“Whiplash” is at once thrilling and horrifying. The story of a talented young jazz drummer and his cruelly sadistic mentor features powerful performances from Miles Teller and J.K. Simmons and editing so intricate and masterful, it feels like jazz itself. (Like, seriously, it should win every possible editing award there...
Read more
Video
What the Flick?! — The Judge
This courtroom drama feels like an overlong, overstuffed adaptation of a John Grisham airport paperback from the mid-1990s. It is clearly the work of a comedy director (David Dobkin) trying desperately to do something more substantive. But it has a few moments that earn their demands to be taken seriously,...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
The Judith Viorst children’s book is merely a springboard for this family-friendly comedy, which isn’t as cloying as it looks and features an appealing weird streak. You could do worse....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — St. Vincent
Some thoughts on the feel-good Bill Murray drama “St. Vincent,” which I saw and no one else did. It’s kinda terrible....
Read moreGone Girl
20th Century Fox Rated R for a scene of bloody violence, some strong sexual content/nudity, and language. Running time: 145 minutes. Three and a half stars out of four. There’s a particular kind of narcissism that comes with being an only child. You are the confident center of your own...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Left Behind
A movie about the Rapture starring Nicolas Cage should be wackier than this. As an airline pilot who has to fly a plane under difficult circumstances of biblical proportions, Cage is oddly inert. You want him to bring the wide-eyed, full-bore crazy; instead he’s the calm voice of reason. But...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Gone Girl
Matt, Bibbs and I all went a little nuts for “Gone Girl.” This is our sans-spoiler review, so we tried to rave sufficiently about the film without giving too much away. But a spoilertastic edition follows, so be sure to watch that, too — but only once you’ve seen the...
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Gone Girl Spoiler Talk
Don’t watch this until you’ve seen “Gone Girl”! Seriously. Matt, Bibbs and I go indepth on the film’s many twists and surprises....
Read moreWhat the Flick?! — Annabelle
The trailers make this creepy-doll horror flick look positively cringe-inducing. Instead, the prequel to “The Conjuring” is just silly and screechy, and — with the exception of a couple of decent jolts — not really scary after all....
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Jimi: All Is By My Side
The makers of the new musical drama about Jimi Hendrix, “Jimi: All Is By My side” took a potential obstacle — the Hendrix estate’s refusal to grant access to any of his music — and turned it into an opportunity. Writer-director John Ridley’s film focuses on the year before Hendrix...
Read more