Freeze Frame Archiv

“The Report” is an intriguing and political drama that focuses on the investigation that uncovered the CIA torture program during the Gulf War. Adam Driver stars as lead investigator Daniel Jones who spent years fighting to find the truth and then battling forces that tried to keep that truth under wraps. While the drama is somewhat reserved, it’s smartly written and involving.   You don’t have to be a race fan to enjoy “Ford v Ferrari,” but it sure helps. Matt Damon stars as the legendary car designer Carroll Shelby who, in 1966, recruits driver Ken Miles, played by Christian Bale, to help Ford defeat the Ferrari team in the grueling Le Mans Grand Prix race. There’s plenty of clashing egos, back-stabbing and testosterone-fueled action. While the movie has flaws, the cars speed past them in an entertaining petrol-headed blur.   “Gift” is a documentary inspired by the writing of Lewis Hyde that focuses on art as a philanthropic act and not as a commercial endeavor. Examples come from Burning Man, an occupied warehouse in Italy and from a community of the natives of Canada’s Pacific coast. “Gift” is sweet and very low-key.   “Warrior Queen of Jhansi” is a…

Hollywood's 'Master of Disaster,' director Roland Emmerich, is best known for big screen spectacles like “Independence Day” and “The Day After Tomorrow.” He gives the famous South Pacific WWII battle "Midway" that same splashy, special effects-heavy treatment. While the action sequences are impressive the human drama is soapy and superficial. Stars like Woody Harrelson and Dennis Quaid give it their best, but only the Japanese characters seem authentic. Still, “Midway” is a fitting tribute to those who served and sacrificed.   The broad and goofy John Cena comedy "Playing With Fire" plays a bit like "Kindergarten Cop" with firemen. A group of California smoke jumpers rescue three kids from a fire and realize that their babysitting skills are lacking. If you're over the age of six, don't expect many laughs from this juvenile and labored effort.   “Tel Aviv on Fire” is a winning Israeli comedy about a Palestinian man who stumbles into a job as a TV writer. Things get complicated when an Israeli border officer forces him to alter the plotline of a politically charged soap opera. While this movie won’t bring peace, it finds common ground and a respite from conflict.   Antonio Banderas reunites with acclaimed…

Actor Edward Norton wrote, produced, directed and stars in the moody film noir melodrama, "Motherless Brooklyn." Norton is excellent as a gumshoe with Tourette’s Syndrome who uncovers a web of fraud and racial exploitation in 50s New York City when he investigates the death of his employer, played by Bruce Willis. The solid supporting cast includes Willem Dafoe, Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Alec Baldwin, who oozes shadiness as a powerful city official. This handsomely produced story of murder and political corruption is beautifully acted and involving, but a bit too long for its own good.   Looking for something different? New Zealand filmmaker Taiki Waititi offers one of the most original satires in recent memory, “Jojo Rabbit.” This irreverent and wacky comedy is about a fervent 10-year-old Nazi youth, beautifully played by young Roman Griffin Davis, who has a unique imaginary friend, Adolph Hitler, played like a petulant child, by Waititi. Jojo’s troubles mount and his loyalties tested when he discovers that his mom, played by Scarlett Johansson, is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. The humor and social commentary are hit-and-miss, but when it hits, it hits strong. “Jojo Rabbit” is definitely not for everyone, but you’ve got…

With a great cast and a riveting true story to work with, “The Current War” should have been an electrifying movie. It tells the tale of the bitter competition between Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla and George Westinghouse during the early days of electrical power. Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Shannon and Nicholas Hoult are all fine, but their efforts can’t overcome the film’s awkward pacing. “The Current War” simply runs out of juice.   Naomi Harris and Tyrese Gibson star in “Black and Blue,” an action thriller about a rookie cop who goes on the run after she records some dirty cops murdering a drug dealer on her body cam. While the story is pretty predictable, Harris is terrific in the lead role and it’s a taut little thriller.   Amazingly, a documentary about an impoverished middle-aged female beekeeper in rural Macedonia is one of the year’s most moving films. “Honeyland” is more than just a cinema verité glimpse at another world. It’s a canny observation of delicate social and environmental balances. It’s heartbreaking, but “Honeyland” is also surprisingly sweet.   Emma Roberts stars in “Paradise Hills,” a visually vibrant sci-fi thriller about a near-future spa-like island where unwilling women are sent…

