2018 North Carolina Film Critics Association Awards

North Carolina Film Critics Association

16 minutes ago

Review: UglyDolls from member Jesse Rosario.

Whenever my daughter and I go out to the movies, she always gives a “thumbs up” or a “thumbs down” to the trailers we see. For months, Kelly Asbury’s "UglyDolls" has been getting a big “thumbs down.” That is until she started seeing commercials for the accompanying toy line on TV. Suddenly, the movie had her interest, and she couldn’t wait to go.

She may not have seen through the toy pusher’s blatant cash grab (she’s only 4), but I certainly did. If there’s one thing "UglyDolls" succeeds at, it’s being exactly what I expected it to be: a 91-minute stuffed animal commercial.

In theaters now. #UglyDolls ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

4 hours ago

Review: Wild Nights with Emily from member Andrew Spitznas.

I’ll admit, at first I was put off by the contemporary style of writer/director Madeleine Olnek’s revisionist biopic of Emily Dickinson, "Wild Nights with Emily". Its wobbly handheld camerawork – mingled with freeze frame and split screen sequences, and irreverent poem recitations – doesn’t jive with the tradition of respectable period pieces, nor does the skit-like feel of many scenes.

However, "Wild Nights" progressively grew on me, as I gleaned the subversive purposes behind Olnek’s brash choices. And frankly, it offers a welcome yang to the stodgy yin of Terence Davies’ 2016 Dickinson biopic "A Quiet Passion". While Davies’ film featured witty wordplay and an excellent central performance by Cynthia Nixon, its dialogue was declaimed in a stilted, artificial manner.

In theaters now. #WildNightswithEmily ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

8 hours ago

Review: The Chaperone from member Bruce Steele.

It’s no coincidence that Elizabeth McGovern stars in "The Chaperone", with a screenplay by Julian Fellowes, whose hit TV series "Downton Abbey" brought McGovern back to the attention of American audiences. But it was McGovern who recruited Fellowes to the project, not the other way around. The actress had been tapped to perform the audiobook of the Laura Moriarty novel on which the film is based, and her determination to turn it into a movie brought the collaborators together again. (It took more than five years.)

In theaters May 29 2019. #TheChaperone ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

24 hours ago

Review: A Dog's Journey from member Kevin Sampson.

"A Dog’s Journey" is basically the Forrest Gump of dog movies. While Forrest ran through a part of our nation’s history, Bailey (voiced by Josh Gad) serves the same family through various doggy lives. Ultimately, it gives a child-like look into a few generations of one family’s life journey. It’s the exploration of the good, the bad and man’s best friend’s role in our lives that make this a cute (corny at times) family film.

In theaters now. #ADogsJourney ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Review: "Working Woman" from member Jill Boniske.

This Israeli #MeToo drama centers on Orna (Liron Ben-Shlush) whose husband’s new Tel Aviv restaurant is struggling to get off the ground, so she takes a job with real estate developer Benny (Menashe Noy) who she knew from her time in the army. At first everything is great. She’s given a lot of responsibility and finds she’s really good at what she’s doing, but then come the unwanted and inappropriate advances and she’s not sure how to react, but hopes they’ll stop once she says no. They don’t. "Working Woman" is a story that will be familiar to many women. Orna wants the job. She’s given well-deserved promotions and people treat her with respect for the great job she’s doing. But the boss thinks he has the right to treat her however he wants. He knows she’s happily married and has kids at home. He’s married too, and she’s met his wife, but still.

In theaters March 27 2019. #WorkingWoman ...