Here are some reviews of films coming out at the theater this week as well as others that may be in theaters or newly on home video.
Opening: Nov. 9, 2018
Wide (United States)
The Girl in the Spider’s Web
The Grinch
Overlord
Limited (United States)
The Front Runner
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: Snappy Sorkin-esque banter, 80s nostalgia, and Hugh Jackman in a bad wig yet still hot as hell. But also an enraging, ironic look at how a reality-TV resume ended up becoming a legit qualification for the American presidency.
The Front Runner
Aaron Neuwirth @ We Live Entertainment
- Excerpt: Set to be released on the day of 2018’s midterm elections, there’s a case to be made for the apparent relevance of The Front Runner, it’s just a shame director Jason Reitman holds back from providing a more in-depth examination of his subject.
2018 Films In Theaters Now In Select Areas
Beautiful Boy
Bohemian Rhapsody
The Old Man and the Gun
A Star Is Born
At Eternity’s Gate
Aaron Neuwirth @ We Live Entertainment
- Excerpt: Many films have looked at the broader aspects of Vincent van Gogh’s life and beyond, but At Eternity’s Gate examines what it would be like to be in the head of this tortured artist.
The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
Aaron Neuwirth @ We Live Entertainment
- Excerpt: Following the idiosyncratic filmmaking duo’s salute to the Golden Age of Hollywood with Hail, Caesar!, here’s a film that once again gives way to their more sardonic sensibilities.
Between Worlds
Ron Wilkinson @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: Nick and Franka develop an off-beat chemistry in a light duty possession noir.
Bloodline
Ron Wilkinson @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: Revenge thriller stays in safe territory with good effects and a sound plot, but better things are yet to come.
A Bread Factory, Part One
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: The prime mastermind of this fascinating approach to storytelling is Patrick Wang (“In the Family”), a multi-talented, handsome, brilliant MIT economic major who wrote and directed this rich feast of dramatic excellence.
A Bread Factory, Part Two
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: In case “Part One” wasn’t experimental enough, this time Wang incorporates the ancient Greek play, “Hecuba,” to produce an intellectual banquet.
Chasing Portraits
Colette
Rob DiCristino @ F This Movie!
Colette
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Keira Knightley unites the disparate events of this gorgeous costume drama with a performance that seizes our attention. Her achievement ranks among her very best.
First Man
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Josh Singer’s screenplay is more interested in Neil Armstrong the man, than in detailing what the rest of the world was thinking. That gives First Man a unique perspective on this story.
The Guilty
Ron Wilkinson @ Its Just Movies
- Excerpt: Reality meets fantasy in this well-scripted, well-acted, cautionary tale about truth and lies.
Halloween
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: The hunted Laurie isn’t a helpless victim, but rather a tenacious woman ready for her adversary. This is a horror film for the #MeToo era.
The Hate U Give
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: The Hate U Give takes on a complex subject and somehow manages to expertly weave in comedy, drama, tragedy, and sadness all within the framework to create a fully realized portrait a young woman’s life.
Here and Now
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: The film believes itself to be more than the quiet, contemplative emotional study it might have been. It unfortunately can’t sustain that goal.
The House, the Hand and the Hatchet
Larger Than Life: The Kevyn Aucoin Story
The Long Dumb Road
Aaron Neuwirth @ We Live Entertainment
- Excerpt: Jason Mantzoukas gets his chance to shine in a leading role.
Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: How she trained her cats, how she progressed through the male-dominated circus business and how her marriages affected her career is revealed in Leslie Zemeckis’s inspirational documentary.
Monsoon
Jared Mobarak @ JaredMobarak.com
- Excerpt: Monsoon is at its best when it lets its characters be vulnerable enough to slide into a rage that can’t simply be shrugged off with a laugh.
On Her Shoulders
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: Alexandria Bombach, director, cinematographer, and editor, sensitively orchestrates this haunting documentary that captures the essence of Nadia, who has no family pictures or friends or relatives to interview. Her camera’s eye exposes Nadia’s aloneness, her blank stare, her listless regard for herself as she softly says, “I am worthless.”
Prospect
MaryAnn Johanson @ FlickFilosopher.com
- Excerpt: Smart, gritty-stylish indie science fiction that is actually about ideas, and about building a future world that is authentic and lived-in. It has a really memorable teen-girl protagonist, too, who is badass but still a real kid.
The Rainbow Bridge Motel
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: You shouldn’t be surprised [by the broadly hyperbolic comedy] considering Rubin’s National Lampoon background. To his credit, however, he’s also tackling a lot of honest and poignant issues beneath that veneer.
A Simple Favor
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: There has to be a modicum of respect for your own characters so the audience can be invested in their plight. Quite simply, these characters lack depth.
Sorry to Bother You
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: Boots Riley’s out-of-nowhere satire plays like something Putney Swope‘s long-lost grandson might have dreamed up after an all-night pot-smoking session.
Suspiria
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: The many subplots make for a horror film that’s overlong at two-and-a-half hours, but when it’s at its best, it has moments of witchy intensity that match [the original].
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead
Betty Jo Tucker @ ReelTalk Movie Reviews
- Excerpt: Fans of Orson Welles should not miss this revealing documentary about Welles’ last film, ” The Other Side of the Wind.”
Three Identical Strangers
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Three Identical Strangers is fascinating, but I still had many questions.
The Truth About Killer Robots
Jared Mobarak @ The Film Stage
- Excerpt: So while The Truth About Killer Robots doesn’t tell us anything we don’t already know, Pozdorovkin expertly curates these stories, philosophies, and dangers into a narrative that explains how Skynet should never have been our greatest fear. It’s always been ourselves.
A Twelve-Year Night
- Excerpt: A biographical piece, A Twelve Year Night will appeal profoundly to those who analyze ideological sanity of individuals who fight against oppressive political changes. Actors Antonio de la torre, Chino Darín and Alfonso Tort pitch in spellbinding performances.
What They Had
Rob DiCristino @ F This Movie!
The Wife
Mark Hobin @ Fast Film Reviews
- Excerpt: Director Björn Runge understands his star is the main attraction. Glenn Close is the reason to see The Wife.
The Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin
Bev Questad @ It’s Just Movies
- Excerpt: A glorious tribute to a captivatingly astute writer, “Worlds of Ursula K. Le Guin” intermixes original images and motion graphics of the environments described in Le Guin books to tell the story of one of the greatest science fiction writers in the last 100 years.
2017 Films
Zama
Gregory J. Smalley @ 366 Weird Movies
- Excerpt: It may too effectively capture the feeling of being trapped in a stifling, dull job while wishing you were somewhere else.
