Film Review: Unsane

Soderbergh’s psych ward horror pic commits to mediocrity  

Unwittingly committed to a psychiatric hospital, Sawyer (Claire Foy) tries in vain to leave.

Director Steven Soderbergh, whose much anticipated Logan Lucky last year ended up being a disappointment, continues his losing streak with his new film Unsane, a schlocky, run of the mill horror film that feels like the work of a first year film student, not a prolific and award winning director. Shot entirely on an iPhone 7Plus, the picture looks low budget and unpolished, although the grainy, shaky aesthetic in some sense works for the pulpy story. Too bad nothing else does, though; instead, we are treated to an interminable 97 minutes of Soderbergh trying to be a hip experimentalist. Continue reading “Film Review: Unsane

Film Review: Top Five

Rock in top form with Top Five

Rosario Dawson’s Chelsea and Chris Rock’s Andre get to know each other.

With Top Five, Chris Rock gives us his first directing/writing/acting trifecta since 2007’s relatively unknown I Think I Love my Wife. Top Five should fare better, as it has something for everyone; it combines the raunchy humor of today’s most popular comedies with more cerebral humor. If the Farrelly Brothers had directed Birdman, the result might look something like Top Five. While the result often feels a bit disjointed, the film always succeeds in eliciting laughs.

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