Freeze Frame

Who would have thought that a movie with a great cast, intriguing theme and acclaimed director could have resulted in something as bad as "After the Hunt." Julia Roberts stars as a college professor who becomes embroiled in a sex scandal. The strong supporting cast includes Ayo Edebiri, Andrew Garfield, Michael Stuhlbarg and Chloë Sevigny.  Director Luca Guadagnino is responsible for acclaimed films like “Call Me by Your Name” and “Challengers,” but he’s lost his grip here. Colossally pretentious, burdened with pompous dialogue and unlikable characters, it’s a burden to watch. The terrific performances are the only saving grace of “After the Hunt,” so viewers should hunt for something else to watch.

Writer/director/star Aziz Ansari offers a low-key, feel-good comic fantasy, "Good Fortune." Keanu Reeves is an inept guardian angel who switches up the lives of a struggling gig worker, played by Ansari, and a wealthy investor, played by Seth Rogan, to try to make Ansari feel better about his life. Big mistake! Ansari likes being rich and doesn’t want to return to his old life, even though he had a great girlfriend, played by Keke Palmer. Good Fortune” is a likable comedy that tries to be a modern take on a Frank Capra-style premise but is only modestly successful.

The Netflix drama "Ballad of a Small Player" is an intriguing experiment that doesn't quite live up to its promise. Colin Farrell is fine as a deeply indebted gambling addict in Macau who desperately strives for one big win to save him. The shifts between the real and the imagined are sometimes awkward and confusing. Even so, “Ballad of a Small Player” is a stylish look at the descent of a loser.

Talk about product placement! The bizarre true story of a kind-hearted criminal gets the big screen treatment in "Roofman." In this entertaining comic drama, Channing Tatum stars as a clever thief who robbed dozens of McDonalds by entering the restaurants through the roof, was sent to prison, escaped, and then holed up for months in a Toys 'R' Us. Kirsten Dunst plays his clueless love interest. “Roofman” was directed by Derek Cianfrance, best known for the dark dramas “Blue Valentine” and “The Place Beyond the Pines.” Here, he takes a much lighter approach. Funny and often touching, "Roofman" is a surprisingly effective crowd-pleaser.

The white-knuckle thriller "A House of Dynamite" is in theaters today and will appear on Netflix on October 24th. It explores what would happen if an unknown entity launched a nuclear missile at the US. Under the sure-handed direction of Oscar-winner Kathryn Bigelow, it's a taut and realistic nightmare that effectively shows the chaos such an event would cause. It strives for authenticity, but having well-known actors in the cast is a bit of a distraction in “The House of Dynamite,” and the multiple, intersecting storylines muddy what is otherwise a sharp, well-constructed nail-biter.

A terrific cast led by Elisabeth Moss and Kate Hudson can't quite save the derivative tongue-in-cheek horror-thriller "Shell," now available on multiple pay-per-view outlets. "Shell" owes a bit too much to last year's similar body horror entry, "The Substance." A struggling actress tries a mysterious and shady new scientific method for beauty and youth, but guess what, there are...complications. "Shell" is trying to be a black comedy, but the humor seldom lands.

Respectable. That may be the best thing one can say about the new Dwayne Johnson movie "The Smashing Machine." In this art house sports drama from writer-director Benny Safdie, The Rock plays troubled mixed martial arts fighter Mark Kerr who battles drugs and insecurity as well as his opponents in the ring. Emily Blunt is his impatient, moderately supportive girlfriend. The performances of real-life MMA fighters Ryan Bader, Bas Rutten and former heavyweight champion boxer Oleksander Usyk bring additional authenticity. The stars are fine, but in an attempt to avoid cliches, the movie also avoids dramatic momentum. This low-key, matter-of-fact approach prevents "The Smashing Machine" from scoring a knockout.

A true story from California's devastating 2018 Camp Fire is the basis of the Apple TV+ thriller, "The Lost Bus." Matthew McConaughey stars as a troubled school bus driver who attempts to navigate the overwhelming blaze and save the lives of two dozen kids and a teacher, played by America Ferrera. Director Paul Greengrass, best known for the Jason Bourne films, knows how to build tension. With “The Lost Bus,” he’s created a realistic and involving nail-biter.

In the tongue-in-cheek Amazon Prime crime thriller "Play Dirty," Mark Wahlberg plays Parker, the gifted professional thief from Richard Stark's novel series. What may have worked on the page seems overblown and ludicrous on screen under the direction of action filmmaker Shane Black. After a racetrack heist goes bad, Parker recruits a band of thieves to steal some priceless antiquities and exact revenge on the woman who ruined his previous caper. A good cast is wasted in a bloody, noisy, profane and utterly preposterous crime opus.

