A Million Miles Away
SimilarAnatomy of a Murder (1959), Apocalypse Now (1979), As It Is in Heaven (2004), Ben-Hur (1959), Blade Runner (1982), Blood and Chocolate (2007),
Boys Don't Cry (1999) Brubaker (1980), Contact (1997), East of Eden (1955), Edward Scissorhands (1990), Erin Brockovich (2000), Finding Forrester (2000), Forrest Gump (1994), I've Always Liked You (2016),
Jackie Brown (1997) Just Cause (1995), Manhattan (1979), Metropolis (1927), Monster (2003),
Primal Fear (1996) Rebecca (1940) Schindler's List (1993), Stand by Me (1986), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), The Green Mile (1999), The Handmaid's Tale (1990), The Irishman (2019), The Last Emperor (1987),
The Name of the Rose (1986) The Outsiders (1983), The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Silent Partner (1978), The Straight Story (1999), The Tin Drum (1979), What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993), Wonder Boys (2000),
Watch afterBarbie (2023) Blue Beetle (2023), Elemental (2023), Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One (2023),
StudioMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer,
A Million Miles Away is one of those movies that live in the meaty part of the decent curve. Far too sturdy and well-made to be called bad. Too rote and predictable to really call good. It tells the true story of José Hernández (Michael Pena), an unquestionably inspiring man who did an impossibly difficult thing under impossibly difficult circumstances. Continue Reading →
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe
SimilarBen-Hur (1959), Contact (1997), Cruel Intentions (1999), East of Eden (1955), Finding Forrester (2000), Forrest Gump (1994), I've Always Liked You (2016),
Jackie Brown (1997) La Haine (1995), Manhattan (1979), Maria Full of Grace (2004), Random Harvest (1942),
Rebecca (1940) Schindler's List (1993), The Art of Racing in the Rain (2019), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), The Irishman (2019),
The Name of the Rose (1986) The Silent Partner (1978), The Tin Drum (1979),
Watch afterSpider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), Thanksgiving (2023),
In cinema, water is a site of birth, rebirth, and drastic transformations. In movies ranging from Sansho the Bailiff to Moonlight to Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, characters walk into vast bodies of liquid one person and exit another (if, that is, they resurface). It tracks, then, that the romantic drama Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe kicks off its central relationship at a community pool. A conversation between the film’s titular leads, set against the blue, kicks off a life-changing connection. Continue Reading →
Jungle Cruise
Watch afterBlack Widow (2021), Free Guy (2021), Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021), The Suicide Squad (2021),
StudioTSG Entertainment, Walt Disney Pictures,
The phenomenon of Disney adapting its own theme park rides to the silver screen will never not be fascinating to me. It's the ultimate act of corporate synergy: watch Disney movies, come to Disneyland to experience them in real life, come ride our rides, then watch the movie based on the rides. What's even more fascinating are the ones that work: Gore Verbinski's Pirates of the Caribbean pulled off a minor miracle in adapting a pretty groan-worthy theme park ride into a vibrant, Errol Flynn-like adventure. And in an attempt to recapture that kind of heat, we now have Jungle Cruise, which gets points for referencing the right things, even as it refuses to reinvent the wheel. Continue Reading →
The Forever Purge
SimilarCape Fear (1991), Die Hard 2 (1990), Die Hard: With a Vengeance (1995), I Stand Alone (1998), Let the Right One In (2008), Live Free or Die Hard (2007), Rope (1948), Secret Window (2004),
The Purge franchise, spanning five films and a now-canceled two-season television series, was never one to traffic in nuance or subtlety, or even optimism. Its premise is born of a kind of didactic, Shirley Jackson-esque thought experiment: what if all crimes, even murder, were legal for 12 hours? How would people react, and who would they become, when they could let out their raging ids just for a night? From its second film, the Carpenter-esque The Purge: Anarchy, series creator James DeMonaco tacked on a third question: What if *gasp* the rich and powerful were just using the Purge as a means to cull the poor, the marginalized, and nonwhite? Continue Reading →
Haymaker
Nick (Nick Sasso) is a bouncer. Once he was a Muay Thai boxer, a rising talent. Those days are long done. Now he’s drifting through life, lonely and purposeless. Nomi (Nomi Ruiz, lead singer of Jessica 6) is a pop star. She’s doing what she loves, and she’s aimless and lonely. When Nick rescues Nomi from a would-be rapist and loses his bouncing gig, she hires him as a bodyguard. Together, they travel the world and begin to fall for each other. But they’re very different people, with very different needs. Their future could be wonderful. But it’s an open question. Continue Reading →