Author: Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen

Jeffrey Rex Bertelsen is an aspiring film and television critic from Denmark. Jeffrey graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 2018, and he holds a Master of Arts degree in English Studies with a minor in Film and Media Studies. Harry Potter fans will want to know that he is a Ravenclaw. Star Wars fans will be interested in knowing that he loves Star Wars: The Last Jedi. Cineastes will want to know that his favorite film of the first decade of the 21st Century is Guillermo Del Toro's El Laberinto del Fauno.

REVIEW: Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness (2022)

Doctor Strange encounters dark magic and alternate universes in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Photo: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

Directed by Sam Raimi – Screenplay by Michael Waldron.

Let’s be honest here. The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), arguably the most popular film series of our current time, is really more a series than a selection of films. Martin Scorsese has referred to superhero films like those as theme park rides (which I still contend isn’t as dismissive as it has been received by the internet), and, with its cliffhangers, easter eggs, references, and overarching character arcs, it is becoming increasingly difficult for these films to stand on their own. Some of these Marvel movies, for better or worse, don’t even try to stand on their own (like Avengers: Age of Ultron). Doctor Strange In the Multiverse of Madness is one of those films.

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REVIEW: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)

Nicolas Cage plays an exaggerated version of himself in Tom Gormican’s THE UNBEARABLE WEIGHT OF MASSIVE TALENT – Photo: Lionsgate.

Directed by Tom Gormican – Screenplay by Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten.

Nicolas Cage is incredible. He’s a legend. This film’s opening states as much. It is true, though. The Academy Award winner may have done a lot of cheaper straight-to-video B-films over the course of more than the last decade, but the star with a cult following has remained a wildly entertaining thespian through it all, and he hasn’t lost a step, like Michael Sarnoski’s Pig, from last year, proved. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent may not ultimately earn Cage as many critical accolades as the aforementioned Sarnoski film did, but it is a great comedic tribute to Cage, as well as a reminder to audiences all around the world that he’s still here, he never went anywhere, and he’s as entertaining as ever.

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REVIEW: Choose Or Die (2022)

Iola Evans and Asa Butterfield in Toby Meakins’ CHOOSE OR DIE – Photo: Netflix.

Directed by Toby Meakins – Screenplay by Simon Allen.

This is the kind of film that, not too long ago, would’ve been the kind of horror picture that could be released in theaters and earned quite a bit of money, like Jeff Wadlow’s Truth or Dare, which this film reminded me of at times. Who knows, maybe it could’ve even done that right now in a post-lockdown America. We will never know because instead of being released theatrically this nostalgic tech-focused horror film was released without much fanfare on Netflix on April 15th. If you like those kinds of gimmicky horror films, then this might be the kind of film that you’d like to put on. But, with that having been said, I cannot recommend this fairly disposable horror feature, in spite of its relatively short 84-minute runtime.

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REVIEW: The Northman (2022)

Alexander Skarsgård has transformed himself to play the role that I think he was born to play in THE NORTHMAN – Photo: Universal Pictures.

Directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch) – Screenplay by Robert Eggers & Sjón.

Inspired by Icelandic sagas and Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum legend of Prince Amleth of Jutland (the latter of which was supposedly the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s Hamlet), The Northman is a $90 million budgeted epic viking revenge film from Robert Eggers, the director of the relatively low-budgeted indie ‘art house-esque’ horror films The Witch and The Lighthouse. It is a dirty, violent, blood-soaked, and brilliantly-made film, and it is easily Robert Eggers’ most accessible film, even though it definitely isn’t your average big-budgeted action film.

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9th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards, Pt. II – 2021 – Film Awards

The 94th Oscars ceremony has concluded, and my Top Ten Films of 2021-list has been released. That means it’s now time for me to reveal the second and final half of my 9th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards. If you missed part one, then click here to read about my TV, Music, and Games winners. As always, the second half is all about films. In this article, you’ll find out who I think are the best actors of 2021, what film legend I have decided to celebrate, and much, much more. Oh, and also, there is a new-ish award that will be introduced for the first time in this very article. So, let’s get to it.

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REVIEW: Speak No Evil (2022)

Christian Tafdrup’s SPEAK NO EVIL is much more than just an unsettling culture clash – PHOTO: Nordisk Film.

Directed by Christian Tafdrup – Screenplay by Christian Tafdrup & Mads Tafdrup.

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, critics and festivalgoers alike were introduced to one of Denmark’s latest filmmaking provocateurs, Christian Tafdrup. The actor-turned-director got his career as a filmmaker started with his first two feature-length efforts Forældre (int. title: Parents) and En Frygtelig Kvinde (int. title: A Terrible Woman), the latter of which starred Amanda Collin (who you may have seen in HBO Max’s Raised by Wolves) and was a relative hit that provoked some audience-members. Speak No Evil — Tafdrup’s latest feature film — was received fairly well at the festival, and is, reportedly, one of the best films that actor Robert Pattinson has seen in many years. I won’t go that far, but I will say that I think this very unsettling Danish thriller is Tafdrup’s best film yet.

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REVIEW: CODA (2021)

Emilia Jones as ‘Ruby Rossi’ in Sian Heder’s CODA – Photo: Apple TV+.

Directed by Sian Heder – Screenplay by Sian Heder.

Whenever a film wins the Academy Awards’ Best Picture the spotlights start to assemble on top of it. People wish to poke holes in the film, call it overrated, and, in general, it suddenly has to live up to loftier expectations than it had to back when it was just a popular film. Moonlight was able to handle those spotlights, and it is still one of the previous decade’s great Best Picture winners (even though I preferred La La Land). Green Book, on the other hand, not so much.

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Sad News: Bruce Willis to Retire from Acting due to Aphasia diagnosis

Bruce Willis in UNBREAKABLE – PHOTO: Buena Vista Pictures Distribution.

Sad news coming out of Hollywood today, as the Willis family has put out a statement confirming that their patriarch, Bruce Willis, one of the biggest male action stars in Tinseltown for the last thirty-five years has decided to step away from his acting career due to recent health issues and the fact that he has been diagnosed with aphasia.

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The 94th Oscars Ceremony was already problematic before Will Smith struck Chris Rock

A visibly-emotional Will Smith sits down after having slapped Chris Rock on stage at the Dolby Theatre – PHOTO: AMPAS, 2022.

Others may disagree but the Academy Awards ceremony — arguably Hollywood’s biggest night — is never boring to me. Some cinephiles think of it like their Super Bowl, their WrestleMania, but I don’t think anyone expected the ceremony to devolve into a contact sport as it briefly did in the Dolby Theatre at the 94th Academy Awards, when one of Hollywood’s last name-brand movie stars, the almost-always cool Will Smith, lost his temper. It was certainly one of the uglier moments in Oscar history, and it also topped what was previously the craziest moment in Oscar history.

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Additional Bite-Sized Reviews, Early 2022: ‘The Eyes of Tammy Faye,’ ‘The Afterparty,’ and More

Christopher Miller’s The Afterparty is available on APPLE TV+ right now. – Photo: Apple TV+.

In this edition of my recurring movie and television catch-up article series titled ‘Additional Bite-Sized Reviews,’ I take a look at one of the start of the year’s best shows, and I also give you my thoughts on a (currently) Oscar-nominated film. So, get comfortable, and get ready to read my thoughts on things like Apple TV+’s latest gem and the film that very well could earn Jessica Chastain her first Academy Award tonight.

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