Ed Lauter

Layers of real life and movie history combine cleverly in this postmodern horror film, which just might be too knowing for its own good. But at least it's an unusual approach to the genre, offering a twisted retelling of a legend while aiming for some emotional resonance along with the usual violent nastiness. It's also directed with an unusually artful eye by first-time filmmaker Alfonso Gomez-Rejon.

It was a series of unsolved murders in a small town on the Texas-Arkansas border in 1946 that inspired the 1976 movie of the same name, which screens here annually on Halloween. But this year, the screening is accompanied by a copycat murder, which escalates into a full-on rampage. Everything seems to centre around Jami (Addison Timlin), a teenager whose boyfriend was the first victim. After her parents died, she was raised by her straight-talking grandmother (Veronica Cartwright), who continually urges her to take charge of her life. So with the local cops unable to solve the case, Jami teams up with the local library archive clerk Nick (Travis Tope) to get the whole history of these past events. Meanwhile, a Texas Ranger (Anthony Anderson) arrives to head up the official investigation.

Screenwriter Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa gleefully blends fact, fiction and the movies together into a heady mixture of horror movie cliches and shockingly realistic grisliness. In other words, this is both a fictional sequel and a playful true-life drama at the same time, which makes it feel eerily like the Scream franchise. Although this film never becomes a pastiche, and the characters are so likeable that we genuinely root for them to survive the killing spree. Timlin brings the right amount of plucky stubbornness to her role, even if it's unlikely that a witness-victim would be quite so gung-ho about doing her own police work. And there are nice turns from veterans like Cartwright, Ed Lautner (as a stubborn cop) and the late Edward Herrmann (as a nutty preacher) to add some weight.

Continue reading: The Town That Dreaded Sundown Review

With beautiful but bland direction and a script that can't help but overstate everything, this film is an odd misstep for Eastwood and his assistant-turned-director Lorenz. Instead of being an intriguing exploration of ageing, the film isn't much more than a trite inspirational drama. Fortunately the solid cast manages to inject some subtle touches here and there that bring out more interesting layers of the issues at hand.

Eastwood plays Gus, a scout for the Atlanta Braves who refuses to admit that he's going blind. And he's also in trouble with his boss (Lillard), who's more interested in computer stats than Gus' finely honed ability to see the potential in young players. As a final test, Gus is sent to scout a rising-star teen pitcher (Massingill). Meanwhile, Gus' high-powered lawyer daughter Mickey (Adams) is up for partnership in her firm. She can barely stand to be in the same room as her dad, but abandons the biggest case of her career to accompany him and help him see this young player, because she's even more adept at spotting talent than he is. Along the way she meets Johnny (Timberlake), a charming scout who helps take her mind off her work and her dad.

This is one of those films that undemanding audiences will think is just fine. It never expects us to think at all, telling us everything that's happening and how everyone is thinking while dropping painfully obvious hints about where the plot is going. So the film feels shallow and superficial even though it touches on some intriguing themes, such as the difficulties of ageing gracefully and mending relationships, or the challenge to move forward without forgetting the old skills.

Continue reading: Trouble With The Curve Review

In 1927, George (Dujardin) is Hollywood's top star, swashbuckling through adventure blockbusters with his faithful sidekick dog Uggy. At one of his premieres he meets Peppy (Bejo), a mystery girl who gets her own shot at stardom as a dancing extra in one of George's films. His grumpy wife (Miller) isn't happy about this. And there's more trouble when the studio boss (Goodman) decides to switch to talkies. So George walks out to make his own silent film, while Peppy becomes a sound-movie star. But she doesn't forget that he gave her a break.

Continue reading: The Artist Review