Chuck Koplinski

Sincerity saves Angels “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” It would be wise to keep this quote from Mark Twain in mind while watching Jon Gunn’s Ordinary Angels, a fact-based, feel-good movie that defies logic. That Ed Schmitt (Alan Ritchson) is questioning his […]

Darkness examines the horror within A stunner from beginning to end, Andrew Cumming’s Out of Darkness is a visually stunning, consistently surprising movie that slowly reveals its true intent, its big reveal transcending its genre conventions. While it is being promoted as a horror film, and certainly contains elements from works of that sort, Cumming […]

Fiction drives vital point home with humor Smart, pointed and funny, Cord Jefferson’s American Fiction is surely the timeliest and perhaps the most vital film currently in theaters. An adaptation of the novel Erasure by Percival Everett, the movie puts racism and the “Woke Movement” in the crosshairs, providing a fresh perspective on the former […]

Plodding pace hinders Kitchen There’s no questioning the good intentions behind Daniel Kaluuya and Kibwe Tavares’ The Kitchen, a dystopian thriller suffused with social commentary. This examination of the ever-growing disparity between the haves and have-nots and how this gulf affects not simply society but an individual’s outlook and behavior is a cautionary tale that, while […]

I.S.S. a taut examination of international politics A callback to the Cold War thrillers of the 1950s and ’60s, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s I.S.S. taps into the contemporary tension between the United States and Russia. It’s Dr. Kira Foster’s (Ariana DeBose) first trip to the International Space Station and she must take a crash course regarding the […]

Ferrari effectively defies expectations Michael Mann’s Ferrari is not what I expected, which is a good thing. Instead of a film devoted to numerous auto races and by-a-nose-checkered-flag finishes, this is more of a character study regarding the company’s namesake. Brought to vivid and poignant life by Adam Driver, this period piece looks at a […]

Stone soars in radical Things The Bride of Frankenstein with a feminist agenda, Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things is a brilliantly unhinged, gloriously bizarre examination of one woman’s struggle towards independence. Dr. Goodwin Baxter (Willem Dafoe) is a physician who’s convinced dead tissue can be rejuvenated. He has conducted an experiment in which he has taken […]

The Iron Claw a numbing assault If you didn’t know any better, you’d likely think the phrase, “If I didn’t have bad luck, I’d have no luck at all,” was coined to describe the experiences of the Von Erich family. A multi-generational clan of wrestlers, they would climb to the pinnacle of success within the […]

Wonka charms despite miscast Chalamet I was initially skeptical about Wonka, yet another reboot-prequel-remake-whatsis that’s usually a sign of a quick cash grab. However, in the hands of director Paul King, who made the delightful and moving Paddington films, a bit of heart beats beneath the lavish production design and oft-times catchy tunes that populate […]

Franchise best Godzilla Minus One examines Japan’s post-war trauma Far more than just a simple monster movie, Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus One is a moving examination of a nation dealing with societal trauma, the Japanese populace attempting to recover from massive damage inflicted on their land as well as their national psyche. Taking place just […]