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Friday, June 15, 2018
Movie Reviews: Incredibles 2, Tag, Hearts Beat Loud, Superfly
American Animals, Gotti
Posted By Scott Renshaw on June 15, 2018, 10:00 AM
The return of Pixar's superhero family shares multiplex screens with a true story of game-playing buddies and the remake of a blaxsploitation classic, while art house offerings include a low-key father-daughter drama and a unique fact-based heist thriller.
The comedy Tag (pictured) takes the slapstick of its fact-based premise and tries to add an earnest exploration of male friendship. The crowd-pleasing Hearts Beat Loud can't complement its catchy original songs with characters that feel nearly as vital. The John Travolta-led biopic Gotti throws mob movie cliches at a story that irresponsibly glorifies the "Teflon Don."
Eric D. Snider finds Superfly taking the original's amateurish campiness replaced by serious—sometimes too-serious—crime-drama. Director Bart Layton combines dramatization and documentary in American Animals with a freshness that makes an otherwise so-so true-crime tale noteworthy.
In this week's feature review, Incredibles 2 showcases Brad Bird's amazing gifts as an action director, combined with his frustrating tendencies as a writer.
Also opening this week, but not screened for press: the documentary The Gardener explores an elaborate private garden near Quebec City.
The comedy Tag (pictured) takes the slapstick of its fact-based premise and tries to add an earnest exploration of male friendship. The crowd-pleasing Hearts Beat Loud can't complement its catchy original songs with characters that feel nearly as vital. The John Travolta-led biopic Gotti throws mob movie cliches at a story that irresponsibly glorifies the "Teflon Don."
Eric D. Snider finds Superfly taking the original's amateurish campiness replaced by serious—sometimes too-serious—crime-drama. Director Bart Layton combines dramatization and documentary in American Animals with a freshness that makes an otherwise so-so true-crime tale noteworthy.
In this week's feature review, Incredibles 2 showcases Brad Bird's amazing gifts as an action director, combined with his frustrating tendencies as a writer.
Also opening this week, but not screened for press: the documentary The Gardener explores an elaborate private garden near Quebec City.
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