Glenn Heath Jr.
‘Dragged Across Concrete’ makes mincemeat out of redemption
Dragged Against Concrete is a film of flawed partnerships that nevertheless gives people a sense of solidarity in a time when they feel none otherwise exists. Read more
'The Hummingbird Project' is a satire in need of fangs
Twitchy and confrontational, Eisenberg often feels like he’s playing a foul-mouthed version of his role as Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network. Read more
A preview of the San Diego Latino Film Festival
Whether exploring the Chicano-American experience or perspectives of female directors, this dynamic film program highlights the vast scope and ambition of modern Latinx cinema. Read more
‘Transit’ and the horrors of history repeating itself
Christian Petzold’s eerie, achingly beautiful new thriller, Transit, transplants wartime fears and desperation of its source material (Anna Seghers’s 1942 novel, Transit Visa) to envision what our collective future may look like as new waves of fasci Read more
‘Captain Marvel’ carves out some space in the Marvel boy’s club
As the first film centered on a female superhero in this epically never-ending series, Captain Marvel thankfully refuses to align itself with Marvel’s corporatized brand of patriarchy. Read more
‘Birds of Passage’ is a brutal tale of destructive ambition
Most gangster films follow the same rise-and-fall arc: young enterprising criminals make a name for themselves by killing their way to the top. Read more
‘Greta’ is on the prowl
Blurred lines are Greta’s specialty. The gaps between companionship and obsession, kindness and guile, trust and doubt are much thinner than most like to admit. Read more
‘Ruben Brandt, Collector’ considers the art of nightmares
Ruben Brandt, Collector is itself a manic compiler of iconography, archetypes, and symbols that have obviously haunted the director for decades. Read more
Ball don’t lie, but people do in ‘High Flying Bird’
High Flying Bird (which is currently streaming on Netflix) makes the case that without passionate stakeholders invested in both the past and present of basketball, the game’s future identity will be forever at risk. Read more
Old wounds are still fresh in ‘Everybody Knows’
Iranian dramatist Asghar Farhadi makes films about secrets; the unforgivable kind that tears families apart, dissolves marriages and rattles entire communities. Read more
Taking the Oscar bait
Every year, the Oscars and its preceding awards season gauntlet produces celebratory highs, cringe-worthy lows and many momentum swings. Read more
Photo Credit: Courtesy Twentieth
Warrior spirit is strong with ‘Alita: Battle Angel’
Visually, much of Alita: Battle Angel is predictably vibrant and dense with specific mechanical and physical details. Read more
Germany’s recent history through an artist’s eyes
Apparently, Never Look Away is loosely based on the life of painter Gerhard Richter, who has gone on record chastising the film’s gross manipulation of his biography. With something this tedious, it’s easy to see why he’s so pissed off. Read more
Oscar’s short list
Billed as a way to get the upper hand in your Oscar pool, the shorts programs nevertheless provide a unique showcase for new filmmaking talent. Read more
Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2019 returns to MOPA
Two new documentaries set to premiere at the 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival examine these eerily similar struggles by showcasing the voices of social activists, politicians and community organizers. Read more
Seeing WWI anew in ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’
Peter Jackson’s films initially present danger as a thrilling proposition. This especially holds true for young characters naïve to the world’s many horrors. Read more
Film Geek SD shines a light on pre-code and sci-fi films
The list of screenings includes Ernst Lubitsch’s saucy Design For Living (March 3). The film, about a constantly oscillating love triangle, works as a wonderful introduction to the director’s seamlessly sexy style. Read more
John C. Reilly and Steve Coogan salvage ‘Stan & Ollie’
This safely entertaining film was made for the middlebrow crowd and not the hardcore cinephiles. Read more
Annapurna Pictures
Nicole Kidman suffers her way though ‘Destroyer’
Kidman goes all in on a grief-stricken, morally compromised cop character trying to make things right with her rebellious teenage daughter. Read more
‘Hale County This Morning, This Evening’ discovers so much
In a year of many great documentaries (Bisbee ’17, Minding the Gap, Did You Ever Wonder Who Fired the Gun?), Ross’ film stands out for its curiosity and questioning of stylistic norms. Read more