North Carolina Film Critics Association

20 hours ago

Review: Dark Waters from member Andrew Spitznas.

With "Dark Waters", we’ve now had two films in the past five years featuring the du Pont oligarchs of Delaware. "Foxcatcher", you may recall, starred Steve Carell as murdering supercreep John du Pont.

After watching this latest film from master director Todd Haynes ("Far from Heaven", "Carol"), I’m thinking John was the good seed of the du Pont family. The malevolence on display here – and I have no doubt that Focus Features’ attorneys scrupulously pored over "Dark Waters" ’ highly detailed screenplay for any inaccuracies – put me in mind of Nazi doctors and the Tuskegee syphilis experiments.

In theaters now. #DarkWaters ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Review: Knives Out Movie from member Adam Long.

For his first return to filmmaking since helming the eighth installment in the "Star Wars" franchise, the 2018 entry, "The Last Jedi", filmmaker Rian Johnson has opted to return to the type of endeavor that put him on the map. The new film, "Knives Out", showcases Johnson’s strengths as both a writer and a director as evidenced in such earlier fare as "Brick" and "Looper" and serves to remind what gifts he possesses when given the right canvas from which to work. Here he’s opted to dish out a murder mystery in the style of the best Agatha Christie novels and it’s a film that constantly surprises. Even more impressive is the fact that Johnson is able to bring something fresh to the well-worn genre by working in some social commentary and serving up the whole dish with healthy dollops of humor.

In theaters now. #KnivesOut ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

1 day ago

Review: Waves from member Edwin Arnaudin.

With the frenetic, emotionally devastating "Waves", writer/director Trey Edward Shults proves that the third time is indeed the charm.

After two well-made but narratively bankrupt features — the loathsome "Krisha" (2015) and the pretentious "It Comes at Night" (2017) — Shults has “finally” penned a script to match his top-notch technical prowess.

In select theaters. #Waves ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

2 days ago

Review: Frozen from member Nicole Ackman.

For Disney fans, it is hard to believe that “Frozen” (2013) was released just six years ago. The tale, inspired by Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen,” has permeated pop culture in a way that even Walt Disney Pictures couldn’t have predicted when it was released. Directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, “Frozen”’s themes of family, love, isolation, and finding yourself have resonated with people across the globe. And of course, “Let It Go” became such a hit that it was almost impossible to avoid hearing it for many months. In addition to the film making it onto In Their Own League’s Top 50 Female Directed of the Decade list, now is an appropriate time to look back at the first “Frozen” film as its sequel has just been released.

Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital now. #Frozen ...

North Carolina Film Critics Association

2 days ago

Home Release Review: "IT Movie Chapter Two" from member Douglas Davidson.

“You’ll Float, too.” Three innocuous words infused with horrible terror thanks to Stephen King’s 1986 novel "It". Then, in 1990, a television mini-series adapted from the book shifted the way the average person looks at clowns, thanks in large part to Tim Curry’s performance as the ancient multi-dimensional creature known as It or, more commonly, as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Though mileage varies from story to story, reader to reader, there’s no denying that King’s It, and its adaption, captured our nightmares, leaving us often feeling like, no matter our age, we can never let go of the existential dread Pennywise instills. Where the mini-series sought to convey the story across 3+ hours, director Andy Muschietti wisely broke apart the chronologically shifting novel into two chapters: the first featuring the central characters as children and the second as adults. Now available on home video, Muschietti’s "It Chapter Two" finishes the gripping story he begin in 2017 with an almost new cast which beautifully matches the excellent performances of the first.

Available on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and digital now. #ItMovie ...