Bill Hader and Kristen Wiig have tremendous chemistry as estranged siblings fumbling to reconnect after a decade apart. It’s an unusual dramatic film for them both — although there’s a great deal of twisted laughs in the mix — and the “Saturday Night Live” alumni rise to the challenge spectacularly....
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Reviews
RogerEbert.com — I Am Eleven
Documentarian Genevieve Bailey certainly means well with “I Am Eleven,” in which she interviews 11-year-old boys and girls from around the world on topics ranging from love and marriage to war and religion to culture and the environment. But she’s included so many kids and she skips around between them...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Frontera
“Frontera” is a well-cast, well-made, well-acted drama that you will probably forget about soon after you’ve seen it. Ed Harris stars as a retired sheriff grieving the loss of his wife, who died mysteriously on the couple’s rugged property along the Arizona-Mexico border. Michael Pena co-stars as the immigrant who’s...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Rocks in My Pockets
Latvian-born artist Signe Baumane dares to trace the origins of her depression and suicidal urges throughout her family, and she does so through colorful animation and darkly humorous narration. Her film is both bold and exhausting, but Baumane’s candor is refreshing. My mixed RogerEbert.com review. Read the review here...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — If I Stay
Chloe Grace Moretz’s grounded, naturalistic presence goes a long way toward making mushy material palatable. Director R.J. Cutler adapts the Gayle Forman young adult novel about a teenage girl trapped in an ethereal realm between life and death. Don’t even try to hold back the sobs. My RogerEbert.com review. Read...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Life After Beth
Aubrey Plaza is game as an adorable zombie who becomes increasingly ravenous in this initially clever comedy. But writer-director Jeff Baena, making his feature debut, presents some inspired ideas and scenarios that ultimately go nowhere. My mixed review, at RogerEbert.com. Read the review here...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — Step Up All In
Certainly you don’t go to a “Step Up” movie for the glittering repartee. But alas, one must endure banal dialogue and a flimsy plot in order to enjoy the gravity-defying, acrobatic extravaganzas. It’s enough to make you wish they’d called this fifth film in the franchise “Step Up and Shut...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — The Hundred-Foot Journey
With its feel-good themes about exotic food triumphing over closed-mindedness in a quaint French village, this is essentially a remake of “Chocolat” — and it happens to come from that film’s director, Lasse Hallstrom. Helen Mirren is the uptight owner of an elegant and esteemed French restaurant. Om Puri is...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — 4 Minute Mile
All the underdog sports-movie cliches are in place in this drama about an aging, alcoholic track coach who trains a troubled but talented sprinter to run a mile in four minutes. And yet there’s an efficiency of storytelling, and Richard Jenkins elevates the familiar material simply by showing up and...
Read moreRogerEbert.com — War Story
Catherine Keener stars as a photographer shattered by her experience in Libya in “War Story.” Director and co-writer Mark Jackson’s drama is minimalist to the point of being stultifying, and it squanders Keener’s considerable earthy appeal in a dour role. My RogerEbert.com review. Read the review here...
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