Category: Movie Reviews

RETRO REVIEW: Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins Poster
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following retro review of Batman Begins was written in August 2016.

I grew up with many different takes on a live-action Batman and Bruce Wayne. Michael Keaton. Val Kilmer. George Clooney. But it wasn’t until I saw Christian Bale in Batman Begins that I loved, I don’t just mean liked, a live-action version of the character. When I first saw Batman Begins, I hadn’t seen Bale in a lot of films (probably just American Psycho and Reign of Fire), but when I saw Bale as Bruce Wayne I was just overjoyed this was going to be my Batman – like I, at that time, saw Roger Moore as my James Bond. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Batman Begins (2005)” →

REVIEW: Captain Fantastic (2016)

Captain Fantastic Poster - Blue
Release Poster – Bleecker Street

The following is a review of Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic.

“Power to the people. Stick it to the man.” – In Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic, Ben Cash (played by Viggo Mortensen), who lives in a forest with his wife and their six children, gets the news that his wife has taken her own life while she was at a hospital. Ben’s father-in-law (played by Frank Langella) is upset with Ben, and he feels that Ben is to blame for the loss of his daughter.

Despite warnings that his father-in-law will have him arrested, and seek custody of the children, if Ben attends his wife’s funeral, the Cash-family go on a road trip to New Mexico for the funeral. On their way, Ben’s children learn what it’s like to live in the real world, while the actions of their father are brought into question.
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REVIEW: Tallulah (2016)

Netflix Release Poster
Netflix Release Poster

The following is a quick review of the Netflix Original Film ‘Tallulah’.

In Tallulah, a young woman nicknamed ‘Lu’ (played by Ellen Page) rescues, or kidnaps, a baby girl from a negligent and irresponsible mother (played by Tammy Blanchard). With no money and no experience as a parent, Lu goes to the mother (played by Allison Janney) of her missing boyfriend (played by Evan Jonigkeit), and says that the baby is his.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Tallulah (2016)” →

CLASSIC REVIEW: Aliens (1986)

Theatrical Release Poster - 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of the classic science-fiction action film ‘Aliens’. This review was written in July 2016 in honor of the film’s 30th Anniversary.

After the success of 1984’s The Terminator, 20th Century Fox gave James Cameron the go-ahead to direct a sequel to the amazing science-fiction horror film, Alien. No one could’ve predicted the success Cameron’s sequel would get. Even though Alien is, itself, somewhat of a horror classic, Cameron somehow managed to make a sequel that was remarkably different from the original film, but still ended up being a classic, being iconic, and being, easily, one of the best sequels of all-time.  Continue reading “CLASSIC REVIEW: Aliens (1986)” →

REVIEW: Batman: The Killing Joke (2016)

Poster - Warner Bros. Animation
Poster – Warner Bros. Animation

The following is a review of the DC Universe Original Movie ‘Batman: The Killing Joke’.

Whether you love it or hate it, you cannot deny that Alan Moore and Brian Bolland’s The Killing Joke-graphic novel is a controversial but iconic graphic novel. Personally, I get all of the controversy revolving around Barbara Gordon, I don’t like the scenes. But I cannot help but really like some parts of that disturbing graphic novel. Therefore, I was pretty damn excited for the release of this animated DC film, but – and I really hate to say this – Batman: The Killing Joke is a really poor animated movie.
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REVIEW: Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond Poster
Promotional Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Star Trek Beyond.

Hold on to something! Star Trek is back. While the ‘Abramsverse,’ meaning the universe created or rebooted after J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot started making Star Trek, has gotten a lot of criticism from fans of the original films and series, you cannot deny, though, that Abrams got the franchise back into the public memory with the excellent Star Trek from 2009 and Star Trek Into Darkness, a solid action sequel, from 2013.
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REVIEW: Lights Out (2016)

Lights Out Poster
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Lights Out by David F. Sandberg.

The first job of traditional, modern day horror films is to scare you. The very best horror films can have a paralyzing effect on you. They can frighten you so much that you don’t dare move out of your seat, look behind you, or look into a mirror to see what may be behind you.

Some of the most effective horror films are also very simple. The filmmakers take a very common fear or thought, and they manage to elevate your emotional response to things that maybe shouldn’t be as scary as they seem in daily moments.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Lights Out (2016)” →

REVIEW: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Promotional Poster - Paramount Pictures
Promotional Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a movie review of Star Trek Into Darkness. This review was written in 2016. Expect spoilers.

J. J. Abrams Star Trek from 2009 made me interested in the franchise. It made me a Star Trek-fan. I love the 2009 film so much that Star Trek Into Darkness was my most anticipated film of 2013. I was reading message boards every day. I watched the trailers over and over. I was so ready to love the film. But ultimately it didn’t really meet my expectations. However, that doesn’t mean I dislike the film. Not at all. Continue reading “REVIEW: Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)” →

REVIEW: Rebirth (2016)

Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of Rebirth. Available on Netflix right now.

Rebirth is a new film distributed by Netflix. The film follows Kyle (played by Fran Kranz), a social media-manager for a bank, who one day, out of the blue, is contacted by an old friend (played by Adam Goldberg). This old friend introduces him to ‘rebirth,’ a life-changing experience that he wants Kyle to go through. Ultimately, Kyle decides to attend the weekend event, but he soon finds out that ‘rebirth’ isn’t as safe as he thought it would be.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Rebirth (2016)” →

REVIEW: 99 Homes (2015)

Theatrical Release Poster – Broad Green Pictures

The following is a quick review of 99 Homes, a Ramin Bahrani film.

Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes follows Dennis Nash (played by Andrew Garfield), a construction worker, who is supporting his mother (played by Laura Dern) and his own son. But soon after Dennis loses his job, he and his family are evicted from their home.

Rick Carver (played by Michael Shannon), a real estate operator, oversees the eviction, and one of his men end up taking a tool from Dennis’ house. When Dennis returns to retrieve it, Rick offers him a job, and soon Dennis, himself, starts to carry out evictions.
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