Movie reviews of George Wolf

Rue History…. aims higher than one word answers, with storytelling that often soars before landing. Review

This is strictly teenage fare, content to provide good-looking idols to swoon over and warmed-over scares for kids who want to scream but not have nightmares. Review

Endings, Beginnings has all the parts of a consistently competent and watchable affair. But the resonant character study it aspires to be – much like the character itself – slips away simply from pretending to be something it’s not. Review

What elevates these Trolls, though, is their funny bone. One of the directors and two of the writers return from part one, but this film is much funnier, especially for the parents sitting down for movie night. Review

Birth of the Cool is an obvious must for any Davis fans wanting to feel as close to the legend as they’ve ever been. And for anyone using the film as intro to Miles 101, it’s a fine primer on road to Bitches Brew and beyond. Review

A lush and emotional period piece that dives into its genre with no apologies, tugging at your heart with broken dreams and familial bonds until you’re nothing but thankful for it. Review

It does get a bit long-winded in spots, but Slay the Dragon makes its case with enough info, passion and persistence to make it necessary, especially in a year that ends in zero. Review

NRSW is a sensitive portrayal of female friendship and courage, equal parts understated and confrontational as it speaks truths that remain commonly ignored. Review

As Merab grapples with societal expectations as both a Georgian Ensemble dancer and a man, the film finally reveals Merab’s soul, speaking to the beauty of liberation in just the way you were hoping it would. Review

A film with enough wry smarts and acting chops to deliver more satisfying scares than you might expect. Review

Resistance is a film built with passion and sincerity, employing a story that will be new for most of us to deliver a timely reminder meant for all of us. Review

It’s rude, it’s crude, it’s vulgar, crass and brutal. And I enjoyed the hell out of Goon. Review

Diesel’s guttural emoting is on auto-pilot, while Pearce gets to ham it up a bit and Baby Driver’s Elia Gonzales gets hung out to dry. Review

The scope of Buscetta’s story is grand and Bellocchio’s ambitions noteworthy, but even at 145 minutes the film ultimately feels like a finely-crafted overview. Favino has the goods to give us the The Traitor‘s soul, but not the freedom. Review

The Room includes the lesson as a line of dialog, which is a crystal clear picture window into the subtlety to be found inside. Review

There’s absurdity, clever amusements and some outright laughs, but Winterbottom doesn’t seem to trust himself – or his audience- enough to get off the pulpit and commit to satire. Review

Too much of the spying agenda seems paint by numbers, but it never sinks the film thanks to Stewart’s command of character. Review

As a rock doc, Once Were Brothers blazes few trails, but the ones it travels are well worth revisiting. Review

With the sharp edges ground down, this Call of the Wild becomes a pleasant metaphor for the simple life, and for finding your place in it. In short, it’s a PG-rated primer, meant to hold a place until the kids are ready for the real thing. Review

Sonic is harmless enough to land somewhere near the top of the dung heap that is video game film adaptations. It’s got a pop culture gag or two that lands, a mid-credits stinger that shows promise for the next chapter, and a pace that never becomes overly laborious. Review

Downhill does give us the chance to see Will and Julia go head to head, and that is no small treat. Ferrell is a natural as the big awkward goof trying to come to terms with himself, but make no mistake, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the reason to see this movie. Review

But most of all, expect Lively to keep The Rhythm Section humming, even when it’s set on repeat. Review

We get a stark illustration of the rising tides of authoritarianism, leaving the Edge of Democracy a film that should be pretty damn personal to all of us. Review

The Turning suggests no solid reason for its existence. Every scene is rushed, every revelation unearned. Review