THE DARK TOWER * *
Starring Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Tom Taylor, Katheryn Winnick and Jackie Earle Haley. Screenplay by Akiva Goldsman, Jeff Pinkner, Anders Thomas Jensen and Nikolaj Arcel. Directed by Nikolaj Arcel.
DETROIT
DETROIT * * * 1 / 2
Starring John Boyega, Will Poulter, Algee Smith, Jason Mitchell and Anthony Mackie. Screenplay by Mark Boal. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow.
BEST BOSTON MOVIE EVAH: THE FRIENDS OF EDDIE COYLE AT THE BRATTLE
“This is the story of ratty, low-rent crooks meeting ignoble ends, with Mitchum playing against type as a rumpled, underworld Willy Loman on his way out. The movie reeks of grubby authenticity, shot on overcast afternoons beneath the city’s most oppressive, brutalist architecture. It’s a film full of daylight glaring through dingy barroom windows.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 08/04/2017
PERSON TO PERSON
PERSON TO PERSON * * 1 / 2
Starring Bene Coopersmith, Abbi Jacobson, Michael Cera, Tavi Gevinson and Philip Baker Hall. Written and directed by Dustin Guy Defa.
CHARLES TAYLOR, ALFREDO GARCIA AND THE SHADOW CINEMA OF THE AMERICAN ’70S
“The tragedy of the film is that it’s about a fellow who is put in situations with other men where violence and force is the common coin. It’s the tool that he has to deal with the situations in which he finds himself, and it’s also the thing that separates him from everything in life he wants, including finally the love of a woman. It’s made by someone who knows this.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 07/26/2017
GIRLS TRIP
“Tiffany Haddish gives one of those out-of-nowhere breakout performances, like Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids or Zach Galifianakis in The Hangover, where you can’t remember if you’ve seen them in anything before, but you know you want to see everything they’re in from now on. Even when she’s being dirty she still seems awfully sweet.” – North Shore Movies, 07/24/2017
DUNKIRK
“Nolan intercuts three separate stories that take place over a week, a day and an hour — on land, sea and air, respectively — so that we’re watching them all simultaneously, giving the sensation of a constant battle. Relentlessly barreling between dive bombings, torpedo attacks and dogfights, the movie works your nerves. It’s just one damn thing after another.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 07/21/2017
VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS
“So visually bonkers it’s almost impossible to absorb all at once. Anyone who’s seen The Fifth Element already knows Besson’s ga-ga sensibility is unencumbered by taste. There’s a rip-roaring recklessness to Valerian’s tangents, like the scene in which Laureline needs to locate her missing partner by sticking her head inside the ass of a psychic jellyfish.” – North Shore Movies, 07/21/2017
COOLIDGE AT THE GREENWAY
“‘It’s a good 20 hours of work,’ Lazzaro says. ‘Setting up the rigging, power, positioning the truck and building a projector booth from scratch. Then tearing it all down. It all has to be safe and low impact to the grounds.’ So why go to all this trouble when easier, albeit inferior digital cinema options are available? ‘We do the Lord’s work. That’s why.'” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 07/18/2017
A GHOST STORY
“A tale told through images and edits instead of words, this is something far dreamier and more adventurous than you might be used to seeing at the movies. As years rush by the ambitions of A Ghost Story grow increasingly more cosmic and grand. This little low-budget film begins to contain multitudes.” – WBUR’s The ARTery, 07/14/2017
SPLICED PERSONALITY 