Movie & TV Reviews, Lists, and Appreciation
Damien Chazelle's third major feature, the follow-up to his Oscar-winning La La Land, attempts to take us to the moon while also providing a portrait of one of America's most iconic heroes -- Neil Armstrong. The results unfortunately are a very mixed bag. While the flight sequences themselves are frenetic and impressive, the human drama … Continue reading Review: First Man
I've long been a fan of Drew Goddard's work, from his days as a writer on Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Lost to the ingenious Cabin in the Woods. So when his follow-up to one of the best horror films of the past 20 years landed, a Tarantino-esque ensemble of bad souls all stuck together … Continue reading Review: Bad Times at the El Royale
Like other 90's kids, my introduction to many a classic film was via other popular movies. My first taste of Stanley Kubrick's The Shining was seeing it get ripped apart at a drive-in movie theater by an F-4 tornado in 1996's Twister. '96 was also the same year that Wes Craven's Scream tore through theaters. … Continue reading Review: Halloween (2018)
A classic showbiz tale gets a modern retelling and proves that some stories never lose their emotional resonance. After many false starts, that at one time included Clint Eastwood directing Beyonce, Bradley Cooper decided to step behind the camera for his directorial debut and what a debut it is. Cooper does sensational, career-best work in … Continue reading Review: A Star Is Born
Spike Lee's latest feature film, BlacKkKlansman, tells the story of the first African-American police officer in Colorado Springs during the 1970's and his efforts to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. What follows is a brilliantly constructed, often hilarious, and scathing juxtaposition of race relations then and now. The film hits you like a sledge hammer … Continue reading Review: BlacKkKlansman
After 22 years, with the exception of John Woo's stylish but silly second installment, the Mission: Impossible series has consistently topped itself and become one one of Hollywood's most dependable and exciting franchises. Fallout not only raises the bar, but it makes every other action franchise look like child's play. The action sequences here are … Continue reading Review: Mission: Impossible – Fallout
Accomplished writer and rapper Boots Riley arrives on the filmmaking scene with a supernova-sized bang with his Sundance hit Sorry To Bother You -- which was also produced out of the Sundance Lab. Riley weaves a twisted and scathing tale of corporate greed and racial identity that is so expressionist and darkly hilarious that it … Continue reading Review: Sorry To Bother You
Where I continue to catch up on this summer's big would-be blockbusters and am left feeling mostly ambivalent towards them all except for a pair of smaller-stature heroes. But let's go ahead and dig into them regardless. Ocean's 8 While it refreshingly plays as a straight sequel with new characters and is a great showcase … Continue reading Summer Catch-Up: Part 2
This summer movie season hasn't necessarily been churning out a host of must-see entertainment. In fact, it's one of the weaker seasons I can remember. With that in mind, it felt like a great opportunity to flex this whole MoviePass business and take it for a drive, which has allowed me to catch up on … Continue reading Summer Catch-Up: Part 1
First-time writer/director Ari Aster brilliantly fuses horror metaphor and classic scares into a powerfully unsettling and disturbing depiction of familial collapse. Toni Collette gives a powerhouse performance in a film that is densely packed with big and frightening ideas. It's a slow burn of unnerving atmosphere and palpable dread that escalates toward a descent into … Continue reading Review: Hereditary
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