Posts Tagged ‘new movies’
Tye Sheridan, Matthew McConaughey, and Jacob Lofland are up a tree (in a boat) in Mud.

Mud: A Clear Vision

Right and wrong may be clear to the men in this drama — but not to anyone else.
STEVE STEWARD
In his previous film, Take Shelter, filmmaker Jeff Nichols relied on subtle direction and the exigencies of financial peril to ground the apocalyptic, magical reality through which his protagonist suffered. In Nichols’ latest...


James D’Arcy and Ben Whishaw amid a shower of crockery in Cloud Atlas.

Cloud Atlas: Only Connect

Six stories, three directors, and a hell of a lot of other stuff is in here.
KRISTIAN LIN
Call a novel “unfilmable,” and you’re only waving a red flag in the face of certain filmmakers. David Mitchell’s novel Cloud Atlas has been called that for good reason — it’s an exercise in literary derring-do, cont...



Ben Affleck makes his way through Khomeini’s Iran in Argo.

Argo, Psychopaths: Let’s Fake a Movie!

Would-be filmmakers are the driving characters in these thrillers.
KRISTIAN LIN
By coincidence, the titles of both movies this week refer to movies within the movies. Neither Argo nor Seven Psychopaths is really about the filmmaking process — the first throws up a nonexistent movie as a smokescreen for a...


Stolen opens Friday.

Film Shorts

KRISTIAN LIN
OPENING: Stolen (R) Nicolas Cage stars in this thriller as a former thief who frantically searches for his kidnapped daughter. Also with Josh Lucas, Malin Akerman, Sami Gayle, Barry Shabaka Henley, M.C. Gainey, Mark Valley, and...



Frank Langella, James Marsden, Liv Tyler, Jeremy Sisto, and Susan Sarandon star in Robot & Frank now playing in Dallas.

Film Shorts

KRISTIAN LIN
OPENING: The Cold Light of Day (PG-13) Henry Cavill stars in this thriller as a young Wall Street trader who must save his family in Madrid after they’re kidnapped over information wanted by the CIA. Also with Bruce Willis, V...


Zoe Saldana provides Bradley Cooper with some inspiration in The Words.

Hollywood Words

There’s nothing particularly writerly about this bland psychological thriller.
ZACK SHLACHTER
For a film about writers, The Words isn’t particularly well written. Scripted and directed by Brian Klugman and Lee Sternthal, the movie features a familiar plotline: A struggling novelist stumbles on an unpublished manuscrip...



Tom Hardy takes aim in the climactic shootout in Lawless.

End-of-Summer Roundup

Assessing three low-budget indies before the fall movie season.
KRISTIAN LIN
If you’ve been worn out by the summer blockbusters, now’s a good time to check out three low-budget films dropping in our multiplexes this weekend. None of them are masterpieces, but they’re all rewarding in small ways. S...


Henry Thomas stars as Hank Williams in The Last Ride opening Friday in Dallas.

Film Shorts

KRISTIAN LIN
OPENING: The Last Ride (PG-13) Henry Thomas stars in this drama as country music legend Hank Williams, who in 1952 hires a local teenager (Jesse James) to drive him to his last concerts. Also with Fred Dalton Thompson, Kaley Cu...



The FP opens Friday in Dallas

Film Shorts

KRISTIAN LIN
OPENING: The FP (R) Brandon and Jason Trost’s black comedy is about two rival street gangs who stage lethal turf battles with each other by playing a dance video game. Starring Jason Trost, Lee Valmassy, Art Hsu, Caker Folley...