Liam Neeson ("Taken") stars in a revival of the 80s absurdist franchise, "The Naked Gun," playing the son of the detective originally played by Leslie Nielson.

Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson once again proves to be one of the world's top filmmakers with his thinking man's action thriller, "One Battle After Another." Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel "Vineland," Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn star in a spellbinding, entertaining and profane tale involving wannabe revolutionaries, racism, military corruption, secret political cabals...and much more. Smart and masterfully made, "One Battle After Another” easily one of the year's best movies.

Parents with preschool girls know that "Gabby's Dollhouse" is the partly live-action, partly animated Netflix series about a girl who shrinks herself to doll size for adventures with her tiny doll pals. The theatrical version "Gabby's Dollhouse: The Movie" works surprisingly well thanks to imaginative art direction and a funny performance by Kristen Wiig as a cat-obsessed villainess. While squarely aimed at the tots, it's pleasantly painless for parents.

The dark action thriller "Dead of Winter" stars Emma Thompson as a woman ice fishing in remote Minnesota who stumbles upon a ramshackle cabin where a strange couple have kidnapped a young woman. It's so well acted that one can almost forgive how unrelentingly grim it is. “Dead of Winter” is suspenseful but mostly unpleasant and implausible.

With her directorial debut, Scarlett Johansson shows she’s been paying attention. Ninety-five-year-old June Squibb stars in the touching story of a woman who pretends to be a Holocaust survivor, befriending a teenager enamored with her and her bogus story. Squibb and young Erin Kellyman are excellent in “Eleanor the Great,” a sweet-natured comic drama about the results of questionable choices.

While it doesn't all work, the fantasy romance "A Big Bold Beautiful Journey" is, at least, an interesting experiment. Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell are very appealing, but they're stranded in a bizarre story about strangers who revisit trying episodes from their past by passing through a series of mystical doorways. Its message that encourages risk-taking comes through, but “A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey” can't quite overcome some uneasy, saccharine elements.

Don't be fooled by the name Jordan Peele above the title for the horror movie "HIM." He produced but did not write or direct this ugly and dull one-note chiller about a wannabe quarterback, played by Tariq Withers, who is lured into a Satanic cult led by Marlon Wayans to ensure he becomes the "GOAT." It's odd that a movie about football has no forward momentum. “HIM” fumbles an interesting premise.

"Xeno" is an offbeat sci-fi tale that plays like an uneasy mix of the family friendly "ET" and the grisly "Alien." A troubled teenage girl befriends a stranded carnivorous space creature, but the bad guys are the government agencies hunting it. While it's reasonably well made, "Xeno" has a frustrating finale that will likely leave audiences underwhelmed.

The Hulu drama "Swiped" purports to tell the true story behind the scandalous rise of dating apps "Tinder" and "Bumble." Lily James plays Whitney Wolfe Herd, the tech entrepreneur who experienced blatant sexism and misogyny as she helped establish the popular sites and wound up being exploited in the press. "Swiped" could have used a bit more bite, but it's an interesting historical nugget.

It's taken 41 years, but the sequel to the classic rock mockumentary "This is Spinal Tap" has finally arrived. In “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues,” Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer return as the clueless British hard rock band attempts a perilous comeback. Rob Reiner is back as director -on and off screen- and Paul McCartney and Elton John join in the fun along with a number of others from the original movie. The sequel never quite hits the hilarious heights of the original, so it doesn’t go quite to 11. Still, “Spinal Tap II: The End Continues” is an enjoyably goofy dip into satiric nostalgia.

"The Conjuring: Last Rites" is the ninth and supposedly final chapter in "The Conjuring" franchise. We'll see. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson are back as famed paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren in what is touted as a true story of demonic possession. Right. Fans of the franchise may want to indulge once again, but it's overlong, poorly paced and plays like a hodgepodge of scenes from the previous movies. The cast is right, but "The Last Rites" is wrong.

The HBO Max documentary "Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television" is an enlightening overview of the ups and downs experienced by African American artists over the last 75 years. It’s produced by Issa Rae. The first episode of the two-part series is excellent, an involving and entertaining history lesson. The second part, dealing with more recent history, tends to meander and goes a bit off-subject. Overall, “Seen & Heard” is still a timely and provocative examination of ongoing inequality.

