Entries by Bob Marshall

One Battle After Another – 7.7

A propulsive story of domestic revolution that is eerily prescient in Trump’s America. Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti (as the young Willa) are beyond superb and the action scenes and cast of thousands are directed seamlessly. The hole in the middle, though, is Leonardo DiCaprio, never my favorite actor. We […]

Fall Theater ’25

Let’s Love  Three hilarious playlets by Ethan Coen (of the Coen brothers) that are so wonderfully raunchy the evening would more appropriately have been called “Let’s Have Sex.” Aubrey Plaza is merely the best of a fine crew of actors, while a delicious off-Broadway troubadour serenades between sets. The humor comes from each character’s own hangups, […]

Highest 2 Lowest – 5

A clunky movie. Denzel Washington was neither believable nor interesting as a record company executive (think Berry Gordy), and we had to watch him the entire movie. A rare misfire by Spike Lee, based on a Kurosawa film that wasn’t that great to begin with.

Thursday Murder Club – 5

A faithful re-creation for the screen of Richard Osman’s charming novel, unfortunately without its charm. Too much plot, too little air for the characters to breathe, and too recognizable actors in the roles, with Pierce Brosnan especially out of place.

Americana. – 8

What distinguishes America, according to a character in this movie, is “imagination,” which might be another word for greed. Director Tony Tost gives us an array of mid- to low-lifes, the kind you might find at a remote Badlands diner, in a smart, funny take on American dreams, in the language of Quentin Tarantino, which […]

Sorry, Baby – 7

Very indie. Writer/director/star Eva Victor is charmingly quirky (or quirkily charming?) as an English professor (really?), her inexplicable bff (Naomie Ackie) not so much. The random chapters reminded me of a collection of ’60s-era New Yorker short stories. Once I got over the seeming aimlessness and screechy sound I settled in and felt proud to […]

Weapons – 7.5

This six-chapter horror film had me alternately cringing in my seat and laughing out loud. Writer/director Zach Cregger adroitly handled the mashup of quotidian and supernatural with a style that was engaging and captivating and kept you from questioning the absurdity of it all, right up to the explosive ending. Josh Brolin and Julia Garner […]

F1 – 7.8

It was formulaic, but why shouldn’t it be? It’s fun to immerse yourself in a different world, and Formula 1 is that.  Not understanding the sport, I couldn’t tell how accurate it was or even understand what was happening, which was probably a plus. Instead I could just admire Brad Pitt being Brad Pitt, the […]