“Kimmel goofing on foreign-sounding names was a weird, ad-lib quirk that kept coming up, almost Tourette’s-like regarding Mahershala Ali. A good part of his appeal has always been a sort of smarmy, Playboy Club entitlement, which was probably a bad call for this batch of nominees. His beef with Matt Damon will never not be funny, though.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 02/27/2017
GET OUT * * * 1 / 2
Starring Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Lil Rel Howery, Bradley Whitford and Catherine Keener. Written and directed by Jordan Peele.
“Yet despite nearly the entire supporting cast throwing themselves at the hunky M.D., cloddish Cruise bungles every opportunity and somehow even manages to strike out at an orgy. There are few sight gags in Kubrick’s filmography funnier than Maverick from Top Gun being so fussily well-mannered he shows up at a hooker’s apartment with a box of pastry.” – Metro, 02/24/2017
THE GREAT WALL * * *
Starring Matt Damon, Tian Jing, Pedro Pascal, Andy Lau and Willem Dafoe. Screenplay by Carlo Bernard, Doug Miro and Tony Gilroy. Directed by Zhang Yimou.
“The Crow was one of the first American movies to incorporate the balletic, martial arts-inspired gunplay that was all the rage in Hong Kong cinema. This intricately choreographed, trigger-happy style has recently been revived in the John Wick films — whose director, Chad Stahelski, just so happened to work as Brandon Lee’s stunt double on The Crow.” – Metro, 02/17/2017
“The scenes themselves luxuriantly stretch out before you. Director Maren Ade favors unobtrusive camerawork and doesn’t punch up the jokes with excessive cutting or music cues, leaving the audience to find our own bearings in awkward social situations whenever the odd man with the funny hair and fake teeth wanders into frame.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 02/16/2017
FIFTY SHADES DARKER * 1 / 2
Starring Dakota Johnson, Jamie Dornan, Eric Johnson, Marcia Gay Harden and Kim Basinger. Screenplay by Niall Leonard. Directed by James Foley.
“Seeing Casablanca with a big crowd is a reminder of just how *funny* the movie is, stuffed with sardonic one-liners and some of the best put-downs in cinema history. Sure, Ingrid Bergman is stunning, but we’ve always thought Bogie has even better chemistry with Claude Rains’ cheerfully corrupt prefect of police. Theirs is indeed a beautiful friendship.” – Metro, 02/10/2017
JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 2 * * * 1 / 2
Starring Keanu Reeves, Ian McShane, Common, Lance Reddick and Laurence Fishburne. Screenplay by Derek Kolstad. Directed by Chad Stahelski.
“Postcards makes room for scene-stealing supporting turns by a randy Dennis Quaid and Gene Hackman as the voice of Fisher’s hard-won wisdom. Hackman’s stirring, late-movie monologue sums up a career in Tinseltown’s trenches and gutters. It’s the moment when this sometimes-too-slick commercial entertainment gets refreshingly real.” – The Village Voice, 02/07/2017
SPLICED PERSONALITY 