Freeze Frame: “Ocean’s 8” (PG-13), “Hotel Artemis” (R), “First Reformed” (R) (Freeze Frame)

Freeze Frame: “Ocean’s 8” (PG-13), “Hotel Artemis” (R), “First Reformed” (R)

Freeze Frame · Jun 8, 2018 · 2m

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The movie

First Reformed (2018)

The main topic of this episode

Show notes

Flip the script, make the con men con women, but keep the cheeky feel. That seems to be the thought process behind the comic heist spin-off, "Ocean's Eight." Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett and a bevy of talented actresses fill the roles but aren't really challenged by the material. Still, they seem to be having fun. Anne Hathaway, doing something of a self-parody as a vacuous actress, has the only meaty role. Jodi Foster and Sterling K. Brown lead an impressive cast in the dark and violent sci-fi crime thriller, “Hotel Artemis.” In a riot-torn near future LA, gunshot victims visit a secret private hospital for criminals only. It’s well produced, but this grindhouse-style entry doesn’t quite nail the electric pace it sorely needs. Filmmaker Paul Schrader examines the twin themes of faith and environmentalism in the thoughtful drama “First Reformed.” Ethan Hawke plays the parish pastor of a 250-year-old New England church who tries to balance his beliefs and his despair when one of his parishioners commits suicide. Hawke is very good, as is the supporting cast that includes Amanda Seyfried and Cedric the Entertainer, and newcomer Van Hansis. Schrader poses probing questions that aren’t easily answered, framed within an…