Category: Movie Reviews

REVIEW: Vice (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Annapurna Pictures

The following is a review of Vice — Directed by Adam McKay.

In recent years, comedy filmmaker Adam McKay has successfully changed his reputation in Hollywood. He was once thought of as one of the great funny-man directors of the industry, with such films as Anchorman and The Other Guys. But with 2015’s The Big Short — a film about the financial crisis of 2008 — McKay became known for his unconventional techniques in covering a disastrous true story. It didn’t work for everyone, but, for the most part, I really enjoyed his first foray into this style of political filmmaking.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Vice (2018)” →

REVIEW: Arctic (2019)

Danish Theatrical Release Poster – United International Pictures

The following is a review of Arctic — Directed by Joe Penna.

To some, Mads Mikkelsen, known outside of his home country for his roles in the NBC-series Hannibal and the James Bond-film Casino Royale, is the quintessential villain. A European character actor that, from time to time, takes on roles in blockbuster films and elevates the material. To others, like A. O. Scott once wrote, Mads Mikkelsen is the face of Danish cinema. The Copenhagen-born dancer-turned-actor has earned himself a strong reputation outside of Denmark, with such successes as winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in Thomas Vinterberg’s The Hunt. Continue reading “REVIEW: Arctic (2019)” →

REVIEW: Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Velvet Buzzsaw — Directed by Dan Gilroy.

In 2014, Dan Gilroy’s directorial debut — Nightcrawler — became a hit with critics and audiences alike. It gave us a brilliant and rivetingly unhinged performance from its leading man, Jake Gyllenhaal, and it showed us that Dan Gilroy was a supremely talented filmmaker.

With his second directorial effort, Roman J. Israel, Esq., Gilroy stumbled a bit, even though that film had another committed lead performance — this time from Denzel Washington. Now, Gilroy and Gyllenhaal have reteamed for a horror film about the art world with Netflix’s Velvet Buzzsaw, and, though it isn’t quite a return to form, it shows us that Gilroy is perfectly capable of having fun with his art. Continue reading “REVIEW: Velvet Buzzsaw (2019)” →

REVIEW: Burning (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – CGV Arthouse

The following is a review of Burning (‘버닝‘) — Directed by Lee Chang-dong.

There are a couple of news reports during the first hour of Lee Chang-dong’s Burning. During the reading of these reports, the frustrated Lee Jong-su (played by Yoo Ah-in) is walking through his family home, a farm house so close to the North Korean border that he’s able to hear North Korean propaganda out in the open. As he is walking through the house, we hear how his generation is struggling to find work in South Korea, and we also see President Donald Trump on a television screen. Continue reading “REVIEW: Burning (2018)” →

REVIEW: The Favourite (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Fox Searchlight Pictures

The following is a review of The Favourite — Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

When I first saw the brilliant-but-beautifully-absurd The Lobster a couple of years ago, I was wildly impressed with this ‘new’ director that I thought I had come upon. That was an extremely assured but absurdist-to-the-bone English-language debut, and he followed it up with The Killing of a Sacred Deer, which is another successful but very odd film. I’ve enjoyed both of these English-language films, so I was, naturally, intrigued by his next inspired and auteurist foray into English-language filmmaking — The Favourite. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Favourite (2018)” →

REVIEW: Polar (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Polar — Directed by Jonas Åkerlund.

Netflix’s Polar — from prominent Swedish music video director Jonas Åkerlund — is an action-comedy film based on a Dark Horse graphic novel of the same name starring Danish star Mads Mikkelsen as Duncan Vizla, a retired hitman who, after an attempt is made on his life, comes out of retirement to take down those who have wronged him, and to save his neighbor (played by Vanessa Hudgens) from the people that tried to take him out. Continue reading “REVIEW: Polar (2019)” →

REVIEW: Cold War (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Kino Swiat

The following is a review of Cold War (‘Zimna wojna‘) — Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.

Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated Pawel Pawlikowski’s Cold War for three Oscars including Best Director and Best Foreign Language Film. The day before last, I finally got to see the European Film Awards-darling, and, today, I’m ready with a review of one of the best films not in the English Language from 2018. Continue reading “REVIEW: Cold War (2018)” →

REVIEW: Glass (2019)

US Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a review of Glass — Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Unbreakable is my favorite film from writer-director M. Night Shyamalan, whose career has been one of the bumpiest rides for any filmmaking talent in recent memory, and Split, Shyamalan’s 2017 secret continuation of the Unbreakable-universe, gave me one of my favorite experiences in a movie theater at the very end of the film, when Bruce Willis appeared out of nowhere to reveal that Mr. Glass, David Dunn, and The Beast exist in the same world. Continue reading “REVIEW: Glass (2019)” →

REVIEW: FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019 – Documentary)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened — Directed by Chris Smith.

Nowadays it’s tough to be informed about every tiny little thing social media cares about. When I’m not terrified about why an elderly star’s name is trending on Twitter, I don’t pay a lot of attention to what is trending on social media — something has to stand out, or my timeline has to tweet about it constantly, for me to really notice (unless it’s relevant to my interests, of course). Continue reading “REVIEW: FYRE: The Greatest Party That Never Happened (2019 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: IO (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of IO — Directed by Jonathan Helpert.

Netflix is starting to build itself a — let’s call it — ‘fascinating’ library of original films. The service is filled to the brim with poor-to-average comedies, many of which feature Adam Sandler and his friends, and yet Netflix has started to make a name for itself as a place where unconventional or unmarketable films from great, noteworthy filmmakers are given a global reach.

But, in between these two piles of films of varying success, a film like IO exists. IO has a small but recognizable cast, the film is made by an up-and-coming filmmaker, and it struggles with themes present in films that sci-fi aficionados adore. Continue reading “REVIEW: IO (2019)” →