as much an extension of Magic Mike's recession era anxieties as it is the Ocean's heist capers, Logan Lucky is a generous (perhaps a little condescendingly so) portrait of the capability of blue-collar america, the endearing sincerity of the americana it inspires, and the poisonous effect corporatization has had on both. the logan brothers are NASCAR's prime audience: john-denver-listening, bob-seger-shirt-wearing members of the working-class that, despite both being left disabled by their country (one playing america's sport, the other fighting one of its many grotesque, unjust wars), buy into the national mythos that NASCAR intends to commodify and exploit. "it's like stealing from america" a member of their crew says late in the film, in regards to the moral concern…

Don’t call it a comeback (he’s been here for years), but Steven Soderbergh’s self-imposed exile from film directing is officially over, and his inevitable return to the big screen confirms what most of us have known all along: The guy is a lot better at making movies than he is at not making movies.

Hollywood’s most restless iconoclast, Soderbergh couldn’t take a vacation if his life depended on it; his “retirement” was shorter than the break that many major directors routinely take between projects, and during that time he directed two staggeringly great seasons of “The Knick,” executive produced both “Red Oaks” and “The Girlfriend Experience,” and shot one of the defining cinematic experiences of this or any other century,…

Steven Soderbergh has already demonstrated mastery over the slick heist movie and whilst this film is a less energetic affair than his best crime capers he still brings some enjoyable flair to the piece. That said, Soderbergh's characteristically strong direction is ultimately left flailing in the water without a well worked plot to cling to. Heist films, particularly those that ask you to marvel in the face of meticulous planning and genius execution are perhaps moreso than your average film hampered by plot holes which are here present in increasing abundance. The grand reveals and narrow escapes all fall flat given their dependence on increasingly implausible happenstance. This is a shame as addressing these issues at the script stage could…

After seeing Logan Lucky, if there's one thing I want to watch more of, it's the Bang Bros.

...wait, that came out wrong. Forget I said that. Let's start over.

Logan Lucky is an entertaining little caper of a film with a cast of characters that can't quite rival that of Soderbergh's Oceans films, but has their own unique charms nonetheless. Channing Tatum continues to impress as a leading man, nailing the accent and appearance of the West Virginia construction worker-turned-robber he plays. Adam Driver is a great foil to Tatum's Jimmy, playing his veteran brother with the skill we can now reliably expect from him (his accent toed the line of self-parody, however). Riley Keough felt a bit underused…

Honestly, Riley Keough could run me over with her speed car and I would say thank you. 

One of the most tonally interesting films I've seen this year. It's a heist movie that keeps telling you it's not one. The plot (and the trailer) makes you think you're in for a fast paced, sharply edited slick adrenaline ride: a guy loses his job so plots with his siblings to break into and rob the money being transported under the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the busiest race of the season. Pretty exciting, right? Well, yes, and no. It's sort of slow paced, sort of a character driven family drama with the heist sometimes taking the back seat, which felt quite refreshing.…