In Ultra-Violent “London Has Fallen,” the Means Are Always Justified

London Has Fallen (Babak Najafi, 2016) Secret Service Agent Mike Banning, like Die Hard‘s John McLane before him, always seems to … More

Three Oscar-Nominated Documentaries Worth Watching on Netflix

Lucky you! There’s still time to watch a few more of the Oscar-nominated documentary films before the February 28, 2016, … More

In “Triple 9,” Much to Our (Lack of) Surprise, Crime Doesn’t Pay

Triple 9 (John Hillcoat, 2016) “The code on the street is never black and white,” reads the tagline on the … More

Made with Passion, “Touched with Fire” Ultimately Flickers, Rather Than Burns

Touched with Fire (Paul Dalio, 2015) Is manic depression a prerequisite for artistic genius? That is one of the questions … More

Mr. Reed’s Metaphysical Neighborhood on the 2016 Oscar-Nominated Live-Action Shorts

I have a piece up at Hammer to Nail on the 2016 Oscar-nominated documentary shorts. Those 5 films set the bar very … More

Mr. Reed’s Metaphysical Neighborhood on the 2016 Oscar-Nominated Animated Shorts

I have a piece up at Hammer to Nail on the 2016 Oscar-nominated documentary shorts. Those 5 films set the bar … More

My “Hammer to Nail” Reviews of Criterion “Gilda” Blu-ray and Sundance Festival’s “Pleasure. Love.”

I had two pieces published in Hammer to Nail last week, one a review of the Criterion Collection‘s new Blu-ray release of … More

“The Witch” Casts a Strong Spell Until It Breaks It at the End

The Witch (Robert Eggers, 2015) Even having done no research on the film beforehand, watching The Witch I could tell that … More

In Self-Congratulatory, Smug and Intellectually Lazy “Where to Invade Next,” It’s Michael Moore Who Needs Saving

Where to Invade Next (Michael Moore, 2015) Where to invade next? Where to start . . . ? Filmmaker Michael … More

Jokey Violence and All, the Delightful “Deadpool” Reinvigorates Its Genre

Deadpool (Tim Miller, 2016) As I feel obliged to mention every time I write a review of a new film … More