North Carolina Film Critics Association

7 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

23 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 ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Review: Trial By Fire from member Al Alexander.

The unfortunate legacy of the Oscar-winning “Dead Man Walking” is its rendering of all other death-row stories insignificant, if not useless. But that hasn’t deterred the makers of “Trial by Fire,” although it could be argued that it should have. Imitation is indeed flattery, but not when imitation is this pale.

In select theaters now. #TrialByFire ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

2 days ago

Review: "John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum" from member Matt Brunson.

“The blood is the life!” bellows Renfield in Bram Stoker’s immortal 1897 novel "Dracula" (and uttered by Drac himself in Coppola’s trippy 1992 film version). Were John Wick not a man of few words — he is, after all, played by the typically taciturn Keanu Reeves — he might be found spouting such a line in "John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum", the latest entry in the series about a former hitman whose puppy love has led him to kill scores of evil assassins who don’t share his soulfulness or sensitivity. After all, here’s a franchise that is most alive when someone is getting brutally beaten, bludgeoned, or bullet-riddled — if one were to scoop up all the blood shed over the course of all three pictures, it would fill that "Shining" elevator a thousand times over.

In theaters now. #JohnWick3 ...