‘John Wick: Chapter 4’ Goes Down Shooting
Despite an egregious running time and padded plot, the (maybe) conclusion to Keanu Reeves’ series, John Wick: Chapter 4, still serves up some of the original’s delightful weirdness.
crime
In Thriller ‘The Night of the 12th’ Justice Is Absent
French true crime adaptation The Night of the 12th (La nuit du 12) is a response to the fraught relationship between men and women, and the detective as metaphor.
Shunned French Crime Film ‘A Woman Kills’ Slips Out of the Shadowy Margins
French New Wave director Jean-Denis Bonan is among the cursed and damned filmmakers – revered by a few, reviled by most. His formerly shunned A Woman Kills (1968) slips out of the shadowy margins and appears for modern viewers.
‘Raw Wind in Eden’ and the Promise of Almost-Sex
Taken within its lush Hollywood limitations, ‘Raw Wind in Eden’ remains a highly watchable and attractive melodrama that measures a certain depth in the tides of social evolution.
Shirley MacLaine Gives Michael Caine a Lesson in Comedy Thriller ‘Gambit’
Themes of masquerades and flim-flam in the comedy thriller Gambit see Shirley MacLaine’s Nichole Chang giving Michael Caine’s Sir Harry Dean a much-needed lesson.
‘The Pale Blue Eye’ Looks Upon the Poe You Didn’t Know
Scott Cooper’s The Pale Blue Eye has Edgar Allan Poe (Harry Melling) making an unconventional partner to Christian Bale’s 1830s sleuth.
She Acts Like a Man and Men Act Like Monsters in 1950s Noir ‘The Unguarded Moment’
Film noir from the 1950s The Unguarded Moment gives off cozy WASP-American TV vibes for its increasingly sinister and sick Technicolor world.
‘Miss Sherlock’ Homages Sherlock Holmes with an Androgynous Twist
The television show Miss Sherlock bends and twists the conventional Japanese character into something that fills the world of Sherlock Holmes.
Real-Life 1950s Gang Busting Inspired Film Noir ‘The Turning Point’
Remastered and on Blu-ray from Kino Lorber is William Dieterle’s The Turning Point, a noir film at the intersection of several crossroads in America’s early ’50s.
BFI LFF: ‘Argentina, 1985’ Dir. Santiago Mitre on Dictatorship to Democracy
Director Santiago Mitre discusses how his fear for democracies worldwide motivated him to dramatise the Trial of the Juntas in the courtroom drama Argentina, 1985.
‘Arsenic and Old Lace’ Drags America’s History From the Dark Dank Basement
Frank Capra’s America is always on the edge of madness and nightmare. The deeper you dig into his Arsenic and Old Lace, the darker and queasier it becomes.
‘Devil in a Blue Dress’ Is Among Neo-Noir’s Finest Films
Denzel Washington’s voiceover in neo-noir Devil in a Blue Dress is an equal mix of deadpan charm and wide-eyed innocence, which textures and nuances his performance.
