Can we fight evil? Save our lovely planet from ghouls such as Monsanto and other purveyors of various poisons into GMO plants and animals? Can the good people win? Can we save the human race while preventing our animals from being seen only in terms of sirloin or chops? Such is the theme of “Okja,” a Netlix film streaming on the video channel (and causing much distress at the recent Cannes film ... more >
ARCHIVES
OKJA, a Netflix premiere, delivers a bleak message couched in entertaining fiction
From the director of 2013's "Snowpiercer"
Seo-Hyun Ahn, Tilda Swinton and Steven Yeun
Directed by Bong Joon Ho
Straight shootin’ about “Demolition”
Distributed by Fox Searchlight
Jake Gyllenhaal and Naomi Watts
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée
DEMOLITION is off from the first frame and never grounds itself enough to make a coherent argument. Hard to tell whether it’s Jake Gyllenhaal’s perplexed expression as he endeavors to show himself empty of emotions after the accidental death of his wife or the ill-thought storyline that appears to go in one direction and then unexplainably veers into another. Jean-Marc Vallée, who previously ... more >
EVEREST
Because it's there
Jake Gyllenhaal, Josh Brolin and Jason Clark
Directed by Baltasar Kormákur
If we posit that a great film is both cinematography and story, EVEREST is not great as it does extremely well in the first area but fares poorly in the second. Obviously, Everest, the mountain, summit of the world, films magnificently. It is mighty, spectacular, awe-inspiring, frightening. It is both threatening and irresistible. Irresistible to the multitude striving to climb to the top or ... more >
NIGHT CRAWLER, first film and this thriller is a massive success
It's ninja-style TV reporting
Jake Gyllenhaal and Rene Russo
Directed by Dan Gilroy
Dan Gilroy’s first feature film, “Night Crawler,” is a rare treat, a perfect thriller, a soufflé that rises as it should and keeps its superlatively fluffy texture from minute one to minute 117. But you stand warned, this film about a sleazy, nasty loser-drifter who has watched one too many TED talk about how to be wildly successful will not be as easy to digest. Jake Gyllenhaal, skinny, driven, ... more >
Prisoners
From the director of "Incendies"
Jake Gyllenhaal and Melanie Laurent
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
“Prisoners” is the most maddening kind of failure: an abrasively portentous thriller that, in spite of its copious flaws, manages to startle the audience a handful of times. Because director Denis Villeneuve regards screenwriter Aaron Guzikowski’s cut-and-dry kidnapping story as an ultra-serious treatise on torture, and because the superb cast (Hugh Jackman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Terrence ... more >
End of Watch
Cop camaraderie, it's all good
Jake Gyllenhaal and Mike Pena
Directed by David Ayer
Writer-director David Ayer really likes cop-themed movies, apparently. He’s done all kinds, from frivolous fun ones (S.W.A.T) to police corruption (“Street Kings,” “Dark Blue,” “Training Day”) ones. These have all been riveting in their own way and “End of Watch” is no exception, but this is fairly new territory in that it breaks down the brotherhood of cops. Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Pena ... more >
Love and other drugs
Are you addicted to one-night stands?
Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway and Judy Greer
Directed by Edward Zwick
Love and Other Drugs gives you your fill of Jake Gyllenhaal-Anne Hathaway sex but the movie is an odd blend of dick jokes and soap-opera depression. Gyllenhaal plays Jamie, a failed medical school student and emotionally detached pharmaceutical rep at Pfizer who believes his one main talent is bedding women. While lobbying a big name doctor he meets Maggie (Hathaway), the perkiest early ... more >