Melanie Dishman's archive

In the Dark: Wes Anderson's latest animated film has bark and bite

The animated cast of Isle of Dogs, Wes Anderson's latest film

A few months ago, sitting through the trailer for this movie, I heard comments around me like “weird,” “interesting,” and, yes, it is kind of weird and interesting. After all it is a Wes Anderson movie so that’s to be expected.

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Quiet film with heart-pounding moments

Never has quiet been so creepy as in this horror story with a heart. Starring real life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt, and directed by Krasinski as well, this is a post-apocalyptic nightmare where, as the title indicates, just one little bump can lead to terrifying consequences.

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In the Dark: You've gotta be crazy to film a movie on an iPhone

Claire Foy in Seven Soderbergh's Unsane

‘Unsane’

Starring: Claire Foy, Jay Pharoah

Directed by: Steven Soderbergh

Rated: R

As a cinematic experiment, this feature is pretty interesting. It was director Steven Soderbergh’s choice to film the entire movie on an iPhone. And it’s obvious that the usual technical aspects we barely notice most of the time are missing here.

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In the Dark: At least sequels offer second chances

Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in Tomb Raider (2018)

The first rule of reboot is make it better than the first version. This doesn’t so much break the rule as it ignore the rule. The biggest change from Angelina Jolie’s two features as adventure seeker Lara Croft to this Alicia Vikander version is an obvious shift from sexy to athletic. Vikander has even been taken to task on social media for her androgynous look by gamers and fans of the video game on which these movies are based.

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Superhero sets up franchise in this first film

Wow. Marvelous Marvel Studios has done it again. “Black Panther” broke all kinds of box office records over its first weekend — advance sales, sales per theater and more — with this highly anticipated movie. “Hype” is a dirty word for most movies because they fail to meet the high expectations, but “Black Panther” comes so close to accomplishing this save for some wobbly direction and a little superhero fatigue. And don’t let that take away from a great movie experience.

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