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The DI (Dull Inertia) of “The BFG”
The BFG (Steven Spielberg, 2016) Director Steven Spielberg has long been a purveyor of magical fantasies for the silver screen, a joyful fabulist who also ventures into darker, more adult, dramas, as...
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“Reel Talk”– with Chris Reed and Chris Kaltenbach – on “Finding Dory,”“The...
Welcome to the sixth (and final) episode of the 2015-2016 season of Dragon Digital Media‘s Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed . My guest this time was Chris Kaltenbach, arts and entertainment...
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And Now … 6 Nails for One Hammer: Films at AFI DOCS (Part 2) + “The Witness”
Since my last post about the recent AFI DOCS festival, Hammer to Nail has published five more pieces of mine from the fest – 2 reviews and 3 interviews – plus a review of a film that just opened in...
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In “The Infiltrator,” Competence Is Its Own Reward
The Infiltrator (Brad Furman, 2016) Following his delightful 2011 thriller The Lincoln Lawyer – which helped launch the Matthew McConaissance – director Brad Furman decidedly did not return to form...
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Who You Gonna Call? Sadly, Not These “Ghostbusters”
Ghostbusters (Paul Feig, 2016) I wish I could report that the new Ghostbusters – a reimagining of the beloved 1984 original, this time with an all-female lead cast – was as much of a comic masterpiece...
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An Interview with Noted Baltimore-Based Documentarian Ramona Diaz
Check out my latest filmmaker interview on Bmoreart, with the great documentary filmmaker Ramona Diaz, who just happens to live in Baltimore. Enjoy!
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Finally … Three Nails for One Last AFI DOCS Hammer (Part 3)
Since my second post about the recent AFI DOCS festival, Hammer to Nail has published three more pieces of mine from the fest: 1 review, 1 interview and the final post-festival wrap-up, where I...
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The Once and Future Series: “Star Trek Beyond” Delivers the Action Goods in a...
Star Trek Beyond (Justin Lin, 2016) In our age of endless remakes, reboots and sequels, what makes any particular film fit seamlessly into the continuum of a well-established series? What makes Marvel...
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“Absolutely Fabulous” Is Mostly Absolutely Dreadful
Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie (Mandie Fletcher, 2016) Did the world really need a movie adaptation of Jennifer Saunders’ long-running (though on-again, off-again) BBC series Absolutely Fabulous? Not...
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In Intriguing and Moving (If Also Derivative) “Equals,” Emotions Are the Enemy
Equals (Drake Doremus, 2015) We’ve been here – a dystopian future where citizens are micromanaged by governments wary of an unruly populace – many times before, from literary classics like We, A Brave...
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Dan Rodricks’ Roughly Speaking on the Films of Summer 2016, So Far …
On today’s edition of Dan Rodricks’ Roughly Speaking podcast for The Baltimore Sun, in addition to coverage of the Republican National Convention and book reviews from Paula Gallagher, we discuss the...
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Reviews of “The Seventh Fire” and “Train to Busan” at “Hammer to Nail”
In the past week, I wrote reviews for two new films – one a documentary about drug use and related crime on a Native-American reservation in Minnesota, the other a South-Korean zombie film – for Hammer...
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These “Bad Moms” Revel in the Anarchy of Laughter
Bad Moms (Jon Lucas/Scott Moore, 2016) As those who read my reviews will know, I did not much like what, until now, had been this summer’s highest-profile female-centered comedy, Ghostbusters....
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The Coffee and Pastries Are Ever So Stale in “Café Society”
Café Society (Woody Allen, 2016) With almost fifty feature films to his name, writer/director Woody Allen is nothing if not extremely prolific. Now 80 years old, he has managed to crank out a movie a...
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“Jason Bourne” Thrills as It Kills, but Kills Far Too Much
Jason Bourne (Paul Greengrass, 2016) The last time we saw Matt Damon in an existential crisis was just over 10 months ago, as he struggled to survive on the hostile landscape of Mars, in Ridley Scott’s...
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In “Don’t Think Twice,” Funny People Try Too Hard to Be Sad
Don’t Think Twice (Mike Birbiglia, 2016) Comedian Mike Birbiglia has developed a loyal fanbase over the past 10 years or so with his standup routines, Comedy Central specials and frequent appearances...
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Criterion’s “Night and Fog” + “Neither Heaven Nor Earth” + Gillian Armstrong...
In the past two weeks, Hammer to Nail published three reviews of mine – of two movies just released and one brand-new Criterion Collection Blu-ray disc – plus one interview, with director Gillian...
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Disney’s Remade “Pete’s Dragon” Offers CGI Delights and Flesh-and-Bone...
Pete’s Dragon (David Lowery, 2016) If you are a fan of the original Pete’s Dragon, released in 1977, eager to see what the new version has to offer, know this: where that film trafficked in the kind of...
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In “Florence Foster Jenkins,” La Diva Streep Warbles Through a Too-Often Flat...
Florence Foster Jenkins (Stephen Frears, 2016) I miss the Meryl Streep of yore, before she was an institution, accorded diva status and expected to play corresponding roles. I loved her in Tommy Lee...
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“Sausage Party” Offers an Orgy of Jokes Crude, Rude, Lewd … and Sometimes...
Sausage Party (Greg Tiernan/Conrad Vernon, 2016) If the thought of your food having sex (note: not you having sex with your food) after doing battle with those who would eat it, all the while spouting...
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