Movie reviews of Eric Hillis

Unlike the letters that made Israel initially rich and ultimately a wanted criminal, Heller's film is the real deal. Review

Both in theme and aesthetic, Destroyer plays like a mash-up of Bigelow's cop thrillers Point Break and Blue Steel, but it only momentarily captures the surface thrills of either. Review

After a few recent duds, Eastwood has returned with both his most entertaining and most well observed movie since 2004's Million Dollar Baby. Review

Ultimately, watching Escape Room isn't a whole lot different from watching a Saturday teatime game show. Review

The Miseducation of Cameron Post was by no means the definitive take on this topic, but it wisely recognised the absurdity within the practice and played its drama as a black comedy. Not so Boy Erased, which is serious with a capital S and devoid of humanity save for a warm performance by Nicole Kidman... Review

Though largely listless and at times positively coma-inducing, if you can keep yourself awake there are a few worthwhile moments in All is True. Review

McKay clearly made this movie for a liberal audience, but unless you spent the past two decades living in a cave, you're not going to learn anything new about Cheney and the Bush administration. Shouldn't this movie have come out a decade ago? Oh wait, it did. It was directed by Oliver Stone and called W. Review

What little plot there is builds inevitably to yet another of Shyamalan's trademark twists, but this one is underwhelming and makes little sense, contradicting evidence the film has previously presented. Review

Josie draws us in, but its ludicrous climax has the effect of a turning a few mellow beers on a balmy porch into an overbearing keg party attended by uninvited frat boys. Review

Bird Box is essentially a monster movie, but it continuously gives the impression that it's embarrassed by such a label. Review

Hogancamp's retreat from reality into a misogynistic fantasy world is simply impossible to get behind... Review

CAM isn't the definitive take on the horrors that lurk in the shadows of the online world, but it may have you checking the strength of your email password. Review

Yet while it's a fun ride, Bumblebee is by no means a classic of its genre. Once again we have a Transformers movie that fails to do anything interesting with its robots' ability to transform and blend in with earth, and the plot, while commendably economic, is essentially a knockoff of every boy/girl meets robot/alien movie spewed out by Hollywood in the wake of E.T's box office success. Review

It's refreshingly lacking in the brooding, emo atmosphere of its YA contemporaries, but it's also devoid of humour, and its cast are forced go through the motions and deliver stiff performances, spouting functional dialogue. Review

Yet even though The House That Jack Built is essentially a 2.5 hour lecture on a subject that's been handled far more efficiently by subtler filmmakers in the past, it's rarely dull. Review

If you're a fan of the movies Lowery is evoking here, his film's '70s aesthetic and Redford's unique charm will have you smiling throughout, but you may find yourself hungering for a more substantial take on Tucker's life when the credits have rolled. Review

If Beale Street Could Talk is about people stuck in a horrific situation, but never feeling sorry for themselves, carrying hope in their hearts and finding beauty wherever they can. That's the essence of Jazz. It's dark now, but brightness is never far away. Review

The Favourite certainly isn't a case of Lanthimos becoming a director for hire, but it's lacking his indefinable presence to a noticeable degree. Review

The miscasting of McAdams means the rekindled romance never shines as brightly as Lelio would like it to, but it is sensitively handled, and a final moment of reconciliation between the three leads is authentic and affecting. Review

Most of the running time however is devoted to Amin, who simply drifts through his own story like a zombie, focussed on keeping his head down and putting away cash for an uncertain future. Perhaps this is the point of Faucon's film, to highlight the dull grind of the lives of men like Amin, but it doesn't make for a particularly involving viewing experience. Review

Madeline's Madeline may well prove a frustrating watch for many casual viewers, but for anyone with an interest in the creative process and the narcissism that often goes along with that process, it's a fascinating and rewarding experience. Review

But I Feel Good isn't simply a socialist message delivery system, it's a hilarious series of comic vignettes that will have you regularly doubled over in your seat. Review

The Trouble With You is an ambitious mess with all too intermittent flashes of sophistication. Review

Life, Cuarón seems to suggest, can be beautiful, but it can turn nasty at any moment, so savour the moments of beauty where you can. There's much to savour in Roma. Review