Not sure which film to pick among the fray out in theaters right now? Allow the members of the Houston Film Critics Society to assist you with their reviews below:
Charlie’s Angels
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “Filmmaker Elizabeth Banks delivers a pleasant surprise for a franchise reboot no one asked for.”
Pete Vonder Haar (Houston Press) — “If Hollywood has to keep rebooting decades-old properties in order to keep turning audiences upside down and shaking them for the precious change in their pockets, they could do a lot worse than this.”
Travis Leamons (FreshFiction.TV) — “…a low calorie, action-comedy dessert to devour.”
Ford v. Ferrari
Alan Cerny (Vital Thrills) — “… a good, perfectly enjoyable movie, even while thematically, it’s spinning its wheels.”
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “There is a lot more talking than racing. The screenplay has a structure quite similar to Seabiscuit but never rises to the level of articulation or integrity of that film.”
James Cole Clay VII (FreshFiction.TV) — “The real crime here is how painfully bland this story becomes in spite of the breezy pace of the film.”
Donna Copeland (Dr. Donna’s Film Reviews) — “… will be appealing primarily to car racing enthusiasts who will be fascinated by what went into the 1966 Le Mans race.”
James Roberts (Glide Magazine) — “
The Report
Donna Copeland (Dr. Donna’s Movie Reviews) — “A real-life drama depicting the reactions of Washington’s politicos to the 9-1-1 disaster.”
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “… is dense and contemplative as it slowly builds to a tactile and thrilling conclusion with an award worthy performance from Bening.”
James Cole Clay VII (FreshFiction.TV) — “Burns made a film ripe with tension that approaches this issue from a bipartisan standpoint.”
Warrior Queen of Jhansi
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “… is more ambitious educational classroom video than epic cinematic experience.”
Joe Leydon (Variety) — “… despite some impressively executed battle sequences and a few aggressively colorful supporting performances, The Warrior Queen of Jhansi is too tepidly sincere to consistently excite or amuse.”
The Good Liar
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “McKellen and Mirren are everything you want, it’s too bad the other elements don’t share their energy.”
Donna Copeland (Dr. Donna’s Film Reviews) — “An entertaining, intriguing story lit up by charismatic actors in a delightful ruse.”
Travis Leamons (Inside Pulse) — “… an enjoyable play on con artist motifs that have come before.”
Craig D. Lindsey (Salt Lake City Weekly) — “Condon and screenwriter Jeffrey Hatcher seesaw between black comedy and weighty drama, turning what could’ve been a nifty, naughty ball of suspense into an unwieldy, obvious slog.”
Waves
Dustin Chase (Texas Art & Film) — “Film editor Isaac Hagy creates a vortex of no escape, quickly sucking us into this drama.”
Donna Copeland (Dr. Donna’s Movie Reviews) — “A gripping drama that highlights a black family’s struggle to achieve their aspirations.”
[INTERVIEW] Cary Darling (Houston Chronicle) — with director Trey Edward Shults.
[INTERVIEW] James Cole Clay VII (FreshFiction.TV) — with director Trey Edward Shults.
Earthquake Bird
Nguyen Le (InSession Film) — “If the frames are converted into data for a seismograph to read, be ready to see mainly flat lines.”
