Crisp Criticism - "Self/Less", "Mr Holmes", "The Gallows", "Ruben Guthrie"

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Julien Faddoul

Self/Less

A dying real estate mogul transfers his consciousness into a healthy young body, but soon finds that neither the procedure nor the company that performed it are quite what they seem.

A surprising outcome from this director, who took a peculiarly tasteless, dreary approach to this sci-fi yarn. It’s stale from the word go.

d – Tarsem Singh

w – David Pastor, Alex Pastor

ph – Brendan Galvin

pd – Tom Foden

m – Dudu Aram, Antonio Pinto

ed – Robert Duffy

cos – Shay Cunliffe

p – Ram Bergman, Peter Schlessel, James D. Stern

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Ben Kingsley, Natalie Martinez Matthew Goode, Michelle Dockery, Melora Hardin, Victor Garber, Sam Page, Derek Luke, Mariana Paola Vicente

Crisp Criticism - "Ant-Man", "Paper Towns", "True Story"

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Julien Faddoul

Ant-Man *

Armed with the ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, a con-man must embrace his inner-hero and protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats.

The leanest of the Marvel films so far, which doesn’t expunge any feeling of gross overfamiliarity. It is lighter in tone, but just as smug and cinematically pedestrian as one might expect.

d – Peyton Reed

w – Edgar Wright, Joe Cornish, Adam McKay, Paul Rudd   (Based on the Comic Book by Stan Lee, Larry Lieber, Jack Kirby)

ph – Russell Carpenter

pd – Shepherd Frankel, Marcus Rowland

m – Christophe Beck

ed – Dan Lebental, Colby Parker Jr.  

cos – Sammy Sheldon

p – Kevin Feige

Cast: Paul Rudd, Michael Douglas, Evangeline Lilly, Corey Stoll, Bobby Cannavale, Judy Greer, Michael Peña, Anthony Mackie, Wood Harris

Crisp Criticism - "Magic Mike XXL", "Love & Mercy", "Madame Bovary"

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Julien Faddoul

Magic Mike XXL **

Three years after Mike bowed out of the stripper life at the top of his game, he and the remaining Kings of Tampa hit the road to Myrtle Beach to put on one last blow-out performance.

A fascinating film: Directed by the first film’s Assistant Director, with Soderbergh both shooting and editing (under his usual pseudonyms). It breathlessly glides from one immaculate set-piece to another while offering really no commentary or even elementary observation to the goings-on, ending in what is essentially a 20-minute filmed stage show. Ultimately, it rides mostly on the charisma of its lead performer.

d – Gregory Jacobs

w – Reid Carolin

ph – Peter Andrews

pd – Howard Cummings

ed – Mary Ann Bernard

cos – Christopher Peterson

p – Nick Wechsler, Channing Tatum, Gregory Jacobs, Reid Carolin

Cast: Channing Tatum, Matt Bomer, Joe Manganiello, Adam Rodríguez, Kevin Nash, Gabriel Iglesias, Jada Pinkett Smith, Donald Glover, Andie MacDowell, Amber Heard, Elizabeth Banks

Crisp Criticism - "Terminator Genisys", "Max", "A Little Chaos", "Awake: The Life of Yogananda"

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Julien Faddoul

Terminator Genisys

John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect Sarah Connor, but when he arrives in 1984, nothing is as he expected it to be.

Obnoxious fan-fiction, totally stagnant and bedeviled by the clichés of older movies.

d – Alan Taylor

w – Laeta Kalogridis, Patrick Lussier   (Based on the Characters Created by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd)

ph – Kramer Morgenthau

pd – Neil Spisak

m – Lorne Balfe

ed – Roger Barton

cos – Susan Matheson

p – David Ellison, Dana Goldenberg

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Emilia Clarke, Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, J.K. Simmons, Dayo Okeniyi, Lee Byung-hun