“The Judge,” an inoffensive and generally likeable drama that odd-couples Robert Downey Jr. with Robert Duvall, runs like a two-plus-hour chardonnay. Setting aside a few quasi-coarse moments (even a family-friendly film needs to establish street cred on its own terms), “The Judge” plays mostly by the numbers that American audiences have decided they like in […]
On his fifth anniversary, Nick is miserable. He wanders down to the small-town Missouri bar he and his twin sister keep up and knocks back a bourbon while languidly twisting the wheel on the game of Life, wondering how he managed to botch a marriage to the girl of his dreams. Then he returns home […]
Though it doesn’t immediately feel like one, “The Equalizer” is a Denzel Washington film by default. He’s by far the biggest star of note in the action thriller, with only his face on the poster. He’s in virtually every scene that does not feature Russian mobsters plotting to find and kill him. And, relatively rare […]
The only reason “Tusk” didn’t go straight to video as a schlocky B-flick with a built-in cult following is the same reason it exists in the first place: Kevin Smith. The director has been making movies on the cheap for 20 years, since he shot “Clerks” for less than 30 grand and launched a mini-empire […]
When GRU associate professor Matthew Buzzell returned to Augusta five years ago after 14 active years in Los Angeles, the award-winning filmmaker knew he was leaving a lot of cultural opportunities behind. “Every night of the week in Los Angeles I could see a film, and it didn’t have to be a new film,” he […]
In “The Drop,” director Michael R. Roskam follows the old “Jaws” adage to hide the shark as long as possible. Guns permeate this crime thriller set largely in a Brooklyn “drop bar,” a collection point for enough small-time gambling and prostitution cash that it becomes a big-time operation for its gangster owners. But count the […]
Our son, Leo, had a bit of a hard time the first few weeks of first grade. By that I mean I had two phone calls from the principal in less than five days. They don’t call about just any little thing either. When the school’s phone number shows up on caller ID, I take […]
Art in the Heart of Augusta will have a decidedly Big Easy flair this year, with the headlining band, a prominent spoken word poet and a stilt walker all hailing from New Orleans. It’s a fitting coincidence, since Arts in the Heart has always aimed to showcase Augusta’s diverse culture. After all, what city in […]
“So we have our next victim.” Those were the first words Widespread Panic guitarist Michael Houser said to Sam Holt when they met in Kansas City in the summer of 2000. Holt, a musician, had answered the phone the previous day and agreed to fill in as guitar tech for the band. That meant hopping […]