 Sony Pictures Classics, 2020. Marco Bellocchio might not be a household name in the United States, but he's been churning out films in Italy for over half a century. His latest film, "The Traitor" (Il traditore) is being billed as "the true story about the man who brought down the Mafia," and it's playing here in Michigan at the Detroit Film Theater this weekend.
 Amazon Studios, 2020. "Les Misérables" is maybe an unfortunate title for this electric thriller that will confuse viewers who are expecting to see Jean Valjean and a few song and dance numbers. But in telling a more modern story, themes of inequality, class oppression and street-level rage eerily feel like echoes from Victor Hugo's classic novel, and send home the message that the more things change, the more things stay the same.
 Lionsgate, 2017. Read Tom's quick reviews of these movies at the following link: http://www.axs.com/movie-reviews-john-wick-2-lego-batman-and-fifty-shades-sequel-offer-ch-114489 Read Tom's full review of this movie at the following link: http://www.axs.com/movie-review-a-man-called-ove-a-darkly-funny-deeply-moving-portrait-107824  Music Box Films, 2016.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 2 hours 20 minutes, Rated R Starring: Aleksey Serebryakov, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Elena Lyadova, Roman Madyanov Co-Written & Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, The Banishment, The Return) Leviathan (opening today) is a powerful, well-written drama that was just recently nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. It comes to us from Russia, and it's no surprise that the film was included as one of the best international entries this year.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 1 hour 35 minutes, Rated PG-13 Starring: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salee Written & Directed by Jean-Pierre Dardenne & Luc Dardenne (The Kid with a Bike, The Silence of Lorna, L'enfant) Two Days, One Night (opening today) is the latest effort from the filmmaking duo, the Dardenne brothers, a Belgian directing tandem responsible for one of the best films of 2012, The Kid with a Bike. With their latest effort, they once again show their brilliance in creating small, human stories rich with raw emotion. It stars Marion Cotillard, whose stripped-down performance just earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.  Rating: 3 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama, Romance, Foreign
Run Time: 1 hour, 57 minutes, Rated R Starring: Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, Cecile De France, Kelly Reilly Written & Directed by Cedric Klapisch (My Piece of the Pie, Russian Dolls, Paris) Chinese Puzzle (or "Casse-tete chinois," opening today) is an examination of how, despite growing older, one does not necessarily grow up. It follows a group of middle-aged people who, basically, act like children, in this fantastical and whimsical romantic comedy.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Animated, Foreign, Comedy, Drama
Run Time: 1 hours, 20 minutes, Rated PG Sub-titled version and dubbed version featuring voices of : Forest Whitaker, Lambert Wilson, Lauren Bacall, Mackenzie Foy, Pauline Brunner, Paul Giamatti, William H. Macy, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Jeffrey Wright Based on the book by Gabrielle Vincent Directed by Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner Once you see Ernest and Celestine (opening today), you will understand why this French-Belgium animated beauty was nominated for Best Animated Feature at this year's Academy Awards. You may also wonder why it didn't win. A simple, clever, classic tale of friendship and tolerance, it just feels invigorating to experience a family-friendly work of animation not churned out by Disney or one of the other big Hollywood studios.  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 1 hour, 51 minutes, Rated R Starring: Paulina Garcia, Sergio Hernandez, Gonzalo Maza Co-Written & Directed by Sabastian Lelio (Christmas, La sagrada familia, El ano del tigre) Chile's submission for this year's Academy Awards was the beautiful Gloria (opening locally today), a film starring Paulina Garcia in the title role. She is a middle-aged woman dealing with the hardships of life and love, a woman who solidly could identify with the phrase "growing older, but not up."  Rating: 4 out of 5 starsGenre: Comedy, Drama, Foreign
Run Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes, Not Rated Starring: Tony Servillo, Sabrina Ferilli, Giorgio Pasotti, Carlo Verdone Co-Written and Directed by Paolo Sorrentino (This Must Be the Place, The Family Friend, One Man Up) As stated in the Italian film, La grande bellezza(translated in English to "The Great Beauty", and opening today at the Detroit Film Theater), everything ends with death. Ah, but before death, there is life. In this film, director Paolo Sorrentino's stunning, near-visual masterpiece is full of life, a deep inhale of the beauties that surround us and the wonderful colors of our past. |
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tom santilli movie reviews
Tom Santilli is a professional film critic, TV personality, host and
the Executive Producer of Movie Show Plus.
He also is the film critic for WXYZ Channel 7 Action News in Detroit,
and appeared weekly on FOX-2 in Detroit from 2016-2020.
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