By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ Sofia Coppola’s On the Rocks, like her Lost in Translation, is a slow but entertaining burn playing out as a satisfying analysis of relationships. Her stars Rashida Jones and Bill Murray offer realistic and witty portrayals as father and daughter maneuvering very different lives. Coppola, as she did with her… Continue reading ON THE ROCKS
Author: Laurie Coker
THE EMPTY MAN
By Laurie Coker Rating: D+ Empty and idiotic about sums up the “horror/thriller” The Empty Man. Running an interminable two hours and seventeen minutes, writer/director David Prior’s vision never takes flight. Prior adapts his script from the popular graphic novel of the same name, but far too much goes unexplained and underplayed to garner attention… Continue reading THE EMPTY MAN
TAKE OUT GIRL
By Laurie Coker Rating: C+ Take Out Girl is a little Indy film that almost could have been – great. Director Hisonni Johnson can’t quite pull off the tension necessary to capture the heart of the deeply disturbing story of desperation and deceit. Rich characters and a solid cast offer promise but the film falls… Continue reading TAKE OUT GIRL
Synchronic
By Laurie Coker Rating: C Filmmaking partners Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, best known for off-Hollywood-type films, team up in Synchronic, a sci-fi mystery starring Anthony Mackie and Jamie Dornan. Playing on their knack for arthouse-style filmmaking, the directing duo delves into some dark places -physical and mental – creating what might have been a… Continue reading Synchronic
REBECCA
By Laurie Coker Rating: C There is wonder in the escapism of classic literature. I love the beauty of a well-filmed period piece. Based on the riveting 1938 Daphne Du Maurier novel, director Ben Wheatley presents a tale of love and secrecy set against the backdrop of breathtaking Hartland Quay in Devon and Hatfield House… Continue reading REBECCA
HUBIE HALLOWEEN
By Laurie Coker Rating: C- Keeping the kids entertained these can be nearly impossible and with all the CDC expectations for avoiding normal Halloween activities, parents are trying to get creative. Old favorites in spooky family fun are streaming and on-demand, but Adam Sandler and a host of other familiar faces, like Steve Buscemi, Rob… Continue reading HUBIE HALLOWEEN
AVA
By: Laurie Coker Rating: D By virtue of the genre, thrillers should be thrilling and Ava, starring Jessica Chastain falls short in countless ways. Instead of using his exceptional cast better, director Tate Taylor relies on clichés and wow-able international sets. Chastain puts heart and soul into the role of a former drug-abuser turned hitwoman… Continue reading AVA
RATCHED – a Netflix Series
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ I taught the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest as a senior English teacher and many of my students agree that Nurse Ratched is one of the most interesting antagonists ever written. In the 1975 film version of the novel, Louis Fletcher put the perfect pursed puss on the… Continue reading RATCHED – a Netflix Series
TENET
By Laurie Coker Rating: B+ I remember sitting through Inception and leaving confused and unimpressed. I watched it again and some aspects became clearer, but I never really did love the film. With Tenet, the ride, even in reverse action, entertains and engages completely. Action-packed from the first moment, Christopher Nolan’s thriller, like Inception, bends… Continue reading TENET
ENTWINED
By Laurie Coker Rating: D+/C- Entwined demonstrates how a director can lose his way as he tells his story. Minos Nikolakakis’ takes on more than he can handle in his fairytale horror pick set in tiny cabin in an ominous forest. While his imagery is stunning, Nikolakakis delivers little in the way of entertainment. Encumbered… Continue reading ENTWINED