Ruben Fleischer's toothless antihero film, Venom is like a blockbuster from 15 years earlier: one-dimensional, loose plot, inconsistent tone, and packaged in the least-offensive, most mass appeal way possible. Sigh.
Director Björn Runge finds it easy to relate to women in his filmmaking. He discusses his work on the film adaptation of Meg Wolitzer's The Wife with PopMatters' Paul Risker.
Flashy directors Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor attempted to make Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance more exciting than its predecessor, but their style sapped the energy that fueled the flame.
Courtney Hunt's Frozen River and ten years later, Debra Granik's Leave No Trace, both seek to provide realistic depictions of poverty. Yet while the former plays like a heavy-handed message movie, the latter offers a master class in restraint.