The very adult comic drama "Twinless" is about a straight man named Roman, played by Dylan O'Brian whose twin brother dies in an accident. He befriends a gay man named Dennis, played by James Sweeney whom he meets in a support group for people who have lost a twin. Problem is, Dennis carries some dark secrets. Sweeney does triple-duty as writer/director and star, doing well in all departments. He cast himself as the troubled, self-loathing man who has trouble admitting the truth to his new friend. It doesn't all work but is well-acted and smart. For open minded audiences, “Twinless” is a thoughtful look at grief and self-deception.

Chalk up "The Threesome" as yet another very adult comic drama. Zoey Deutch, Jonah Hauer-King and Ruby Cruz star in the awkward tale of young people who have an alcohol-fueled menage a trois and... guess what? Serious complications follow. The movie is a bit better than its premise might suggest, and the cast is very appealing. Problem is, it strives to find rom-com footing in a story that might be better suited to a darker drama. “The Threesome” is a nice try, but some of the plot consequences don't quite ring true.

The tongue-in-cheek Hulu thriller "Eenie Meanie" hoped to be a female version of the action epic "Baby Driver," but didn't quite hit those heights. Samara Weaving is fine as a former getaway driver who reluctantly goes for one more caper to protect her reckless boyfriend from mobsters, headed up by Andy Garcia. “Eenie Meanie” is very familiar and very decadent but is somewhat redeemed by its game cast.

Can Austin Butler carry a movie outside of "Elvis?" If the comic thriller "Caught Stealing" is any indication, the answer is 'Yes.' Butler is fine as a baseball washout who unwittingly becomes the target of rival gangsters when his next door neighbor disappears after asking him to cat-sit. It's essentially a 70s-style drive-in movie with wannabe Hitchcock vibes. It's got a great cast that also includes Oscar winner Regina King, Zoe Kravitz and Bad Bunny, and was made by a first-rate director -Darren Aronofsky- who's gone slumming in a new genre. "Caught Stealing" is finely crafted sleaze.

When is a movie smart, witty, well-acted AND very unpleasant? When it's "The Roses," a re-imagining of the snarky 80s Michael Douglas-Kathleen Turner black comedy “The War of the Roses,” an adaptation of Warren Adler’s novel. Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Coleman are excellent as a married couple whose petty bickering and jealousy ultimately lead to an eruption. Kate McKinnon and Andy Samberg add some cynical comic touches in support. The mood swings are pretty wild with this one, and whether the bitter exchanges are funny or exhausting is in the ear of the beholder. “The Roses” is one nasty middle finger salute to marriage.

Helen Mirren, Pierce Brosnan and Ben Kingsley star in the Netflix mystery, "The Thursday Murder Club," based on the bestselling novel. They play residents of an upscale retirement home who work on solving cold cases for fun...but things get dicey when homicide hits close to home. Under the direction of "Home Alone" vet Chris Colombus, it's an easygoing whodunit that plays a bit like an old episode of "Murder She Wrote."

Filmmaker Ron Howard's latest movie "Eden" ain't paradise. In fact, the gifted director's awkward survival drama can't find a consistent pace or tone. Jude Law, Ana de Armas, Vanessa Kirby, Sidney Sweeney and Daniel Bruhl star in the remarkable true story of Germans who fled to the Galapagos Islands in 1929 to escape fascism. Their search for ideal living devolved into an antisocial nightmare. Despite the efforts of a strong cast, "Eden" is a dour disappointment.

Filmmaker Ethan Cohen once again ventures into a project without his brother, Joel. Margaret Qualley stars in "Honey, Don't," an amoral black comedy neo-noir thriller about a lesbian private eye investigating mysterious deaths in barren Bakersfield, CA. “Honey, Don’t” is sleazy, violent and dopey in equal measure. Ethan, call your brother.

The zippy and clever thriller "Relay" has a unique element. Riz Ahmed plays a secret go-between who brokers deals between corrupt corporations and whistleblowers. His efforts to protect one client, played by Lily James, gets complicated when he gets emotionally involved. Smart, suspenseful and sharply directed by David Macenzie, "Relay" is an involving white knuckler with something on its mind.

Vanessa Kirby of "Fantastic Four" fame gives an intense, committed performance in the stark Netflix social drama, "Night Always Comes." Based on the bestselling novel, it's the story of a Portland woman who spends one desperate night trying to come up with $25,000 to ensure she and her family won't be thrown out of their home. While the cast excels, “Night Always Comes” is a meandering film doesn't have a firm grip on its moral compass.