KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON – Review by Susan Granger
Master storyteller Martin Scorsese’s harrowing epic Killers of the Flower Moon relates an American true-crime drama, set in the 1920s.
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Author: Susan Granger
RED, WHITE AND ROYAL BLUE – Review by Susan Granger
Romantic comedies are always popular – yet, in recent years, they’ve been hard to find. Now, Red, White and Royal Blue gives a charming contemporary twist to the classic ‘flirty meet-cute, quarrel and happily-ever-after’ formula. This time, the traditional ‘special diplomatic relationship’ between England and America is challenged when Alex Clarmont-Diaz, son of U.S. President Ellen Clarmont and Texas Congressman Oscar Diaz, is dispatched to escort Nora, the U.S. Vice-President’s granddaughter, to the Prince of Wales’ wedding in London.
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EXTRACTION 2 – Review by Susan Granger
If you’re into brainless, mucho macho mayhem, Extraction 2 is 85% action, 15% narrative – meaning there’s lots of fighting, particularly hand-to-hand combat, even though it’s never clear how these ‘ordinary’ Eastern European men can take that much physical punishment and maintain their ruthless bravado. Australian black ops mercenary Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) is still recovering from his previous mission. Reuniting with director/stuntman Sam Hargrave, he embarks on this sequel, tracing its origins to Ande Parks’ graphic novel “Ciudad” from a story by Parks, Joe & Anthony Russo.
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INSIDE – Review by Susan Granger
Inside features a high-end art thief who is trapped in an extravagant New York City penthouse …it’s a Master Class in acting but agony to watch. When Nemo (Willem Dafoe) inadvertently sets off the alarm system as he’s searching for a particular painting, he’s imprisoned in the huge, high-tech apartment he was burglarizing. Without food or water, his desperation grows. The apartment belongs to a Pritzker-prize-winning architect who is working in Kazakhstan on a project called the Tulip Tower. He never appears except in Nemo’s dreams and hallucinations
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A VERY BRITISH SCANDAL – Review by Susan Granger
Based on a true story, A Very British Scandal delves into the notorious sex scandal that riveted Britain in 1963. It revolves around arrogant, ambitious Margaret Whigham, born in Scotland to a self-made Scottish textiles millionaire who moved the family to New York when she was 14. After several highly publicized romances during her London debutante season and a disastrous first marriage that ended in divorce, scheming socialite Margaret (Claire Foy) married Ian Campbell (Paul Bettany), Duke of Argyll, in 1951. Already unhappy in his second marriage, dissolute Ian was intrigued not only by Margaret’s beauty but also by her generous dowry.
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MINIMATA – Review by Susan Granger
It’s hard to imagine a Johnny Depp film being ignored but that’s what happened after Minamata premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival back in 2020, when Covid shuttered most theaters. Depp plays renowned W.W.II photojournalist W. Eugene ‘Gene’ Smith, who, by 1971, had become a jaded recluse: broke, wasted, estranged from his children, and suffering from PTSD.
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KIMI – Review by Susan Granger
Steven Soderbergh’s low-budget techno-thriller revolves around a next-generation virtual assistant, like Siri and Alexa, but named Kimi. Paranoid Angela Childs is a tech analyst, working remotely from her sprawling Seattle loft/apartment. Since she’s agoraphobic, she spends a great deal of time looking out of the window. So do her nosy neighbors Terry from across the street who makes periodic booty calls and creepy Kevin armed with binoculars
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TILL DEATH – Review by Susan Granger
As this wannabe thriller begins, duplicitous Emma (Megan Fox) is breaking off an extramarital affair with an employee (Aml Ameen) at her wealthy husband’s law firm. She’s married to Mark (Eoin Macken), a suspicious creep who – after giving her a chic ‘steel’ necklace to celebrate their 11th anniversary – blindfolds Emma, who is understandably nervous, and drives her to their remote, snow-bound vacation home on a lake for a romantic interlude.
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THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN – Review by Susan Granger
Based on Katherine Applegate’s Newberry Medal 2012 best-seller, The One and Only Ivan is reminiscent of Charlotte’s Web. It’s family-friendly, filled with a poignant melancholy, a touching, tender tale for tiny tots.
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7500 – Review by Susan Granger
The title refers to the Air Traffic Control distress code for a plane being hijacked. As viewed through ominous security footage, 7500 begins in Berlin Airport as travelers are checking in for an evening flight to Paris. There’s a slight delay as two passengers who checked luggage are late to board.
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