Chuck Koplinski

Deft touch makes for poignant Penguin Peter Cattaneo’s The Penguin Lessons is a loose adaptation of the best-selling memoir by Tom Michell, which recounts his teaching experiences in 1976 Argentina. In the film adaptation, the instructor is presented as a burnt-out recluse, a man who takes this position because he has no family, has nothing […]

Novocaine too much of a bloody thing The DNA of Dan Berk and Robert Olsen’s Novocaine is evident from the start. The fingerprints of Nobody, Home Alone, Road Runner cartoons and any Jackie Chan movie are all over this actioner with a gimmick and, to their credit, the filmmakers acknowledge these influences. Yet, they bring […]

Mickey 17: A testament to individuality News of reshoots and long nights in the editing room, as well as ever-changing release dates, are hardly good omens regarding any film. Yet, such difficulties plagued director Bong Joon Ho’s Mickey 17, an adaptation of the novel by Edward Ashton. The one-step-forward-two-steps-back progress of the filmmaker’s follow-up to […]

Taut Breath a testament to ingenuity and faith There are a great many moving parts necessary to keep an undersea pipeline operational. A job many don’t think of is that of the saturation diver. When repairs are needed on the pipeline, it falls to them to fix it, sometimes requiring dives of up to 1,000 […]

Mad the latest in a tired franchise This big-screen adaptation of Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy is – and I’m being kind – a mixed bag. While there are some undeniably poignant moments, for the large part the film is collection of remnants, scenes and events, far too reminiscent of others from previous […]

Brave: All action, little substance Narratively, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, is a paradox doomed from the start, as it simultaneously has too much story, and yet, not enough. Those who haven’t been with the MCU from the start or done a deep dive into its history are likely to be at sea with its […]

September 5 a gripping piece of history When ABC dispatched Roone Arledge and his Wide World of Sports team to cover the 1972 Olympics in Munich, they knew the event would be covered in the most comprehensive and engaging way possible. Having cut their teeth for over a decade presenting myriad sporting events from around […]

Corbet’s complex Brutalist rewards the patient Brady Corbet’s The Brutalist is an anomaly in the current cinematic landscape. An emotional epic, it traces the course of one man’s efforts to rediscover his identity and place in society, taking its time to consider myriad aspects of his resurrection. Deliberately paced, the film runs well over three hours […]

Technique trumps story in disappointing Presence Steven Soderbergh has always struck me as an artist who’s easily bored. His latest, Presence, is a Jekyll-and-Hyde exercise, an initially intriguing take on the ghost story genre that ultimately falls victim to its clichés. Shot with one camera, the perspective of the entire movie is seen through that […]

Nightbitch too simple for its own good Getting off to a fast, rousing start, Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch falls into a numbing, repetitive pattern that beats the viewer over the head with its obvious message. Adapted from the novel by Rachel Yoder, the best part of this primal scream for recognition is an inspired performance by […]

Cutting edge tech elevates Better Man In researching British pop star Robbie Williams for a potential biopic, director Michael Gracey noticed that in numerous interviews, the singer referred to himself as a monkey being dragged onto the stage, forced to perform. The seed of the idea of portraying the performer as a simian took root […]