Take Two: “Napoleon” (R)
Filmmaker Ridley Scott ("Gladiator") tries his hand at yet another epic, "Napoleon." Joaquin Phoenix ("Joker") stars as the French emperor and military genius.
Freeze Frame: “Napoleon” (R), “Wish” (PG), “Saltburn” (R), “Dashing Through the Snow” (PG), “Leo” (PG)
"Napoleon," Ridley Scott's historical epic about the infamous French emperor, comes up a bit short. Joaquin Phoenix mumbles his way through this visually spectacular, often funny, but dramatically lackluster extravaganza. This Napoleon is a petulant and childish ruler cuckolded by his wife Josephine, played by Vanessa Kirby. His megalomania is strangely...
Freeze Frame: “Beau is Afraid” (R), “Chevalier” (PG-13), “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” (R), “Ghosted” (PG-13), “To Catch a Killer” (R)
Be afraid. Be very afraid. The off-putting phantasmagorical horror comedy "Beau is Afraid" is a psychologist's nightmare. Joaquin Phoenix is excellent as a middle-aged man with mommy issues who goes on a terror-filled journey to his mother's funeral. Ari Aster's 3-hour epic is alternately brilliant and frustrating. “Beau is Afraid” is...
Freeze Frame: “The Power of the Dog” (R), “The Hand of God” (R), “C’Mon, C’Mon” (R), “Below the Fold” (Not rated)
The gothic arthouse western "The Power of the Dog" is one of those movies that causes critics to flip and general audiences to shrug. Benedict Cumberbatch leads an accomplished cast in director Jane Campion's adaptation of Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel that tells the tragic tale of a despicable cowboy who...
Freeze Frame: “Joker” (R)
Joaquin Phoenix gives a riveting performance in “Joker,” undoubtedly one of the more controversial and provocative movies of the year. Can the hard knocks of life rob a person of the gift of empathy? On one hand, that seems to be the story’s underlying theme, but, intentional or not, “Joker”...
