Search for 2017
Fictional Frontiers/Berardinelli podcasts for September 6 & October 5, 2017.
If one looks back at U.S. history during the 1970s, the importance of The Washington Post immediately becomes clear. The paper, which began the decade as just another local daily with little national prominence, concluded it as an important b...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-12-22
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Violence)
Genre: Drama
Director: Steven Spielberg
Cast: Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Bob Odenkirk, ...
A combination of fanciful conjecture and historical fact, Professor Marston & the Wonder Women represents not only a historical primer on sexual repression during the first half of the 20th Century but unlocks the code to “understanding” wh...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-10-13
MPAA Rating: "R" (Sexual Content, Profanity, Nudity)
Genre: Drama
Director: Angela Robinson
Cast: Luke Evans, Rebecca Hall, Bella Heathcote, ...
I’m not feeling the love. Raw, the 2016 French/Belgian horror film, has received considerable praise across the international cinematic landscape for its contribution to the genre. However, what Raw offers isn’t so much original as it is a repack...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-03-17
MPAA Rating: "R" (Violence, Gore, Sexual Content, Nudity, Profanity)
Genre: Horror
Director: Julia Ducournau
Cast: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella
Rebel in the Rye, which tells the story of author J.D. Salinger, falls into the pernicious trap that ensnares many a bio-pic: trying to present too broad a chronology in too limited a time. Utilizing an unwieldy structure that involves a flash...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-09-15
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Content, War Violence)
Genre: Drama
Director: Danny Strong
Cast: Nicholas Hoult, Kevin Spacey, Sarah Paulson, ...
Five 2017 films, many of which I recommend, that I feel have been overrated by many critics.
The 2017 Top 10 (plus eight honorable mentions).
Denzel Washington is one of the great actors of his generation so how he got involved in this muddled film, with its grandiose dialogue and meandering narrative, is a real head-scratcher. Even more puzzling is why he agreed to use make-up and ...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-11-22
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Violence, Profanity)
Genre: Drama/Thriller
Director: Dan Gilroy
Cast: Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Carmen Ejogo, ...
Now that Hollywood has discovered the female audience, the studios aren’t shy about “counterprogramming” as means of attraction. Rough Night is being released into the heart of the summer season, set up for a head-to-head struggle with th...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-06-16
MPAA Rating: "R" (Profanity, Sexual Content, Drugs, Violence)
Genre: Comedy
Director: Lucia Aniello
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Jillian Bell, Zoe Kravatz, ...
Watching The Sense of an Ending, I was struck by the realization that this should have been a good movie. Unfortunately, as is too often the case, something didn’t translate from the written page to the big screen. The source material, Julian B...
U.S. Release Date: 2017-03-17
MPAA Rating: "PG-13" (Profanity, Sexual Content)
Genre: Drama
Director: Ritesh Batra
Cast: Jim Broadbent, Charlotte Rampling, Harriet Walter, ...