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: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Ballad of Buster Scruggs — Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.

Netflix has come a long way since its first original film in the western genre, 2015’s The Ridiculous Six, which was so poorly received that it still now, at the time of writing, has a 0% score on Rotten Tomatoes‘ Tomatometer. Not a single Rotten Tomatoes approved critic liked the film that I called “possibly the worst film of 2015.”

Now here we are in November of 2018, and now Netflix has a new western original film to champion. Netflix has teamed up with the widely celebrated Coen Brothers to release a collection of American western stories presented as an anthology film and not as a series, as it was previously reported as. The Coens’ The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is hysterical, sad, and morbid, and it is one of my favorite films of the year thus far.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)” →

REVIEW: Suspiria (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Amazon Studios

The following is a review of Suspiria — Directed by Luca Guadagnino.

The original Dario Argento Italian horror classic Suspiria is one of those films horror fanatics scream from the rooftops for you to watch. For the longest time, I was one of those who ignored that call. To prepare for Luca Guadagnino’s 2018 reimagining of the same name, I finally decided to sit down and watch Argento’s film, and while I didn’t love it as much as its disciples do, I recognized it as a stunning stylish classic with a frightening musical theme, but the dialogue and the acting left something to be desired. Continue reading “REVIEW: Suspiria (2018)” →

Netflix Revives Dream Projects – Special Features #32

Netflix is slowly changing its reputation. For the longest time, people saw Netflix as a dumping ground for original films. But even though Netflix still hasn’t managed to learn exactly how they can promote all of their films on the service, it would be foolish to call Netflix a dumping ground nowadays. Instead, I think it is time to accept the fact that Netflix is a place where certain dreams come true. Maybe not for actors or other hopefuls, but for filmmakers — both those who have lost major studio backing and those who are just starting to make a name for themselves. Continue reading “Netflix Revives Dream Projects – Special Features #32” →

REVIEW: Overlord (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Overlord — Directed by Julius Avery.

I won’t be the first or the last person to make this comparison, but Avery’s Overlord could’ve easily been the basis for a Wolfenstein game, a hugely popular and long-running video game series — the title font on the poster above is even similar to the font used for the latest Wolfenstein-logo.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Overlord (2018)” →

REVIEW: The Other Side of the Wind (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Other Side of the Wind — Directed by Orson Welles.

Legendary filmmaker Orson Welles, who died in 1985, has had his final film released as a Netflix film in 2018. That is one of those sentences that makes no sense to anyone unfamiliar with the situation. It isn’t a spoof film. It isn’t a joke. The Other Side of the Wind is actually a long-discussed unfinished Welles project that is now finally seeing the light of day thanks to a streaming service.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Other Side of the Wind (2018)” →

REVIEW: Shirkers (2018 – Documentary)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of the Netflix Documentary Shirkers — Directed by Sandi Tan.

In the early 1990s, a group of teenage Singaporean cinephiles became filmmakers when they wrote, cast, produced, and shot their independent road movie, Shirkers. Though the film was directed by their American mentor Georges Cardona, the premise and the script came from Sandi Tan who also played the protagonist. As Sandi Tan waited to go into post-production on Shirkers, Cardona, who was in possession of the film reels, ignored her and disappeared out of nowhere with the film — leaving her and her friends empty-handed and without the film that a film critic friend of theirs thought was childish but ahead of its time.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Shirkers (2018 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster — 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Bohemian Rhapsody — Directed by Bryan Singer.

The best word to describe the reported principal photography process for Bohemian Rhapsody is ‘problematic.’ Production of the film was temporarily stopped due to director Bryan Singer. Bryan Singer was eventually fired before the film was even finished. Hoping to save the film, the studio behind it hired director Dexter Fletcher to complete the film and take it across the finishing line in the best state possible. As it turns out, Bohemian Rhapsody — the film — is not as interesting as the notorious making of the film seems to have been. Continue reading “REVIEW: Bohemian Rhapsody (2018)” →

REVIEW: The Haunting of Hill House (2018 – TV Series)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of the Netflix limited series The Haunting of Hill House — Directed by Mike Flanagan.

With films like Oculus, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Hush, and Gerald’s Game, filmmaker Mike Flanagan has started to make quite a name for himself. He has become a reliable horror filmmaker, and after Gerald’s Game, in particular, it certainly felt like he had gotten into the right meeting rooms. Suddenly, he had signed on to adapt Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, and right now he is ready with these ten episodes of The Haunting of Hill House — a great Netflix’s horror series that is as sad as it is terrifying. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Haunting of Hill House (2018 – TV Series)” →

REVIEW: First Man (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a review of First Man — Directed by Damien Chazelle.

Do kids still dream of becoming astronauts? — That is one of the many things I thought of after I saw First Man — the latest film from Damien Chazelle (Guy and Madeline on a Park Bench; Whiplash; La La Land). When I was a kid I remember I sometimes would play and try to jump in slow motion, because I imagined that would be what it would be like to jump on the moon. Continue reading “REVIEW: First Man (2018)” →

REVIEW: Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of Bad Times at the El Royale — Directed by Drew Goddard.

There are some films that you can only recommend with a very specific caveat — that the movie felt as if it had been designed and made for you. This feeling can happen all the time, and when this happens I almost always find myself saying that “I absolutely loved it,” and then I limit my statement with a “but.” In the case of Bad Times at the El Royale, that sentence would probably look something like this: “I absolutely loved it, but there is a very real chance that its length and pace will annoy the hell out of you.”  Continue reading “REVIEW: Bad Times at the El Royale (2018)” →