Nick Spake

0 Many will go into The Death of Robin Hood expecting a blood-soaked action picture. That’s what they’ll get… for the first half-hour. The rest of the film is a more intimate portrait of a man in the late stages of his life, confronting the sins of his past and contemplating whether redemption is in the cards for him. It’s effective, although the tonal shift and slower pacing may put some off.

0 The good news is that the Academy is finally introducing an Oscar for Stunt Design. The bad news is that it won’t arrive in time to recognize Kenji Tanigaki’s The Furious. From the John Wick movies, to The Raid, to RRR, sometimes I feel like I’ve seen everything the action genre can possibly throw at the audience. Then a film like The Furious comes along, punching my expectations into oblivion. It’s an experience that hits the ground running and never stops from there.

0 When Steven Spielberg announced Disclosure Day, I feared that it might share too much in common with Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While the comparison is warranted, Disclosure Day channels Close Encounters in the best possible ways. Alien life is central to both films, but they’re more about humanity and our connection to the unknown, as well as each other. Close Encounters built to one of the most awe-inspiring third acts in Spielberg’s filmography.