Tag: psychological drama

REVIEW: ‘How to Make a Killing’ sorely lacking in humor, suspense

I need Margaret Qualley to back off the crime movies, because between this and “Drive Away Dolls,” it’s not been a great run in the genre.

Rather than the focusing on her, though, “How to Make a Killing” centers on Glen Powell’s character Becket Redfellow. A blue-collar worker in New York City, Becket appears to come from, at best, a middle-class background. However, he’s tied to a family with immense wealth, and remains in the will, meaning a fortune is possible.

Yet he’s not exactly first in line to receive anything. In fact, he’s far from it, more like fifth or sixth. Knowing his family abandoned his own mother leaving her to fend for herself, Becket decides to take matters in his own hands, and knock off heirs to put himself in a better position. But while he thinks he’s in the clear, a person from his past starts to suspect him.

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REVIEW: ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ is an intense, anxiety-filled ride

Alas, this is not a martial arts movie. If that were the case, it would probably be, “If I Had Legs I’d Roundhouse Kick You.”

Instead, this movie focuses on a vastly overstressed mother, Linda (Rose Byrne), who doesn’t have much support in what she’s going through. Her daughter has a stomach disorder, meaning she requires the use of a feeding tube each night, and has to reach a certain level of weight for an operation.

While dealing with that, a massive hole breaks open in the ceiling of her apartment, with an accompanying busted pipe, leading to a flooded home. Oh yeah, and her husband is absent as he’s working away from home, plus she’s strained at work as a psychologist with a mix of difficult patients. Needless to say, it’s a difficult period we find the protagonist in. Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘If I Had Legs I’d Kick You’ is an intense, anxiety-filled ride”

REVIEW: ‘Die My Love’ is a directionless mess

Seeing actors you like headline a film can get a person excited. It’s always a shame when that excitement turns to disappointment. Alas, that’s the case here.

The actors in this picture are Jennifer Lawrence and Robert Pattinson, who star as the newlywed couple Grace and Jackson. “Die My Love” centers on their life as they raise a newborn boy in a rural area in an old home. Unfortunately, any honeymoon phase for the couple is short-lived.

The stress of her new life causes Grace’s mental health to gradually decline, and it impacts those around her as the movie goes on. The situation puts Jackson in a difficult position, as he’s unsure of how he can help improve what’s become a harsh home life.

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REVIEW: The past looms large in quality Netflix entry ‘Lost Daughter’

Longtime actress Maggie Gyllenhaal has made her feature directorial debut with this new Netflix film, and it’s a solid starting point.

Leda, portrayed by Olivia Colman, is the star of the “The Lost Daughter.” A writer and a professor, Leda is on a vacation in Greece during the film for some time to herself.

As she’s settling in, she meets another family who’s on vacation. As Leda begins to interact with the family more, mostly with the matriarch who has a young daughter, it causes her to look back on her own past, and the decisions she made as a parent.

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