Movie review by Greg Carlson Alfonso Gomez-Rejon’s adaptation of Jesse Andrews’ popular novel “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl” presents delights and dilemmas as it negotiates (and doesn’t negotiate) the rough terrain of terminal illness, race, class, and white male privilege via an irresistibly attractive package aimed squarely at the eye and ear of […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Fascinating and frustrating, Crystal Moselle’s documentary “The Wolfpack” is essential viewing for fans of DIY moviemaking and cinephilia. The premise of Moselle’s film and the promise of her incredible subjects – a sextet of isolated, homeschooled brothers who grew up carefully acting out movies like “Reservoir Dogs” and “The Dark […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson A sticky mashup of broad comedy, contemplated quirk, and stylish pretentiousness, the latter of which doubles as writer-director Rick Famuyiwa’s heart-on-sleeve love letter to his formative years, “Dope” operates a little bit like “Risky Business” meets “Friday.” Fishtailing between tonal shifts as rapid-fire as some of the semiautomatic weapons brandished […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson A luminous Blythe Danner portrays one of the warmest and most inviting characters of her long career in “I’ll See You in My Dreams,” a quiet and seductive movie about the contours of friendship and the parameters of solitude. Danner’s Carol Petersen resists the entreaties of her trio of pals […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson “Girlhood,” Celine Sciamma’s third feature and the conclusion of what the filmmaker considers a coming-of-age trilogy, continues her engagement with the bildungsroman. Not as contained as debut “Water Lilies” or as directly preoccupied with gender as “Tomboy,” “Girlhood” follows the trajectory of teenager Marieme (Karidja Toure), a bright young woman […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson When Microsoft’s subsidiary Xbox Entertainment Studios ceased operations, only one episode of the planned series “Signal to Noise” had been produced. The first cycle of the show was originally slated to include six documentaries on various aspects of videogame culture and the videogame industry. Screenwriter and director Zak Penn, known […]

Miniseries review by Greg Carlson WARNING: The following review reveals key plot information. Read only if you have seen “The Jinx.” The bombshell revelation that concludes Andrew Jarecki’s HBO series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” occurs when the title subject uses the bathroom while wearing a hot mic. Hilariously, weirdly, but […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Alex Gibney’s documentary “Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief” uses author Lawrence Wright’s similarly titled book as the basis for a feature-length examination of the controversial organization known to many as the secretive, confusing and mysterious spiritual home of celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Legally recognized […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson WARNING: The following review reveals key plot information. Read only if you have seen “The D Train.” In their feature directing debut, “Yes Man” screenwriters Jarrad Paul and Andrew Mogel take a stab at blending sitcom-like laughs with social introspection, and the results are as confused as the emotional state […]

Movie review by Greg Carlson Veteran documentary filmmaker Brett Morgen’s years of hard work pay off in “Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck,” a stunning biographical portrait of the artist and musician. Morgen’s film, made with the full cooperation of Cobain’s survivors, includes Frances Bean Cobain as an executive producer. The director’s “all access pass” to […]