Train Dreams (2025)

Chronicles the life of one Robert Grainier, an ordinary man without much sense of direction or purpose, who searches for meaning in the absurdity and tragedy that follows him during the early twentieth century. Life is simple but hard, and similarly, I found this film meditative but dull, which is probably an accurate depiction of what life was like back then. The cinematography is beautiful and brings to mind the works of Terrence Malick, as we're treated to long stretches of quiet contemplation. It seems to be about how the world changes and leaves us behind, which is as profound as it is devastating.

3 boots nailed to a tree out of 5

It Comes at Night (2017)

So do I...

Paranoia runs rampant in the titter-inducing It Comes at Night. After the world has been ravaged by a deadly infectious disease, a family lives isolated deep in the woods until one day when another survivor ends up on their doorstep. The stark, bare-bones setup effectively builds up an air of tension and dread where the true horror exists. This one won't make you feel good, ironically.

3 wet dreams out of 5

LOVING [2016]

Jeff Nichols' second feature film of 2016, Loving, is subtle, poignant and most of all an important retelling of American history.
It follows the story of interracial married couple, Mildred & Richard Loving, who battled the state of Virginia in the late '60s to keep their marriage together in a time that prohibited it.
Normally movies like this are proud, overly powerful, filled with "a-ha!" whipper-snapper lawyer moments, lengthy monologues, swelling music and that Oscar-winning performance clip.  However instead of easily following that path, Nichols stays true to his quiet style of film-making and it's all the more better for it.  It could have been that film that uses disturbing violence, overly weighty-moments and melodrama to get it's point across, but instead it only uses solid human drama and love to make the mightiest of statements.  It might not be instantly captivating but it's certainly is one of the most worthwhile dramas of it's kind.

4 snap-shots out of 5

MIDNIGHT SPECIAL [2016]

Director Jeff Nichols attempts to channel some old school Spielberg with his wide-eyed sci-fi parable Midnight Special.
A boy with supernatural powers, with the help of his father, drives across the country to evade the government officials and a religious cult.
As it always is with Nichols' films, we have a fascinating watch that thrives on what we and the characters don't know.  Each reveal is slow and sometimes not always obvious, giving the viewer more to think about than what the simplicity of the core story has to offer.
Midnight Special is at it's best when it's quietly unique without even trying but at it's most ridiculous when it tries too hard to be more otherworldly than it really needs to be.
It's not Nichols' best film but as a fan of his previous works it's a real pleasure nevertheless.

3½ night-goggle joy-rides out of 5

THE GIFT [2015]

Actor Joel Edgerton makes his directorial debut with the standard fare yet highly effective thriller, The Gift.
A socially awkward oddball from a husband's past places himself into the married couple's lives and get's weirder and weirder as his obsession with the couple begins to grow.
It's a premise most will be familiar with much earlier thrillers like Fatal Attraction or The Hand The Rocks the Cradle, Edgerton crafts the film in such a way that it still feels fresh while never covering any new ground.  The pacing, character reveals and thrills are all perfectly timed so much that it never outstays it's welcome.  It manages to steer away from the usual shocks most films these days would go for and instead disturbs the audiences with it's unsettling character subtleties that'll have your head spinning by the final act.

3½ fish out of 5

BLACK MASS [2015]

After an extended string of crappy films, Johnny Depp returns to form in director Scott Cooper's American true crime film, Black Mass.
The film depicts the rise & fall of the infamous Irish-American crime boss, Whitey Bulger who became an FBI informant in order to get away with as much as he possibly could in Boston during the 70's and 80's.
Aided by an impressive cast, Depp gives a subtle yet empowering performance that kept me uncomfortably mesmerized.  However I couldn't help but feel the story needed a good extra hour of padding to really give it the impact it appeared to be aiming for.  There was so much going on that they briefly skimmed over, as a whole it never really explores anything we haven't seen before with a film like this.  In the end it's a slightly above average film with some really great performances.

3 confused doormen out of 5

EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS [2014]

Director Ridley Scott takes it upon himself to retell the biblical story of The Amazing Adventures of Moses & The Jews in Exodus: Gods and Kings.
Uber-broody Christian Bale is cast as a sword-wielding Moses who leads 600,000 Jewish slaves out of Egypt to freedom and along the way they meet all sorts of zany characters and exciting hijinks ensue  Visually, the film is pretty damned spectacular, in both scenery and special effects, never denying itself the chance of a sweeping CGI overhead shot of the ancient lands and cities.  Elsewhere like in the heart and brains department, Exodus lacks a great deal.  Scott tries to scientifically explain all the biblical events like the parting of the Red Sea or the different plagues and in turn, he sucks all the magic out of what is actually a pretty amazing story and turns it into dazzling dullness.

2½ Godly kids out of 5

ZERO DARK THIRTY [2012]

Director Kathryn Bigelow tells the true story of the manhunt for al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in the controversial procedural spy-thriller Zero Dark Thirty.

Like The Hurt Locker, she carries the film with uneasy tension, only instead of thrilling tension, it's an emotional one that made me feel queasy in some of its more intense moments.  Utilizing effective camerawork that gives the appearance of a human eye watching, rather than a camera, the film never ceases to allow the emotional tension to break until it's final moments.  Viewers might be turned off looking to be entertained because this technical film is far from entertainment. It might be nearly 3 hours long but not a minute is wasted on filler which I can't say for a few of the other "critically acclaimed" films of the year.

4 motherfuckers who find places out of 5

The Thing (2011)

The good thing about prequels is that it doesn't really hurt the original film as much as sequels and remakes do. The bad thing about this particular prequel is that it doesn't really add anything new to the table either. I watched it back-to-back with the original and it pretty much felt like an exact remake. I give the producers credit for doing their homework and keeping the look consistent (it remains very faithful in detail), but CGI will never trump practical effects as far as replicating the feel of the original. There is a coda at the end that leads directly into the original film, but that's the only real exciting part of it.

2.5 metal fillings out of 5