K-19 The Widowmaker
Another of those films that I was in no rush to see (as I am no longer an employee of Paramount Pictures, I can no longer see Paramount releases such as this for free), but I was in Grangeville, Idaho at the time, cleaning out my late grandmother's house, and when you're in Grangeville for more than two days, you… read more!
K-PAX
Or, "Mork from Ork stars in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I didn't know much about this film before I saw it, except that Kevin Spacey plays a guy who may or may not be a visitor from outer space, Jeff Bridges plays the psychiatrist assigned to him, Spacey eats an entire banana, peel and all, and it's probably… read more!
Kandahar
How time flies. Less than four months after the American attack on Afghanistan, I saw this couldn't-be-more-timely drama/documentary at a nearly empty movie theatre. Perhaps lines would have formed around the block back in October, with audiences eager to learn more about the plight of the besieged Afghani people, but I guess the topic is now just so 2001. Too… read more!
The Kid Stays in the Picture
Glitzy memoir – I can't really call it a documentary – about Robert Evans, a legendary figure in Hollywood who, in short order, progressed from retailer of ladies' pants to clean-cut movie star to studio executive who single-handedly saved Paramount Pictures to an independent producer living the fast life to a tragic figure befallen by scandal, drugs, and failure. Evans… read more!
The Kids Are All Right
Smart, funny comedy/drama that stars Annette Bening and Julianne Moore as a Los Angeles-based lesbian couple of many years, whose two teen children decide to seek out their anonymous sperm donor father. When he turns out to be a super-dude restaurateur played by Mark Ruffalo, the family gets turned upside down. Cholodenko, who wrote the script with Stuart Blumberg, takes… read more!
Kill Bill, Vol. 1
So Quentin Tarantino is back. Was he missed? The reason his earlier work was so interesting may have been due to his writing partner Roger Avary. Once the two split ways after Pulp Fiction, the little that Tarantino wrote alone was either god-awful (From Dusk to Dawn, anyone?) or saved by good source material (Jackie Brown, adapted from the novel… read more!
Kill Bill, Vol. 2
What's funny about the release of this picture is that everybody's going around saying how much better it is than Kill Bill, Vol. 1 - e.g., how there is more character and plot development. Well, guess what, folks? That's because it's the second half of one long film. Take any movie, cut it in two, release the first half six… read more!
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
You want to talk about "not for the squeamish"? The first shot of The Killing of a Sacred Deer is a horrifyingly long closeup of open heart surgery. Whether it's the most graphic image you'll see in the film is not something I'll reveal here; the point is that the shot not only sets up the story, it also sets you on… read more!
The King Is Alive
The fourth of the official Danish "Dogme 95" films - where the director is to adhere to a cinematic "vow of chastity" that includes no artificial lighting, post-production soundwork, non-handheld camera, and so on - and the first in English (the cast is mostly British unknowns and American semi-knowns including Jennifer Jason Leigh, Janet McTeer, Bruce Davison, and the late… read more!
King Kong
Though I haven't seen the original 1933 King Kong since I was a kid – and even so, I'm not sure if I sat through the whole thing – after watching Peter Jackson's epic 2005 remake, I gained a belated respect for the boldness of Ernest B. Schoedsack's and Merian C. Cooper's vision: at a time when the "talkies" were… read more!
The King of Kong
Crowd-pleasing documentary about two adult men in the 21st century who battle it out for the world record in the 1981 arcade classic Donkey Kong. Director Gordon skews the facts a little in order to give us the year's best screen villain: Billy Mitchell, the appallingly arrogant über-geek who had held the record since 1982 (and is also the world… read more!
The King of Staten Island
2020 has been a strange and terrible year, and one small part of that has been the closure of movie theaters, forcing blockbusters, art house films, and festivals to sit on ice until things can open up again. Supposedly that will happen in late July, with Christopher Nolan's Tenet hoping to finally put butts back in seats. But as of… read more!
The King’s Speech
The title of this film is a spoiler, as Colin Firth's character, King George VI, isn't even crowned until the last act, but never mind. The King's Speech is an entertaining, thoughtful drama about the turmoil Britain's royal family faced in the 1930s, as Albert, Duke of York – "Bertie" to his family – made his unexpected ascent to the… read more!
Kinsey
Alas, not a movie about yours truly – that would be called Kinesy – this is a well-meaning if occasionally corny biography of Alfred Kinsey (Liam Neeson), the influential Indiana State University professor whose post-World War II interviews with ordinary Americans about their sexual practices blew apart countless old-fashioned notions about sex in this country, and arguably opened the door… read more!
Kitchen Stories
In the late 1940s, a Swedish research institute hell-bent on collecting the most random data about Scandinavian household behavior sends a squad of researchers into rural Norway to study the kitchen habits of old Norwegian bachelors. The one rule the researchers must follow: never interact with their "hosts", but simply sit in the corner of the room (in ridiculously high… read more!
Knight of Cups
Although Terrence Malick's following has dwindled to a few diehard film critics and movie geeks, the writer/director keeps churning out features in this fertile third act of his career. They all look great, thanks to Emmanuel Lubezki's flawless cinematography, Jack Fisk's rich production design, and the most attractive actors Hollywood has to offer. But Malick's increasing disinterest in narrative and his fondness for stilted voiceovers have turned… read more!
A Knight’s Tale
Breezy romantic comedy/adventure set in Medieval Europe about a young peasant (Heath Ledger) who, aspiring to be a knight, pretends that he is of noble birth so that he can compete in royal jousting tournaments. Naturally, he's good at what he does, falls in love with a hot babe, and has his goofy but well-meaning buddies to back him up… read more!
Knives Out
There's nothing but fun to be had in Rian Johnson's modern spin on the classic whodunnit, in which a wealthy author of mystery novels (Christopher Plummer) is found dead in his study, his throat slashed and yet ruled a suicide, and of course several members of his terrible family have motives for killing him. A private detective (Daniel Craig, relishing… read more!
Knocked Up
When The 40-Year-Old Virgin came out in 2005, I was as surprised as everybody else at how good it was. I hate romantic comedies, and yet, despite its occasional flaws, I thought Virgin was pretty terrific. So I was excited to see writer/director Judd Apatow's follow-up feature, the dreadfully titled Knocked Up. But while it's a decent, and occasionally quite… read more!
Kubo and the Two Strings
Laika, the Portland, Oregon animation house, returns with another stunning stop-motion beauty. But as with their previous outings Coraline, ParaNorman, and The Boxtrolls, their odd blend of kiddie movie and dark fantasy left me wondering just who their audience is supposed to be. I find myself lauding the studio for its commitment to quality while being increasingly annoyed by their insistence on dumbing down their… read more!