Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

The dialogue sounds like it was written in Spanish and translated to English through a Google Chrome extension, and the actors spend most of their time wandering around with a bemused look on their faces, as though they've gotten lost while trying to find their way back to the set from the catering truck. Review

The Light Between Oceans is unashamedly old-fashioned, a lengthy widescreen drama that seems custom made for viewing on a lazy Sunday afternoon. By no means the epic of human drama it believes itself to be, it's nonetheless a solid attempt to replicate the great melodramas of the past. Review

With Emily Blunt's portrayal of Rachel, we always feel like we're watching a drunk pretending to be sober, rather than a sober actor playing drunk. She's thoroughly convincing as an alcoholic. Unfortunately, so are the film's director, screenwriter and editor. Review

Drake Doremus' film is arguably more of a remake than many of the acknowledged remakes we've seen recently. Equals may owe more than a debt to and pay homage to some classic sci-fi movies, but it's by no means their equal. Review

But as a story of familial redemption in rugged action clothing, it's a surprisingly touching and endearing drama. Review

Star's journey from shy, awkward teen to an earth mother who seems to exert a supernatural power over nature (Sasha Lane's interaction with a bear will likely be the standout image of 2016) unspools like an adaptation of some forgotten ancient myth. Go see American Honey, and hear her roar. Review

Shin Godzilla is very Japanese in paying tribute to science and ingenuity. Think The Martian, but with the core problem of saving a stranded botanist replaced with the mammoth task of destroying a giant lizard impervious to conventional weapons. Review

Tim Burton poured his heart and soul into his 20th century work. In the 21st century he's morphed into one of the most soulless filmmakers working in mainstream cinema, and each successive movie adds fuel to the notion that his early successes thrived in spite of Burton's involvement, not because of it. Review

Far from ruining your Dad's childhood, this Magnificent Seven is a respectful tribute to the western genre, shot on an old fashioned outdoor set constructed by carpenters rather than computers. Review

Were it not for Sennia Nanua's precocious talents, The Girl with All the Gifts would be simply another shambling corpse in the crowded herd of the zombie genre. Review

A cheap, yet all too common storytelling trope is to equate affluence with villainy, and it's one Sachs and co-writer Mauricio Zacharias commendably bin here. There are no villains in this story; both parties are simply trying to do right by their families. Review

Remember that scene near the end of David Fincher's Zodiac where Jake Gyllenhaal finds himself in what may be the basement of the killer he's been hunting? Creepy is like that scene extended for 90 minutes. Unfortunately the movie's running time is 130 minutes. Review

A little more time examining the bread and butter world of white supremacists would have been appreciated - how does an undercover agent do his grocery shopping when he's sporting a shaved head and a swastika tattoo? - but as a thriller, Imperium is a largely engrossing watch. Review

There's an interesting dynamic between the well acted central trio, one which may have prospered in a more traditional form of storytelling, but writer-director Martin Radich's decision to deliver an obtuse drama ultimately extinguishes any spark of interest you might find in this odd little film. Review

The film's one standout moment features a melancholy magician (David Hoyle) who weaves a touching monologue around a card trick. It's a moment of warmth in an otherwise cold film. Review

The Clan is a superficial telling of what should be an interesting tale, more interested in aping Goodfellas, as so many mediocre true crime dramas are wont to do, than getting under the grubby fingernails of its subjects. Review

The big question is how does the chariot race compare to that of the '59 movie? Well it can't compare in terms of spectacle or filmmaking skill, but it is well put together nonetheless, falling somewhere between the pod race of Star Wars; The Phantom Menace and the vehicular mayhem of '70s exploitation classic Death Race 2000. Review

For a long stretch Morgan plays out like a poor man's Ex Machina, until a final act that descends into a by the numbers slasher movie, topped off with a final twist so obvious you'll likely have figured it out from the trailer, and probably dismissed it as too blatant. Review

Equity is buoyed by the performances of its largely female ensemble cast, but the script doesn't do any of these women justice. None of the film's characters come across as actual humans - they're merely salt shakers pushed around a restaurant table by the hand of a writer pitching their plot. Review

Hansen-Love's film is a tribute to the silent sacrifices the women in our lives make, sacrifices which all too often remain unrewarded, if even acknowledged. And is there a better actress to represent the quiet strength of womanhood than Huppert? Review

Scotsman Mackenzie and his English cinematographer Giles Nuttgens fetishise the film's Texan setting in a way not seen since Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas. This is a stunning movie set in a beautiful, if broken and bent out of shape part of the world. Review

Like a poor man's The Great Gatsby, the trite moral of Café Society's story boils down to "money can't bring you happiness", something millionaire storytellers have been trying to convince their audiences of for decades. Review

The pencil case politics could be excused if the movie succeeded on its own terms, but it fails as a satire because it takes itself too seriously, and as an action movie it's a bore, suffering from director James DeMonaco's inability to construct an effective set-piece. Review

The 9th Life of Louis Drax is a baffling movie and a bonkers movie, but its great sin is that it's an exceptionally boring movie. Review