An intelligent, but uneven sci-fi thriller that never settles on a proper tone, Synchronic mostly flounders, but still has some flashes of genuine ingenuity and entertainment value.
Anthony Mackie
Point Blank is the kind of unabashed throwback action picture that will work best at the end of a long day with a six pack of beer and an extra large four-topping pizza in tow.
The three episode fifth season of British writer and producer Charlie Brooker’s wildly popular and often imitated horror and sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror (which comes on the heels of the blisteringly ambitious and entertaining choose-your-own-adventure story Bandersnatch) suggests an enterprise that’s losing steam and original ideas in a hurry.
An impassioned, emotional, and vital look at a young person of colour growing up in America, George Tillman Jr.s’ The Hate U Give isn’t a perfect piece of cinematic activism or even a narratively balanced bit of storytelling, but it’s still perfect in all the ways that matter most.
Oscar winning filmmaker Kathryn Bigelow has proven herself to be a master of suspense, with most of her films centering around characters trying desperately by any means necessary to survive another day. Her latest collaboration with The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty screenwriter Mark Boal, the historical period drama Detroit, is no exception. Built around a sustained sequence of unease, tension, and violence both psychological and physical that will stand as one of her finest filmmaking moments, Bigelow’s look back rioting and racial injustice in Detroit during the summer of 1967 will haunt the memories of viewers for a long time.
New releases in theatres this weekend: Hugh Jackman shows off his parenting and boxing skills opposite his young co-star Dakota Goyo in Real Steel; and George Clooney and Ryan Gosling star in the intense political drama, The Ides Of March.
New arrivals this week on Blu-ray and DVD include: The Adjustment Bureau starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt as a pair of would-be lovers on the run from Fate’s minions; Liam Neeson’s latest action-thriller, Unknown; and The Eagle, starring Channing Tatum in a swords-and-sandals modern epic.
New arrivals in theatres this weekend include: the sci-fi drama, The Adjustment Bureau, starring Matt Damon and Emily Blunt; the animated comedy Rango, with Johnny Depp in the title role; the Canadian film Funkytown, set in the drug-addled days of disco; and the lame teen drama, Beastly.
Coming out this week on Blu-ray and DVD, director Kathryn Bigelow‘s The Hurt Locker debuts after months of critical acclaim, while Sam Rockwell stars in the minimalistic sci-fi drama, Moon. Other new releases include Big Fan, Fame, and Halloween II.