There are no literal hauntings in Ismael’s Ghosts, a wry, lyrical, but often plodding drama from director Arnaud Desplechin (A Christmas Tale), only metaphorical ones. Freewheeling French filmmaker Ismael Vuillard (Mathieu Amalric), who shares Desplechin’s hometown of Roubaix, is in the process of simultaneously shooting and rewriting a new movie when he and his girlfriend, […]

You can go crazy trying to understand the thinking of people who make and sell Hollywood blockbusters, but what they’ve done with Avengers: Infinity War is fascinating. It was filmed concurrently with its own sequel (due 52 weeks from now), and the movies were first announced as Infinity War: Part 1 and Part 2. But at some […]

You can tell Traffik is a serious movie about scary things because it’s spelled with a “k.” “Traffic,” who cares? But “traffik”?? Watch out! Written and directed by Deon Taylor (Meet the Blacks), this lurid, clumsy thriller is 30 minutes old before it gives any indication what it’s about — sex-trafficking — and even then, it […]

Experience has taught us not to get our hopes up about long-awaited sequels, especially sequels to films whose charms were obscure or quirky to begin with. (It’s hard enough to catch regular lightning twice, let alone cult-favorite lightning.) Super Troopers 2, a followup to comedy troupe Broken Lizard’s minor hit from 2002 about screwy Vermont […]

There are some good ideas and thoughtful insights buried in the very messy I Feel Pretty, a comedy about female self-image that is unsure of its own identity. Directed by screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein, the duo behind such mediocrities as Never Been Kissed, He’s Just Not That Into You, How to Be Single, […]