Noel Murray, Author at The Playlist

Idris Elba & Kate Winslet Battle For Survival In ‘The Mountain Between Us’ [TIFF Review]

September 11, 2017 3:40 pm

In Charles Martin’s novel "The Mountain Between Us" and in director Hany Abu-Assad’s new big screen adaptation of the work, the mountain is as literal as it is metaphorical. Martin’s story begins with a twin-en...

Engrossing Doc ‘A River Below’ Dives In Search Of Dying Amazon River Dolphins [Tribeca Review]

Noel Murray

April 22, 2017 9:00 pm

News, Reviews

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In the first 15 minutes of the documentary “A River Below,” director Mark Grieco introduces two unforgettable characters and one mystery. First up is Fernando Trujillo, a conservationist who’s spent years leadi...

Drake Doremus’ ‘Newness’ Starring Nicholas Hoult Puts A Fresh Spin On Familiar Relationship Problems [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 26, 2017 9:13 am

News, Reviews

The early scenes of the contemporary romance “Newness” make it seem like the movie is going to be a frank critique of dating in the iPhone age, when apps make it easier to find a mate — at least for the night —...

Alex Ross Perry’s ‘Golden Exits’ Is A Collection Of Half-Realized Ideas And Characters [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 23, 2017 12:32 pm

News, Reviews

1

Only a filmmaker as talented as Alex Ross Perry could make a movie as misbegotten as “Golden Exits.” With his past features “Impolex,” “The Color Wheel,” “Listen Up Philip,” and “Queen of Earth,” Perry has esta...

‘Wilson’ Starring Woody Harrelson Is A Simplified Version Of A Much More Complicated Comic [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 23, 2017 8:36 am

News, Reviews

Cartoonist Dan Clowes is responsible for some of the best graphic novels and short comics stories of the past 25 years, two of which — “Ghost World” and “Art School Confidential” — ave been made into movies. B...

‘A Ghost Story’ Starring Rooney Mara & Casey Affleck Weaves A Mesmerizing, Fascinating Tale [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 22, 2017 11:13 pm

News, Reviews

The Ghost in writer-director David Lowery’s “A Ghost Story” is an honest-to-goodness old-school ghost: white sheet, eye-holes, the whole bit. The first time he appears, it’s a great visual gag. An unnamed man (...

Elizabeth Olsen and Jeremy Renner appear in Wind River by Taylor Sheridan, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. © 2016 Sundance Institute.

‘Sicario’ Writer Taylor Sheridan Delivers The Goods Again In ‘Wind River’ With Jeremy Renner & Elizabeth Olsen [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 22, 2017 9:58 am

News, Reviews

1

It’s rare for someone’s directorial debut to be “highly anticipated,” but Taylor Sheridan’s police/western hybrid “Wind River” definitely qualifies, given that over the past two years, his scripts for “Sicario”...

Cate Shortland’s ‘Berlin Syndrome’ Starring Teresa Palmer Is An Unbearably Intense, Slow Burn Thriller [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 22, 2017 9:29 am

News, Reviews

“Berlin Syndrome” is a different kind of serial-killer thriller: one that slows the predator/prey process down in order to focus on the clinical and psychological details. Imagine a version of “The Silence Of T...

‘Landline’ Is A Hit And Miss Followup From ‘Obvious Child’ Team Jenny Slate & Gillian Robespierre [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 21, 2017 6:55 pm

News, Reviews

Three years ago, writer-director Gillian Robespierre, writer-producer Elisabeth Holm, and actress-comedian Jenny Slate won over Sundance — and then had a small-but-significant arthouse hit — with their offbeat ...

Michael Cera & Abbi Jacobson Can’t Save The Underbaked ‘Person To Person’ [Sundance Review]

Noel Murray

January 20, 2017 7:41 pm

News, Reviews

“Intentionally phony” is one of the hardest tones for a movie to pull off. Wes Anderson can do it, and Jim Jarmusch, Joel and Ethan Coen, and a handful of other filmmakers. Their characters and dialogue are rar...