Disney’s Halloween season offering is a sequel to a 2014 hit that flipped the script on “Sleeping Beauty,” turning the evil sorceress into a heroine. Angelina Jolie is back in the titular role of the gargantuan production, “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil.” Apparently, the filmmakers wanted to make a kiddie version of “Game of Thrones,” giving us a story that is more about war and palace intrigue than fairytale fantasy.   The tone shifts are jarring and the visuals, while very impressive, are so frenetic that they weigh the movie down. Parents should be warned that the body count is high, the bad guys are humans and the story may be a bit too dark for little kids. But Jolie’s sly performance is the movie’s saving grace. She provides more magic with an arched eyebrow than all of the special effects combined.   Natalie Portman gives it her all, but the over-directed arthouse drama “Lucy in the Sky” is a misfire. The movie is a fictionalized version of the case of former NASA astronaut Lisa Nowak who was infamously tried in 2007 for the attempted kidnapping of a romantic rival. The premise asserts that astronauts have some kind of existential crisis…

Gary Oldman has always been a busy actor, but since picking up his Oscar as Winston Churchill in 2017’s “Darkest Hour,” he’s made ten more movies. If the horror entry “Mary” is any indicator, perhaps Oldman should seriously consider slowing down the pace a bit. In what is essentially a haunted house movie set at sea, Oldman plays David, a struggling sailboat captain trying to keep his head above water financially. Against the better judgement of his longsuffering wife, played by Emily Mortimer, David buys a ramshackle sailboat that was discovered after years of apparent abandonment. After some paint and plenty of elbow grease, David, his wife, two daughters and a two-man crew hop on the boat named Mary and set sail for (where else?) the Bermuda Triangle.   The actors are too good for this material and they do their best to add some spark to an overly familiar script. “Mary” isn’t terrible, it just drifts.   Also opening this week, Will Smith stars in “Gemini Man” a sci-fi effort about an assassin who goes to battle with a much younger clone of himself. Oscar-winner Ang Lee directs. “Addams Family” is a computer animated reboot of the popular horror…

Joaquin Phoenix gives a riveting performance in “Joker,” undoubtedly one of the more controversial and provocative movies of the year. Can the hard knocks of life rob a person of the gift of empathy? On one hand, that seems to be the story’s underlying theme, but, intentional or not, “Joker” is sending mixed messages.   This character study attempts to explain why a seemingly nice guy turned to the dark side long before he became Batman’s evil nemesis. Phoenix plays Arthur Fleck, a party clown and wannabe standup comic just barely surviving in bleak 1970s Gotham City. Things never go his way. A mix of mental illness, societal apathy and social class strife are enough to push him over the edge. The ensuing violence and unrelenting darkness make “Joker” excruciating to sit through.   Writer/director Todd Phillips is best known for his broad comedies like “Old School” and the “Hangover” trilogy. His turn to the dark side is skillful enough to be taken seriously even though the movie is sometimes repetitious and its point of view, muddled. That leaves us with Phoenix’s immersive performance to carry the day…and carry it, he does. Phoenix may well become the second actor to…

If ever there were a role designed to attract gold statuettes, this is it. The last tragic months in the life of Hollywood legend Judy Garland provide Renée Zellweger the role of a lifetime in “Judy.” After 30 years of drugs, insomnia and loveless marriages, Garland attempts a comeback on the London stage. Zellweger captures the physical and emotional fragility of the offstage Judy even though she’s not quite able to nail Garland’s on-stage magnetism. The movie’s execution is pedestrian, but Zellweger’s empathetic performance boosts “Judy” a notch above the standard biopic.   Following “Smallfoot” and “Missing Link,” the animated family flick “Abominable” is the third animated movie about a yeti in the past year…and it’s probably the best of the three. A young abominable snowman escapes from an evil corporation. A teen girl and two friends help the magical creature return to his home on Mount Everest. Although the story feels like they were making it up as they went along, “Abominable” is a likable and beautifully animated fantasy.   From the “What on Earth were they thinking?” file comes the redneck comedy, “The Death of Dick Long.” Two bumbling hicks in a small Southern town dump a bleeding…

Brad Pitt takes an impassioned space odyssey in the earnest sci-fi epic, “Ad Astra.” Pitt plays an astronaut who is sent to the far reaches of our solar system to see if he can locate his long-lost scientist father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, who is believed to still be living on a remote research facility orbiting Neptune. Problem is, dear old dad’s pesky experiments appear to be bombarding Earth with deadly rays.   Written and directed by James Gray, this ambitious film attempts nothing less than to probe the emotional gravity of the father-son relationship. Pitt gives an extremely subtle but utterly effective performance which carries the movie to the stars. Plus, the visuals in this big screen spectacle are truly sensational. Problem is, “Ad Astra” lacks a satisfying conclusion. It takes us on an intriguing and involving journey, but the destination is empty space.   Also opening this week, Sylvester Stallone returns to the role of “Rambo” for the fifth time in the action thriller, “Rambo: Last Blood.” This time out, the former Green Beret veteran goes to Mexico to save his niece kidnapped by a cartel.  And, yes, Stallone is already planning a sixth entry in the…

Jennifer Lopez gives an assured and charismatic performance in “Hustlers,” the true story of some Manhattan strippers who, during the financial crisis of 2008, began drugging and ripping off their […]

The post Freeze Frame: “Hustlers” (R), “Official Secrets” (R), “Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken” (PG-13), “Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of My Voice” (PG-13) appeared first on KKFI.

