Movie reviews of George Wolf

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

But while The Gentlemen does show Ritchie’s way with a camera can still be impressive, its best parts only add up to a fraction of their promise. Review

It may not leave you with belly laughs or tunes stuck in your head, but it’s eager to please manner doesn’t hurt a bit. Review

Oscar-nominated this year for Best Documentary Feature, The Cave is among the most rewarding kicks in the gut you’re likely to experience. Review

Entirely forced and sadly wasteful of the talent at hand, this film is less like a boss and more like a mess the CEO tells someone else to clean up. Review

Though it comes out swinging with heavy hands, Just Mercy steadies itself in time to become an effective portrait of systemic injustice. You will be moved, but with a force that is muted by simple convention. Review

1917 is absolutely one of the best films of the year, but it’s more. It’s an unforgettable and exhausting trip, immediately joining the ranks of the finest war movies ever made. Review

A Hidden Life is at its best when those stakes are clear, and Franz’s unwavering conviction is a sobering history lesson. Review

Richard Jewell‘s story is a good one, a tragic one, and a cautionary tale that deserves telling. And the film it deserves – the one where a common man finds the will to fight for his dignity – is in here, you just have to wade through some blanket scapegoating to find it. Review

Writers Chris McKenna and Erik Sommers do not return, which I’m guessing is a major reason the life lesson feels don’t land as smoothly this time. But Kasdan and his team hit the big shots. They give us a reason to be interested in a return to Jumanji, and plenty of fun once we get there. Review

The Aeronauts may give gentle reminders about the importance of science, but it pounds a visual fist in defense of the big screen. The film’s ultimate calling card is not the story but the ride (in real time, no less!), and a smaller canvas just will not do it justice. Strap in tight, and enjoy the thrill. Review

This is an unapologetic and purposeful first feature, as much a complex story of joy and love as incendiary protest parable. Review

He lets another writer’s words brilliantly refocus what Charlie and Nicole will always mean to other, and like everything else in Marriage Story, it feels real, true and necessary. It feels alive. Review