Reviews of the Bosch

It’s hard not to look at Roofman as a goofy comedy -especially with the way it has been marketed to emphasize the silliness in the concept of a man living in a Toys “R” Us. Indistinguishable from a 90s or early 2000s David Spade or Rob Schneider vehicle honestly. And then you get to the movie and maybe remember that it is written and directed by Derek Cianfrance and after not too long find it is a more substantial and emotionally involved film than expected, one that takes the bizarre novelty of its premise and uses that ultimately as  the mere backdrop for a seriously considered human drama. That is fitting because it actually was. A spree robber called the Roofman -real name Jeffrey Manchester- actually did live secretly out of a Toys “R” Us store for six months in 2004 while a fugitive from justice. A former reservist marine, he’d actually gotten his name from a series of dozens of McDonald’s robberies across the country that he carried out by drilling through the roofs of the s...

It kind of feels like the panic around kids being addicted to their phones -once a trite and dull observation- has come all the way around to being relevant again. I think because of the sheer number of devices that kids have access to now and how it does genuinely seem to be a problem -particularly in this generation of kids-for their emotional and psychological development. "Scared Screenless" certainly taps into that in some dispiriting ways -even as it offers no real comment on the issue ultimately. But it does make for a decent enough context for an unexpected character arc. Written by veteran Futurama writer Bill Odenkirk, the episode contextualizes a typical strained relationship between father and moody teenage son here, with Axl frequently on his phone and spurning any chance at quality time or conversation with his dad Kif. He's not the only one with a tech addiction, as both Dwight and Cubert also spend most of their time in online or VR spaces to the annoyance...

In the movie world, it can be intimidating for a child to direct their parent. John Huston did it for his father Walter on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre . Fifty years later, Fraser Clarke Heston did the same for his dad Charlton in  Alaska . Some got fairly comfortable with the arrangement: Emilio Estevez directed his father Martin Sheen three times and Nick Cassavetes directed his mother Gena Rowlands four. But it must be particularly daunting -and especially for a first-time director- when their father is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors in the world, with a record number of Oscar wins and a performance style notorious for its intensity. Yet that was the challenge that Ronan Day-Lewis set for himself in directing his father, Daniel Day-Lewis, in the latter's first movie in eight years, having previously insisted on his retirement from acting. In fairness, no matter their reputation, nobody knows an actor better than their own family, and in the case of A...

Really the most engaging part of Spirits of the Dead  and the reason for my recommendation here is its final chapter, but the whole anthology is at least fascinating to discuss. It was produced in 1968, as a triptych of short adaptations of lesser known stories by Edgar Allan Poe directed each by one of European cinema’s most acclaimed filmmakers. Who these were changed during the process -initially it was to feature work by Claude Chabrol, Luchino Visconti, and even Orson Welles (who was sequestered in Europe during this period). These didn’t manifest and the movie instead ultimately comprised the work of Roger Vadim, Louis Malle, and Federico Fellini. Of course that the concept of a gallery of European filmmakers adapting entirely in Italy the work of a quintessential American writer never struck anyone as odd or inappropriate speaks to how broad and popular the European cinema of the late 1960s was. Each director changes their story in some significant ways, but ultimately they ...

We’ve seen many a movie about the stifling, repressive atmosphere of small towns on the people who don’t or can’t conform to their arbitrary moral standards. But I think Sweet Angel Baby  may be the first to drop that story in Newfoundland, which is an especially good place for it -as far as Canada is concerned. I lived in Newfoundland for a time, and while its distinct old Irish Catholic cultural character is a genuine source of a lot of charm in the place and its people -there is a darker side to it as well that as someone in the St. John’s area I can only imagine was pronounced in those little communities so far apart, homogeneous, and isolated. Writer-director Melanie Oates seems very familiar with that, emphasizing these tendencies in how she shoots everyday life in her fictitious village. But against the faded monotony is that streak of vivid red hair -symbolic of the against-the-grain nature of the person it belongs to, much as she tries to hide it. Sweet Angel Baby  is...

Dwayne Johnson is not allowed to lose. For years it has supposedly been written in his contract on any movie he does -whatever the context. For the sake of his carefully crafted star persona, he must always come out on top. But after years and eventual diminishing returns, he finally gave himself the chance to lose -a couple times- in The Smashing Machine , and it is probably the best work of his movie career thus far. Allowing underwritten or typecast performers the chance to reinvent themselves may prove to be a specialty of Benny Safdie, who with his brother Josh did something similar for Robert Pattinson on Good Time and Adam Sandler on Uncut Gems . Johnson is not transformed to near the degree they were - The Smashing Machine  is a movie in which he plays a professional fighter after all- but that his entrenched celebrity brand is largely lost in the performance is an impressive feat. Yet this film is not just a test of the Rock. Like the Coens before them, the Safdie Brothers...