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A loose adaptation of F.W. Murnau’s classic 1922 silent filmof the same name, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu returns the vampire to its original designation as a creature of death rather than a tragic, romantic figure. The emasculated Dracula has bee...

Sometimes, it's all about execution. There are times when a movie can boast a compelling premise, yet translating that idea into reality defeats the filmmakers. Maybe the screenplay sucks, the actors aren’t up to snuff, or the tone is all over t...

On the Basis of Sex is a perfectly adequate bio-pic focused on the early life and courtroom baptism of now-Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Although less illuminating and more filled with Hollywood claptrap than the recent documentary hagiography ...

Historical dramas aren't as popular as they were during the years when they were routinely clogging Oscar nomination lists and taking home awards, so it's a source of curiosity every time one comes out to see what concessions have been made to incr...

While watching The Outfit, a new film from director Graham Moore, I was reminded of the classic Sleuth – not in terms of specific plot points but in the way the film employs misdirection to increase the level of suspense, and also in the use of ...

Pariah is obviously heartfelt, and is clearly a subject close to writer/director Dee Rees' heart; this is a remake/expansion upon a 2007 short film she made (with most of the same cast). The movie boasts an honest, unfettered performance by Adepero...

Phantom Thread, Paul Thomas Anderson’s follow-up to 2014’s Inherent Vice, feels a little like a mash-up of Bergman and Hitchcock without the verve of the latter and the subtleties of the former. What begins as a stately costume drama set i...

The older he has gotten, the more offbeat his films have become. Now, to be clear, Wes Anderson has never been a conventional filmmaker. His movies have always appealed more to niche audiences than mainstream ones. (My favorite of his oeuvre, ...

To lump The Pianist in with all of the other Holocaust stories brought to the screen does a great disservice to this powerful, compelling motion picture. Crafted without a whiff of melodrama, this motion picture takes a steady, unflinching look at...

Despite arriving on North American screens mid-way through the month of November with a cast that features three previous Academy Award nominees (Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kenneth Branagh, Emma Thompson) and a similarly honored writer/director (Richa...