Tag: review

‘Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show’ HBO Documentary Review

[ad_1] Comedian Jerrod Carmichael’s new show is obnoxiously compelling. It’s compelling because Carmichael cannot seem to help being electrically charismatic, and because the series moves through stories and ideas with an ease that belies the challenge of good pacing. It’s obnoxious because the only thing more trying than a vanity project is a vanity project… Continue reading ‘Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show’ HBO Documentary Review

‘Manhunt’ review: A loose retelling of the chase for Lincoln’s killer

[ad_1] Abraham Lincoln — perhaps you’ve heard of him? Sixteenth president of the United States, assassinated five days after the end of the Civil War at Ford’s Theatre. John Wilkes Booth. Sic semper tyrannis. Well, I don’t know what they’re teaching in school these days, but I hope none of that is news to anyone.… Continue reading ‘Manhunt’ review: A loose retelling of the chase for Lincoln’s killer

Korean art of the ’60s and ’70s at the Hammer Museum: review

[ad_1] Seoul is the latest major city to establish itself as a significant international hub for new art. With that distinction comes the expected propagation of ambitious museum exhibitions seeking to articulate, illuminate and cogitate over its local history of modern art, which is little known. “Only the Young: Experimental Art in Korea, 1960s-1970s” is… Continue reading Korean art of the ’60s and ’70s at the Hammer Museum: review

‘One Life’ review: Holocaust hero’s story is told modestly

[ad_1] The cinematic image of children boarding trains in World War II is, typically, a traumatic one. But in “One Life,” directed by James Hawes, it is wildly, blindly hopeful, as children board trains in Prague, bound for England, escaping dire conditions in refugee camps and the encroaching Nazi occupation, seemingly steps away. “One Life”… Continue reading ‘One Life’ review: Holocaust hero’s story is told modestly

‘Knox Goes Away’ review: Dementia thriller that’s too placid

[ad_1] Michael Keaton doesn’t have to prove anything as a movie star, accomplished actor and laugh-getter. His ready-made Batman glare at last weekend’s Oscars was meme-worthy, easily upstaging a meager bit by co-presenters Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. In front of a camera, Keaton has always been easy to follow into whatever high-concept or realistic… Continue reading ‘Knox Goes Away’ review: Dementia thriller that’s too placid

‘Hundreds of Beavers’ review: An onslaught of retro slapstick

[ad_1] A soulful silliness pervades the rootin’, tootin’ live-action cartoon “Hundreds of Beavers” from Milwaukee filmmakers Mike Cheslik and Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, merry pranksters who deploy a gleefully inventive lo-fi madness to their gag-stuffed wilderness comedy. Pitting a lovestruck fur trapper against a bucktoothed horde, this underground festival hit is a feverish fit of… Continue reading ‘Hundreds of Beavers’ review: An onslaught of retro slapstick

‘Palm Royale’ review: Kristen Wiig leads this stylish series

[ad_1] I have not read Juliet McDaniel’s 2018 novel “Mr. and Mrs. American Pie,” which is nominally the basis of a new series, “Palm Royale,” but it’s clear from the publisher’s synopsis that it’s a completely different story — though one that someone decided could be rebuilt into diverting, even brilliant television. As indeed it… Continue reading ‘Palm Royale’ review: Kristen Wiig leads this stylish series

‘Immaculate’ review: Sydney Sweeney goes feral in nun horror

[ad_1] Blood-soaked and candlelit, Michael Mohan’s “Immaculate” disabuses the notion that any conception is ever without sin. Starring Sydney Sweeney (who also co-produced the film), this cheeky, freaky, lushly designed horror movie presents as a giallo nunsploitation riff, but the script, by Andrew Lobel, is much more “Rosemary’s Baby” than it is “The Devils.” Still,… Continue reading ‘Immaculate’ review: Sydney Sweeney goes feral in nun horror