equal amounts of grisly violence and jet-black humor, you will have at least some idea of what to expect from this wild and frequently entertaining horror-comedy. Those going into it expecting something along the lines of an typical romantic fairy tale will no doubt be appalled by it all (though at least it won’t take too long for them to discover their mistake) but those in the mood for some late-summer weirdo fun of the bloodiest kind after three months dominated by retreads, remakes and sequels are likely to kick a kick out f it." (more)
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| NIGHTINGALE, THE |
"Keenly honed rage lifts it above the usual revenge thriller."
Jay Seaver says... "The nine-screen multiplex where I saw "The Nightingale" had a sign warning potential customers about the violence by the box office, and I spent a few moments wondering why it was the sole film to get this treatment recently. It's not a bad thing for the theater to have done that - it's a harsh film that could certainly dredge up traumatic experiences - it's curiosity at the application. Writer/director Jennifer Kent appears to have crossed a line that others tend to shy away from, but I don't know that I'd have it otherwise." (more)
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| DEATH OF DICK LONG, THE |
"More clever than its title and eventually even cruder."
Jay Seaver says... "SCREENED AT INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL BOSTON 2019: Just enough time passed between my seeing "The Death of Dick Long" and getting around to fleshing my notes out into a full review that it took me a while moment to remember exactly what about it made it stand out among "dumb person crime" movies, and I'm not entirely sure whether that speaks well of it or not. One the one hand, it's an entertaining dark comedy even without the twist, but on the other, I've got to wonder what it says that the filmmakers couldn't get THAT image lodged in my brain. Of course, maybe it says something about me." (more)
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| BLINDED BY THE LIGHT |
"Luton Rock City"
Lybarger says... "When Bruce Springsteen screams, “It’s a town full of losers, but I’m pulling out of here to win” at the end of “Thunder Road,” you don’t have to be New Jersey car enthusiast to relate. The Boss’ lyrics can mean something to you, no matter where you might be on the globe." (more)
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| BLINDED BY THE LIGHT |
"The Ties That Bind"
Peter Sobczynski says... "Having long conquered the stages of Broadway, the jukebox musical—the storytelling format in which the narrative is formed around the most popular hits of a particular musical act—has begun to make serious inroads into the world of film that is sure to only increase exponentially as the studios respond in earnest to the wholly inexplicable success of “Bohemian Rhapsody.” This summer season alone has seen three examples of the form that have arrived with, to put it mildly, wildly different levels of artistic success. “Rocket Man,” the flashy and surrealistic Elton John biopic, did a surprisingly effective job of fusing together his music and story in ways that might not have completely passed the historical smell test but which certainly captured the essence of him as an artist in thoughtful and eye-catching ways. On the metaphorical flip side, the truly execrable “Yesterday” utilized the music of the Beatles to anchor a story that took a potentially interesting premise—what would happen if the Fab Four had been mysteriously wiped from the collective consciousness and the one person who still remembered them attempted to reintroduce their music into today’s world?—and squandered it in ways that were deeply dopey at best and borderline offensive at worst." (more)
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| GOOD BOYS |
"Kids Say (And Do) The Darndest F*#$%(@ Things"
Peter Sobczynski says... "From the increasingly bizarre twists and turns of the plot to the sight of a group of 11-year-old boys swearing like truck drivers (which I believe is still the standard by which profanity is based) while confronting mysteries of life ranging from knowing how to kiss to why that string of beads taken from a parental bedroom smells so bad, “Good Boys” is essentially an extended episode of “South Park” that has been presented in live-action instead of crude animation. Whether or not this represents progress is, of course, up to you." (more)
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'I DON'T LIKE THE WAY THIS SCRIPT OF OURS HAS TURNED OUT. IT'S TURNING INTO A SEEDY LITTLE DRAMA.'
- Diana, Network
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