Crisp Criticism - "Logan Lucky", "Wind River", "Una"

by

Julien Faddoul

Logan Lucky **

Two brothers attempt to pull off a heist during a NASCAR race in North Carolina.

Perfectly enjoyable Soderbergh romp with all his expected touches including long takes, breezy performances, a heist plot and caricatured humour on simple-minded America. Certain story vistas seem frivolous, but the whole is a joy.

d – Steven Soderbergh

w – Rebecca Blunt

ph – Peter Andrews

pd – Howard Cummings

m – David Holmes

ed – Mary Ann Bernard

cos – Ellen Mirojnick

p – Reid Carolin, Dan Fellman, Gregory Jacobs

Cast: Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, Daniel Craig, Seth MacFarlane, Riley Keough, Katie Holmes, Katherine Waterston, Hilary Swank, Dwight Yoakam, Sebastian Stan, Farrah Mackenzie, Brian Gleeson, Jack Quaid

Crisp Criticism - "Atomic Blonde", "The Big Sick", "Person to Person", "The Dark Tower"

by

Julien Faddoul

Atomic Blonde **

An undercover MI6 agent is sent to Berlin during the Cold War to investigate the murder of a fellow agent and recover a missing list of double agents.

Exquisite fight sequences – one in particular staged in the stairwell of an apartment building that brilliantly conveys the gravitas involved when such actions take place – help invigorate a fairly risible script with some absurd twists-and-turns. A cascade of style without an ounce of subtlety.

d – David Leitch

w – Kurt Johnstad   (Based on the Graphic Novels by Antony Johnston, Sam Hart)

ph – Jonathan Sela

pd – David Scheunemann

m – Tyler Bates

ed – Elísabet Ronaldsdóttir

cos – Cindy Evans

p – A.J. Dix, Eric Gitter, Beth Kono, Kelly McCormick, Peter Schwerin, Charlize Theron

Cast: Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Boutella, John Goodman, Toby Jones, Eddie Marsan, Bill Skarsgård, James Faulkner, Roland Møller, Sam Hargrave, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Til Schweiger, Lili Gesler

Crisp Criticism - "War for the Planet of the Apes", "Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets", "A Ghost Story"

by

Julien Faddoul

War for the Planet of the Apes **

After the apes suffer horrible losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind.

Certainly, the best of the three prequels in this franchise: Solemn, soulful war film – more specifically prison-camp war film – that consistently interests with its low-key philosophical excursions and provides another example of exquisite performance capture/animation. Its greatest sin is overlength.

d – Matt Reeves

w – Mark Bomback, Matt Reeves   (Based on the Characters Created by Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver)

ph – Michael Seresin

pd – James Chinlund

m – Michael Giacchino

ed – William Hoy, Stan Salfas

cos – Melissa Bruning

p – Peter Chernin, Dylan Clark

Cast: Andy Serkis, Woody Harrelson, Steve Zahn, Karin Konoval, Terry Notary, Ty Olsson, Judy Greer, Max Lloyd-Jones, Devyn Dalton, Sara Canning, Michael Adamthwaite