Over the past two weeks, Hammer to Nail published five reviews I wrote about films at the recent AFI DOCS … More
Category: movie reviews
“The Neon Demon” is Beautiful, Bloody and Utterly Vacuous
The Neon Demon (Nicolas Winding Refn, 2016) O beauty! O torpor! O glory! O pain! Has the world ever seen … More
From Hammer to Nail: “As I AM: the Life and Time$ of DJ AM,” “Land and Shade,” “Off the Rails” and “Raiders! The Story of the Greatest Fan Film Ever Made”
Over the past two weeks, I once more wrote reviews for 4 films currently out in some kind of distribution, all published … More
In Powerful “Dheepan,” the Past Is Always with Us
Dheepan (Jacques Audiard, 2015) Dheepan is a man out of place and out of time, adrift in a world not … More
“Central Intelligence” Is Smart About Its Dumb Comedy
Central Intelligence (Rawson Marshall Thurber, 2016) Dwayne Johnson – the former pro wrestler once known as “The Rock” – has, … More
Swimming Pays Off: “Finding Dory” Is a Worthy Sequel, If Not As Perfect As Its Predecessor
Finding Dory (Angus MacLane/Andrew Stanton, 2016) Last year, Pixar gave us two new films, both original scripts: Inside Out and The … More
In “The Conjuring 2,” the Power of Christ Doesn’t Quite Compel Us
The Conjuring 2 (James Wan, 2016) Three years ago, Australian director James Wan (Saw) served up The Conjuring, a somewhat tasty – if … More
Dan Rodricks’ Roughly Speaking Podcast on the Films of Spring and Summer 2016
Today, Linda DeLibero – Director, Film and Media Studies, Johns Hopkins University – and Christopher Llewellyn Reed (that’s me) – Chair and Professor, Department … More
4 Film Reviews on Hammer to Nail: “Holy Hell,” “The Ones Below,” “The Other Side” and “Weiner”
Over the past two weeks, on top of my remaining coverage of the 2106 Maryland Film Festival, I have written … More
“Me Before You” – Better Luck Next Cry
Me Before You (Thea Sharrock, 2016) Thirtysomething Will Traynor has everything going for him: he’s handsome, athletic, insanely rich and … More