Screen Test

                                                                               Neon studios poster image via IMDb.com If you're not fond of the sight of blood, you might think twice about seeing “The Secret Agent.” Blood is the glue trying together the chapters of this Brazilian political thriller just nominated for four Academy Awards after winning the best-actor Golden Globe for Wagner Moura. Blood is both symbol and metaphor … not to mention literal, as gallons of the stuff flow through the fast-paced action. It comes from numerous donors, including one gnarly shark. Sharks, and the movie “Jaws,” are another recurrent theme for writer-director Kleber Mendonca Filho. Marcelo Alves (Moura) is not a secret agent. Instead, he is a one-time university professor forced underground by Brazil's ...

                                  Michael B. Jordan, twice, in “Sinners.”  Warner Bros. photo via IMDb.com When I saw “Sinners” the first time, I didn't review it. It was because of the vampires. What were a bunch of bloodsuckers doing in what would have otherwise been a sweeping historic epic – a brilliantly cinematic correction to the “Gone With the Wind” version of the Deep South? When awards season started cranking up a few months ago and “Sinners” was an obvious frontrunner, I went back and watched it again. The vampires still bugged me. But now I knew why they had to be there. Set in 1932, twin brothers Smoke and Stack (both superbly played by Michael B. Jordan) return to their hometown of Clarksdale in the Mississippi Delta in flashy suits with wads of cash in their pockets. After fighting in World War I, they made all that money joining forces with Al Capone's bootlegging mob in Chicago. No...

Laura Dern, Will Arnett and Calvin Knegten in “Is This Thing On?” Jason McDonald/Searchlight Pictures photo via IMDb.com Laura Dern won an Oscar for playing the divorce attorney in “Marriage Story.” Now, in “Is This Thing On?” she's the one getting the divorce. Hmmm, did she miss something … ? Her character Tess Novak, a former volleyball champion, takes the breakup in stride. Between her young sons, the dogs, her homey home and a possible new career coaching, there's not much room for depression. Her husband Alex (Will Arnett) handles it a little differently. He accidentally wanders into a comedy club one open-mic night, and before you can say, “Is this thing on?” he's doing stand-up comedy about the divorce and the sorry state of his life in general. Unlikely as it may sound, this is all based on true events. At least that's what it says in the end titles, right after the director's credit for Bradley Cooper. Cooper also costars as the goofball husband of Andra Da...