Dolls
Similar28 Days Later (2002), Alien (1979), Dawn of the Dead (2004), Freaks (1932), I Am Not a Serial Killer (2016), Inland Empire (2006), Inside (2007), May (2003), Momo (1986), mother! (2017), Saw (2004), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Silent Hill (2006), The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Fifth Element (1997), The Shining (1980), The Thing (1982),
Watch afterJoker (2019),
Ethan Coen goes solo for a raunchy, silly comedy-thriller.
When the Coen brothers announced back in 2021 that they were taking a temporary break from working together, the anguished wails of film nerds could be heard around the world. It wasn’t anything personal – indeed, they've reportedly reunited to work on a horror movie – but rather just a desire to do their own thing separately for a little while. Their time apart resulted in two very different projects: Joel’s critically acclaimed The Tragedy of Macbeth, and now, Ethan’s Drive-Away Dolls, a good-naturedly raunchy crime caper that occasionally flounders under the weight of stale, fetishy stereotypes.
The film opens with a gruesome death and a briefcase that needs to make its way from Philadelphia to Tallahassee. Also about to hit the road south are a pair of friends, brash, free-spirited Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and buttoned-up, bookish Marian (Geraldine Viswanathan). Marian wants to pay her aunt a visit, while Jamie, kicked out of her apartment by her fed-up girlfriend (Beanie Feldstein), has nothing better to do and goes along for the ride, hoping to loosen up Marian along the way.. Continue Reading →
The Best Man
“Just brang ma baby girl back alive!” Continue Reading →
Le Misanthrope
Throughout Argentine director Damián Szifron’s To Catch a Killer, nothing seems new. A serial killer procedural featuring a young cop and an older FBI agent, Szifron’s first English-language film attempts to derive success from previous entries in the genre. Audiences and critics alike will almost certainly compare it to more original efforts. Unfortunately, Szifron’s unable to put personality, verve, or distinction into To Catch a Killer. Continue Reading →
Sisu
SimilarPredator (1987),
Watch afterEvil Dead Rise (2023), John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023), The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023),
Jalmari Helander's WWII action flick glues Inglourious Basterds to Mad Max Fury Road, and it's a fist-pumping blast.
(This review is part of our 2022 Toronto International Film Festival coverage.)
Inglourious Basterds' Lt. Aldo Raine would be pretty proud of Jalmari Helander's gonzo spaghetti-Western-meets-WWII actioner Sisu; like he, the film is interested in "one thing, and one thing only... killin' Nazis." And so it goes with the TIFF 2022 Midnight Madness pick, a roaring rampage of revenge that commits to its stylized schtick -- even if that means it feels a little thin. Continue Reading →