It's baffling how the wonderment of space exploration is nowhere to be found in this. There's no emotion, no sentimentality, no element to signify the vast plains of space and the grandness that can unfold when travelling that far into the unknown. James Gray somehow manages to concoct a film that is utterly devoid of the excitement that would prop up in an astronomically-inflexed creation, a more pared-down one or otherwise. Ad Astra, in short, is lifeless, dull, unimaginative, apathetic,…

Good film, but this feels overacted. The leads are great and seem to do what is asked of them, but there are scenes - especially that one where he punches a hole in the wall before she wails like a banshee all the while jumping during her conniption - that seem outright comical when it is clear that the intent was the opposite. Even so, Driver is fantastic, and there's a scene at the very end of this where he…

In essence, what Aronofsky dares to cross here is a tightrope - framing ballet isn't easy, plus the undertaking of making it such a compelling yarn is admirable - and he does so valiantly; aided by a plethora of metaphorical undercurrents enveloped by an admonition for perfection, nimbly sparring the viewer through samples of horror only to entwine them with riveting character study and melodrama. There's a certain authenticity about this film, and Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis have all…