Money Monster (2016)

Money Monster arrives amidst a groundswell of anger towards corporate greed and economic fraud in America. It’s a timely film that benefits from its social relevancy, but cannot sharpen its message to truly resonate with its audience on the same wavelength as similar films in recent years, like The Big Short. Directed by Jodie Foster…

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002)

I should love Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. It’s about a game show impresario who is, according to his own supremely questionable accounts, a CIA assassin. Said alleged assassin is played with trademark jerky charm by the inimitable Sam Rockwell and the screenplay is from the legendary Charlie Kaufman. In short: exactly my kind of…

Gravity (2013)

It feels misleading to describe Gravity as a “simple” film. It’s a survival tale, a story built not on character drama and plot twists but on the fundamental, bloody-minded human need to fight for life. The minimalist storyline is at odds with the wide expanse of outer space that is the film’s setting. Gravity’s dizzyingly…

Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

It’s surprising that it took five live action films before Wes Anderson tried his hand at animation; the hand-made, stop motion animation that enables this Roald Dahl adaptation is a perfect match for the gentle, whimsical nature of the director’s films. Fantastic Mr. Fox is a Wes Anderson film through-and-through, whether it’s the wistful, pastoral…