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IR Film Review: ON THE ROCKS [A24/AppleTV+]
"On The Rocks" is a tale of perspective but also misdirects. It is pretty much a two-hander between Rashida Jones as a daughter whose husband may or may not be straying and her father, a relentless charmer who sometimes is misled in the form of Bill Murray.
IR Film Review: TESLA [IFC]
The ideal of Nikola Tesla as a structure of vision is well documented but his history and prevalence is not. In approaching Tesla as an independent, director Michael Almereyda wants to create a balance of a person haunted by fame but yet in awe of it. His ideas are revolutionary and yet the idea of how to present them to the masses is fraught.
IR Film Review: WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS [Samuel Goldwyn]
The texture of "Waiting For The Barbarians" is an interesting one because it uses the backdrop of what should be North Africa but seemingly in an apocalyptic setting of sorts but a retro one in others (where technology doesn't exist). The eyes of the piece are through Mark Rylance's administrator.
IR Film Review: AN AMERICAN PICKLE [HBO Max]
Rogen understands how to share the screen and be generous, even when he is playing against himself.The premise of "An American Pickle" reflects this literally. Ben's great grandfather returns to modern day Brooklyn because of a pickle mishap. If you actually think of it, the set up is very heartbreaking yet disturbingly and wonderfully nonsensical.
IR Film Review: SUMMERLAND [IFC]
With a story like "Summerland" which is set during World War II in a small town near the Cliffs Of Dover, it becomes more about the texture of acceptance and perception. It is the story of a woman who lives her life alone for a reason, burned in a way by love, which leaves her alienated just as much by the circumstance as she is by the time.
IR Film Review: THE POOL [Shudder]
The simplicity of a film is sometimes a hard aspect to accomplish. While some of the circumstances in "The Pool" are a bit exaggerated, its end result is not.
IR Film Review: LAKE OF DEATH [Shudder]
"Lake Of Death" reflects these ideas in a persistent veil of childhood trauma which is not necessarily balanced within the story. As with some horror movies, it uses the concept of a location, usually far removed from the normal vein of living to act as a surrogate vision for these troubling issues that bubble to the surface and explode in a vein of action.
IR Film Review: GREYHOUND [AppleTV+]
With "Greyhound" which details a crossing of the Atlantic corridor during World War II, Hanks plays the captain of a ship (called "Greyhound") whose job it is to oversee and in a way cut off attacks on the ships (including the supply chain) by elusive U-Boats.
IR Film Review: THE OLD GUARD [Netflix]
With her new film "The Old Guard" premiering on Netflix, Charlize Theron finds a balance but is able to maintain the theatrical feel. While the freedom allowed in the storytelling might be tricky in theatrical, it has undoubted effectiveness here.