Reading view

There are new articles available, click to refresh the page.

‘Alarum’ Review: Sylvester Stallone Parachutes Into Busy but Unconvincing Spy-Jinks

There are some types of screen narratives that probably shouldn’t be attempted on limited means, and “international espionage thriller” may well be one of them. That notion is illustrated by “Alarum,” which features Scott Eastwood and Willa Fitzgerald as a budget “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” ex-spies united in an under-radar domesticity interrupted by heavily armed […]

‘Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare’ Review: Public Domain Horrorsploitation Develops Some Chops

In a small way, the micro-budgeted U.K. indie “Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey” more than pulled its weight in drawing audiences back to theaters two years ago. The bad-taste concept and trailer generated guilty-pleasure viral traction; then the Fathom Events theatrical window was so short, there was no chance for word-of-mouth to spoil the fun. Which […]

‘Ad Vitam’ Review: Guillaume Canet Tries to Launch a Netflix Action Franchise in Overstuffed Thriller

Guillaume Canet makes like Bruce Willis and other past regular-guy-as-action-hero models in “Ad Vitam,” which he co-wrote. The entertaining Netflix concoction stars Canet as a Parisian ex-cop forcibly pulled into new perils connected to the shootout that got him sacked. Putting its hero through paces that embrace everything from parkour to parasailing, Rodolphe Lauga’s feature […]

‘John Cranko’ Review: Sam Riley Gives a Bravura Performance in Accomplished Ballet Biopic

There have been relatively few biopics about choreographers, but it’s hard to think of a better one than “John Cranko,” about the late South African who made his name in England and Germany. Steering well clear of “Eureka!” moments and other clichés within the portrait-of-an-artist genre, Joachim A. Lang’s feature finds unusually vivid means of […]

❌