Reviews (Page 54) | The Spool

Reviews (Page 54)

Guillermo del Toro’s Nightmare Alley has little behind the flim-flam

By: Matt Cipolla

The auteur's update of the 1946 novel is a film noir steeped in too much of the author's romanticism.

Star Trek: Discovery Teaches Lessons Old and New in “All Is Possible”

The latest episode clicks when it offers the kind of meat and potatoes Trek tropes fans love. NOW STREAMING: Powered by JustWatch I’m a sucker for when Discovery returns to solid meat-and-potatoes Star Trek concepts. The group of squabbling crewmen who find unity when it counts, despite their differences, is a franchise classic. (See: “The Galileo Seven” from The Original ... Star Trek: Discovery Teaches Lessons Old and New in “All Is Possible”

Mr. Saturday Night throws a rare mirror ball light on film producers

By: Marshall Estes

Eschewing the creative for the business side of film gives the new documentary an interesting niche.

Unraveling pop-culture one thread at a time

The Spool is an irreverent, informative source for film and television coverage, focused on diverse, thoughtful opinions that seek out a greater understanding of the media we love.

The Unforgivable lives up to its name by wasting talent

The new Netflix drama comes so close to good but can't capitalize on its deep cast.

Back to the Outback detours through Madagascar to get down Down Under

This Australian animated adventure will prove familiar, if inoffensive, even to younger moviegoers.

Performances and metatextual flair elevate Landscapers’ true-crime saga

By: Tim Stevens

HBO's limited series offers more than the usual sensationalistic grim recreations.

Léa Seydoux stuns in France, but the movie cannot match her

By: B.L. Panther

Director Bruno Dumont's satire is sharp and funny but fails to examine itself for the very biases it wants to challenge.

The Expanse flies high in its final, uneven season

One of the current best sci-fi show comes to a powerful, exciting end.

Succession decamps to Tuscany for a wedding filled with grievances and revelations

By: Ashley Lara

The nuptials prompt some rare frankness from the Roys amidst their usual chaos and scheming.

Action legend Dolph Lundgren’s Castle Falls offers sturdy thrills

By: Justin Harrison

Lundgren directs the great Scott Adkins and himself well in his scramble-filled cats-and-mice thriller.

“You’re not curator of anything!” Ragtime at 40

Milos Forman's 1981 adaptation of the E.L. Doctorow novel survived a change of directors to become a fascinating cult curio 40 years on.

Star Trek: Discovery can’t earn its big moments in “Choose to Live”

By: Andrew Bloom

The Discovery crew eke out a long-overdue win, but the show takes too many narrative and emotional shortcuts to get there.

Spielberg’s adaptation of West Side Story is a staggering showcase for Sondheim

By: Marshall Estes

Steven Spielberg and Tony Kushner adapt the classic Stephen Sondheim musical into a vivid, gripping tale that builds on what the Robert Wise version did right.

The Advent Calendar is a bleak bit of holiday nastiness

By: Gena Radcliffe

From France comes cursed object horror with a vague Christmas twist.

5 movies to get you through waiting to see Licorice Pizza

Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest won’t be available in wide release until the end of December, so in the meantime here are a handful of movies that also capture that unique lurid sunniness of 70s & 80s Southern California to tide you over.

KinoKultur: Structure and the Supernatural in 4 Household Tales

B.L. Panther takes a look at four films from Kino Lorber that explore the intersection of structure and the supernatural in the latest KinoKultur

Writing With Fire thoughtfully spotlights the journalists of India’s only women-run newspaper

By: B.L. Panther

It's a compelling documentary that engages its subjects with the same care they bring to their own reporting.

Star Trek: Discovery delves into overcoming loss with “Anomaly”

By: Andrew Bloom

The second episode of the season shines when it focuses on Book processing his grief for his destroyed homeworld.

Kendall’s birthday briefly brings the Roy siblings together before things go to hell on Succession

By: Ashley Lara

The director of Hustlers skillfully guides the audience through the grotesque bash the second-eldest Roy sibling throws for his 40th.

The Great British Baking Show finale takes the bakers down the rabbit hole

By: Ashley Lara

Finalists Giuseppe, Crystelle, and Chigs wrap up their season with a wonderous Lewis Carroll-inspired showstopper.

Don’t bother unwrapping the formulaic comedy 8-Bit Christmas

1980s nostalgia is nowhere near enough to keep this project afloat.

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