Clik here to view.
“The Girl on the Train” Misses Its Destination
[Note: This review also appeared on Film Festival Today at this link.] The Girl on the Train (Tate Taylor, 2016) To how many metaphorical uses can we put trains? Their gleaming hulls first arrived in...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Roughly Speaking” Podcast on “Birth of a Nation” and “The Girl on the Train”
Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film & Moving Image, Stevenson...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Though It Offers Guilty Pleasures, “The Accountant” Adds the Numbers Up Too...
[Note: This review will also appear on Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to it here.] The Accountant (Gavin O’Connor, 2016) In The Accountant, the new action-thriller from director...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Reviews of “The Greasy Strangler” and “Theo Who Lived” @hammertonail
I had two reviews published on Hammer to Nail this past week, for the aggressively (and intentionally) off-putting midnight movie The Greasy Strangler and the powerful documentary Theo Who Lived, which...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“American Pastoral” Traffics in Deadly Bucolic Ennui
American Pastoral (Ewan McGregor, 2016) Actor Ewan McGregor (Miles Ahead) makes his directorial debut with American Pastoral, an extremely faithful, if also inert, adaptation of author Philip Roth’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Leave Your Thinking Cap Behind, and “Jack Reacher: Never Go Back” Delivers...
[Note: This review also appeared on Film Festival Today at this link.] Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (Edward Zwick, 2016) I missed reading all of the opening credits on the new Jack Reacher film –...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Roughly Speaking” Podcast on Fall 2016 Coming Attractions
Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film & Moving Image, Stevenson...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Interview with David Schisgall, Director of “Theo Who Lived,” @hammertonail
Not a lot of published activity for me this week, though many pieces are in the works. As an accompaniment to my recent review of the documentary Theo Who Lived, however, Hammer to Nail published my...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Exquisite “Certain Women” Showcases Four Brilliant Actresses of Our Day
[Note: This review also appeared on Film Festival Today.] Certain Women (Kelly Reichardt, 2016) Set in wintry Montana, Certain Women – the sixth full-length feature from Kelly Reichardt (Meek’s Cutoff)...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Professing Pacifism, “Hacksaw Ridge” Champions Carnage
Hacksaw Ridge (Mel Gibson, 2016) How much should a director’s personal history count when judging his or her work? We cinephiles just confronted this question with the recent release of Nate Parker’s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Trolls” Offers Positive Lessons in a Saccharine Setting
[Note: This review will also appear on Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to it here.] Trolls (Walt Dohrn/Mike Mitchell, 2016) The newest film from Dreamworks Animation, Trolls is...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Roughly Speaking” on “Certain Women,”“Moonlight” and Political Films from...
Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department of Film & Moving Image, Stevenson...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 Reviews @hammertonail, of “The Eagle Huntress,”“Moonlight” and “Sonita” +...
Hammer to Nail posted three new reviews of mine last week for The Eagle Huntress, Moonlight and Sonita. Also, Film Festival Today posted my summary of the recent Middleburg Film Festival. Here are the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Doctor Strange” Is Yet Another Marvel Superhero Movie
Doctor Strange (Scott Derrickson, 2016) Doctor Strange, the latest in what now threatens to be an eternity of movies based on Marvel Comics characters, has a lot going for it. Benedict Cumberbatch (The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Reel Talk”– with Chris Reed and Scott Braid – on “Hacksaw Ridge,”“Moonlight”...
Welcome to the second episode of the 2016-2017 season of Dragon Digital Media‘s Reel Talk with Christopher Llewellyn Reed. My guest this time was Scott Braid, Associate Director, Associate Director at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
In Visually Stunning (If Derivative) “Arrival,” a Powerful Amy Adams Offers...
Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016) There is much to admire and love in Arrival, the new film from Canadian director Denis Villeneuve, a creatively dynamic soul known for the eclectic variety of his...
View ArticleClik here to view.
3 Reviews @hammertonail, of Criterion’s “Cat People” Blu-ray, “Loving” and...
Hammer to Nail posted three reviews of mine last week: Criterion’s new Blu-ray release of the 1942 Cat People; Jeff Nichols’ new movie Loving; and a disturbing new documentary about drone warfare,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” Stumbles Mid-Field
[Note: This review will also appear on Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to it here.] Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ang Lee, 2016) Ang Lee has made many fine films, some of them...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Delightful “Edge of Seventeen” Breathes New Life into Teen Comedy
[Note: This review will also appear on Film Festival Today, and when it does, I will link to it here.] The Edge of Seventeen (Kelly Fremon Craig, 2016) A delightfully offbeat coming-of-age tale, The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
“Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them” Is Charming, if Very Messy, Fun
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (David Yates, 2016) Published in 2001, after Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – the fourth volume in the parent series of the Harry Potter universe – had...
View Article