Jillian Bell gives a star-making performance in the comic drama, “Brittany Runs a Marathon,” the story of an overweight Manhattan party girl who tries to break out of her personal rut through running. It’s smart and often funny. The only problem is that this story about a marathon is its pace. Still, "Brittany" finishes strong. “Tigers Are Not Afraid” is a Mexican horror fantasy for the arthouse crowd. The drug wars and childhood homelessness cross paths with magic realism in this beautifully filmed but disturbing and gritty adult fairytale. It doesn’t all work, but it’s impressive just the same. Wanna see lots of spectacular car wrecks? Then the Indy car film “Rapid Response” fills the bill. It’s about the rise of emergency medical teams on race sites and the safety protocols that have significantly reduced injuries and fatalities over the years. It’s a surprisingly engaging documentary. “David Crosby: Remember My Name” is a documentary about the notoriously contemptuous rock icon who managed to alienate virtually everyone he worked with while simultaneously making some great pop music. While involving, the movie is as enigmatic as its subject. Rebecca Romijn stars as the head of a witches’ coven searching for a virgin…

Two of America’s finest actresses attempt a gender flip remake of the acclaimed 2006 Danish drama, “After the Wedding.” Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams both do terrific wrok here, but their performances aren’t enough to help this soapy reboot make an effective emotional connection. Moore plays a zillionaire corporate executive who manipulates the charity-minded Williams into attending her daughter’s wedding. Things get increasingly implausible as we discover her ulterior motives. “After the Wedding” is watchable, but only for the chance to see two formidable talents share the screen. “After the Wedding” is no honeymoon.   If tales of sex, drugs and eighties rock give you pangs of nostalgia, then the unrated Mexican drama “This is Not Berlin” may have some appeal for you. The bohemian nightlife scene of 80s Mexico City provides the backdrop for this coming-of-age story about a couple of teen boys who get in over their heads when they explore their town’s equivalent of Andy Warhol’s Factory. While the movie effectively establishes a gritty atmosphere and captures a sense of time and place, the story is very self-indulgent and off-putting and the various plot points are tied up a bit too neatly. Intentional or not, “This is…

“Ready or Not” is a shamelessly violent and deranged horror comedy. Samara Weaving is sharp as a woman who marries into an eccentric, spectacularly wealthy family only to be forced to participate in a deadly game of hide and seek. It’s ugly gore played for laughs. If you’ve got the properly twisted sense of humor, you’re ready for “Ready or Not.”   In the sweet-natured drama “The Peanut Butter Falcon,” Shia LaBeouf plays a fugitive who befriends a runaway with Downs Syndrome and the duo embark on a river raft adventure. While some elements don’t ring true, it’s a funny and disarming crowd-pleaser.   “Nightingale” is a beautifully filmed and acted historical revenge drama set in the Australian bush in 1825. A young Irish convict teams with an Aboriginal Australian tracker to seek bloody justice on the British military personnel who murdered her husband and baby. The story is compelling, but the savage violence depicted is almost sadistic in its brutality, making “Nightingale” a very difficult watch.   “Once Child Nation” is an intriguing and heartbreaking documentary about China’s oppressive population control policy which lasted 30 years. Told from a personal perspective, it’s both a stark history lesson and a…

If your idea of cinematic hilarity is hearing three sixth grade boys cuss like sailors and chat on and on about sex and drugs, have I got the movie for you. “Good Boys” is like a pre-teen “Superbad,” a raunchy R-rated movie that’s stars are so young, they wouldn’t be allowed in to see it. Jacob Tremblay, Keith L. Williams and Brady Noon play close pals who make some bad decisions that set the farce into motion. The three lads are appealing, and the movie has some very funny moments. While much of the risqué elements seem forced, “Good Boys” has a good-natured vibe that almost redeems it. Almost.   While much of the comic drama “Blinded by the Light” feels a bit sentimental and warmed-over, the infectious goodwill of this true story may well break down your resistance. In 1987, the life of a teen Pakistani-Brit changes forever when he discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen. Listening to The Boss inspires him to become a writer and to face his considerable challenges head-on. You don’t have to be a Springsteen fan to enjoy “Blinded by the Light,” but it helps.   If you’re unfamiliar with “Angry Birds,” you’re probably…