From its well-cut trailer, The Alto Knights appeared to have all of the requisites of a good studio entertainment—Oscar-winning director Barry Levinson helming, star Robert DeNiro back in beloved mafioso mode and screenwriter Nicolas Pileggi (Goodfellas, Casino, The Irishman) penning another true tale of wise-guy intrigue. Yet watching The…
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There won’t be a better movie performance this year than Jonathan Majors’ work in Magazine Dreams, the beleaguered indie that captured the 2023 Sundance Jury Prize and was headed for awards season consideration—that is, until Majors’ subsequent, high-profile domestic assault arrest and misdemeanor conviction saw…
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With his new spy thriller Black Bag, Steven Soderbergh handily demonstrates that intelligent, made-for-adults entertainment isn’t yet dead. It’s been some time since an American film has made us sit up, lean in and follow a plot that puts us through the paces, and…
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American filmmakers have mostly abandoned incisive political cinema. A few years ago, I lamented this to Oliver Stone, who plainly noted that neither studios nor audiences want political thrillers or government critiques anymore. The new Mickey 17, however, sees a world-class Korean filmmaker using…
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