Every year or two the Academy Awards tends to give a Best Picture nod to a film released in August (“The Help” and “Hell or High Water” to name two); let’s hope that trend continues. “Detroit” is based on the Algiers Motel incident during Detroit’s 12th Street Riot in 1967, where a half dozen black… Continue reading The Intense and Frustrating ‘Detroit’ is One of 2017’s Best
Oh my god, I love Jenny Slate so much. “Landline” is the sophomore film for writer-director Gillian Robespierre following “Obvious Child.” The film follows two sisters (Jenny Slate and Abby Quinn) who thing their dad is having an affair in 1995 New York City. Edie Falco, John Turturro, Jay Duplass and Finn Wittrock also star.… Continue reading Charming Cast Elevates ‘Landline’ Past Its Familiar Flaws
Last summer the first weekend in August gave us two dumpster fires, “Suicide Squad” and “Nine Lives.” I guess history does repeat itself. “The Dark Tower” is the highly-anticipated adaption of the Stephen King book series. The film stars Idris Elba as a gun-slinging man on a quest to protect the titular tower from “The… Continue reading ‘The Dark Tower’ is Boring and Overall Misconceived
As much as I would love to just make this whole review the “pudding” emoji, I have a little more creativity and dedication than the people who made this film (I’m using the word “film” in the loosest sense possible). “The Emoji Movie” (God help us) is based on the texting ideograms of the same… Continue reading Words Cannot Describe ‘The Emoji Movie’
It’s been a good year for women at the movies, with “Wonder Woman” saving the DC Extended Universe and “Girls Trip” being the best comedy of 2017. We were due for a misstep eventually… “Atomic Blonde” stars Charlize Theron as an MI6 agent who must track down a defecting German with a list of undercover… Continue reading ‘Atomic Blonde’ Not as Big a Blast as It Should Be
I think David Lowery following up a $65 million Disney blockbuster with a $100,000 adult drama is the definition of Hollywood’s “one for them, one for me” rule. “A Ghost Story” follows the soul of a recently deceased man (Casey Affleck) who returns to the home he shared with his girlfriend (Rooney Mara). David Lowery… Continue reading ‘A Ghost Story’ is a Hard Film to Figure Out
With “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” becoming the latest big-budget bomb at the box office this weekend, opening to $17 million against its $209 million budget, it got me thinking. How much is too much for a film to cost? What films should get the six digit budgets and moreover what goes… Continue reading What a Movie Should Cost: A Look at Box Office Bombs
Hollywood needs to stop trying to make Cara Delevingne happen, she’s never going to happen. “Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets” (I won’t be typing all that this whole review) is based on the French comic series and stars Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne as two space cops in the future who must… Continue reading ‘Valerian’ is a Beautiful Looking Mess
I love it when a film is exactly what you hoped it would be. “Girls Trip” stars Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith as four lifelong friends who travel to a music festival in New Orleans to try and reconnect after years apart. Malcolm D. Lee directs. I have several guilty… Continue reading ‘Girls Trip’ is Raunchy and Hilarious and I Lowkey Loved it
Between this, “Churchill” last month and “Darkest Hour” in November, World War II Britain is getting a lot of cinematic visits this year… “Dunkirk” is the new film from writer/director Christopher Nolan, and follows the attempted evacuation of some 400,000 British soldiers off the French beach of the titular city in the early stages of… Continue reading ‘Dunkirk’ is an Overly-Ambitious but Still Pretty Good War Film
The Reel Deal 