Category: Movie Reviews

RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man 2 (2004)

Theatrical Release Poster - Columbia Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following is a spoiler-filled retro review of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. It was written in 2016.

I vividly remember watching this film with my mom when it was first released. We both loved the film, and I just remember talking about it for hours. Talking about it when we were walking to the car, talking about it inside the car on the way home, and talking about it when we got home.

It’s not that Spider-Man 2 blew my mind. It isn’t one of those films that changed everything, not like I think the first Raimi Spider-Man did, or like The Dark Knight or Iron Man did. But it was just so much fun. It was everything a Spider-Man movie could and should be. It did what you want a superhero movie to do. It entertained people of all ages, and, in my opinion, it has aged really well over the years. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man 2 (2004)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Blue Valentine (2010)

Theatrical Release Poster - The Weinstein Company
Theatrical Release Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a quick spoiler-filled retro review of Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine.

“You always hurt the one you love,” Ryan Gosling’s character sings in Derek Cianfrance’s ‘love story’ Blue Valentine from 2010. That line tells you everything you need to know about this film, which tells a story about two people (played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) falling in love, starting a family, and how they become victims of complacency and expectations for their spouse.  Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Blue Valentine (2010)” →

REVIEW: XOXO (2016)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of XOXO, a Netflix original film.

“Eat. Sleep. Rave. Repeat.” – Let me preface this review by saying that I didn’t want to dislike it, when I pressed play on Netflix. I like Sarah Hyland, and she was why I wanted to watch this film. It looked like We Are Your Friends, which I haven’t heard a lot of good things about, but I kept an open mind. But, no, this definitely wasn’t made for me. Continue reading “REVIEW: XOXO (2016)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man (2002)

Release Poster - Columbia Pictures
Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following is a quick spoiler-filled retro review of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.

Great directors like James Cameron and David Fincher had been interested in making a film about Marvel’s famous wall-crawler, but it was up to the famous horror-director Sam Raimi to show the world just how special this character was, and he really did. Spider-Man is one of the most important superhero films ever made. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man (2002)” →

REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Release Poster - Columbia Pictures
Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following quick review of The Amazing Spider-Man was written in August 2016.

Five years after the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, Sony restarted their Spider-Man–film franchise instead of making the fourth Raimi film. This new reboot had to reintroduce his origin, and the writers had chosen to make the Lizard the villain. For a while, it looked like it was going to be the exact Spider-Man story I had always wanted.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)” →

REVIEW: Suicide Squad (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros. Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.

The DC Cinematic Universe needs a hit right now. Man of Steel was polarizing. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was critically panned and it needed an extended cut to fix some of its many problems. Now, Warner Bros. and DC have released a film about bad guys teaming up to do ‘good.’ It may be a bit of a risk, but they are going for a Guardians of the Galaxy-like surprise hit. Unfortunately, Suicide Squad doesn’t hold a candle to the aforementioned Marvel Studios hit. David Ayer’s film is an almost incoherent mess of a film.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Suicide Squad (2016)” →

UPDATED REVIEW: Midnight Special (2016)

Jaeden Lieberher in MIDNIGHT SPECIAL — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

This is an updated review of Jeff Nichols’ MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. The original review, which can be found here, was updated in June of 2023. Most of the review was rewritten and the score was upped.

Jeff Nichols is one of the most promising young directors out there. His first feature film – Shotgun Stories – was an excellent low-budget revenge tale about brotherhood. His two other films – Take Shelter & Mud – put him on worldwide critics’ radar as they were some of the best films of the years in which they were released. That early filmography highlights an impressive and talented filmmaker who clearly has it within himself to be more than merely an indie darling. With Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols made his first film that is placed squarely in the science-fiction genre, and, back when it was released, it was one of my most anticipated films of that year. To me, this felt like the right moment for Nichols to make a film that could really get his name out there, but, while I did like it when I first saw it, it didn’t immediately live up to the expectations that I had for it. Having now, years later, had the chance to watch it over and over again, I can say that it has only gotten better with each and every rewatch. Midnight Special is an exceptional film that I think I understand much better now.

Continue reading “UPDATED REVIEW: Midnight Special (2016)” →

REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)

Film Poster - The Weinstein Company
Film Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a review of John Carney’s Sing Street.

Sing Street did not get a theatrical release in Denmark, as far as I am aware. So, back when every reviewer was talking about how great Sing Street was, I found out that I had to wait for the Blu-Ray release. I had only heard great things about the film, so I was really interested in it.

Sing Street was never on my list of most anticipated films of the year – even though I really enjoyed John Carney’s last film (Begin Again) – but when people were praising this film as one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of the year, I started to worry that maybe I would be let down when I finally got to see it. Well, now I’ve seen it, and it turns out that it is better than I thought it would be. Sing Street is a wonderful film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following spoiler-filled review of The Dark Knight Rises was written in August 2016

I don’t think I have ever mentioned this on the blog before, but I’ve only seen The Dark Knight Rises three times. Once in the movie theater, once on Blu-Ray, and once yesterday when I rewatched it for this review. I really liked it when I first saw it in theaters, but, when I rewatched it for the first time, it didn’t work on me as well as it had previously. Following this latest rewatch, I will say immediately that it definitely is not as disappointing as my memory had conjured up. Look, I’m not going to come out and say that this film is an ‘underappreciated masterpiece’ or anything like that — not at all. This film still has its problems. But when I finished rewatching the film last night, I had to admit that maybe I had been a bit too harsh on it for the last couple of years. The online vocal minority has begun to really criticize this film in recent years, but while The Dark Knight Rises definitely doesn’t come close to the quality of the first two films in the Dark Knight Trilogy, I do think it is still a solid ending to an excellent trilogy. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)” →

RETRO REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following spoiler-filled retro review of The Dark Knight was written in August 2016

I saw this film in a movie theater, but I don’t quite remember how I felt after I first saw it. What I do remember, quite clearly actually, was that my sister bought the Blu-Ray for me as a Christmas gift. I think The Dark Knight is a haunting superhero movie masterpiece, but, for a specific reason, I don’t often sit down to watch it.

I’ve always thought Heath Ledger was an exceptionally entertaining actor, and it was tough for me to hear that the world had lost him when we did. Although he was brilliant in Brokeback Mountain and while I was never worried about what he would do with the Joker character, this performance remains one of the most surprisingly magnificent performances that I’ve ever seen. The Dark Knight wouldn’t be a masterpiece without Heath Ledger’s performance. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)” →