Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Greenland (2020)

Greenland Still Image
‘Greenland,’ Still Image — Photo: Daniel McFadden / STXfilms.

Directed by Ric Roman Waugh — Screenplay by Chris Sparling.

Ric Roman Waugh’s Greenland follows John Garrity (played by Gerard Butler), a structural engineer, who is getting ready to attend a party at his wife Allison’s house where they, along with friends and their diabetic son Nathan (played by Roger Dale Floyd), plan to watch an interstellar comet pass by Earth together. However, Allison (played by Morena Baccarin) and the rest of the Garrity family are soon surprised by a sudden presidential alert that notifies them that their family has been selected for evacuation and emergency sheltering due to the fact that experts now apparently expect the comet to impact Earth and cause a cataclysmic event. Soon the Garrity family must travel great distances to reach a safe haven, while those not selected for emergency sheltering protest and riot. Continue reading “REVIEW: Greenland (2020)” →

REVIEW: The Midnight Sky (2020)

The Midnight Sky, Still Image
‘The Midnight Sky,’ Still Image — Photo: Philippe Antonello / Netflix.

Directed by George Clooney — Screenplay by Mark L. Smith.

I don’t think I have a favorite genre, per se, but, it is true that I usually am a sucker for science-fiction. It is probably the genre that I find the most interesting, and, whenever a new film is on its way, I do get excited about what new ambitious story is about to be told. George Clooney is no stranger to science-fiction and space films since he has appeared in films such as Steven Soderbergh’s Solaris, Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland, and, possibly most memorably, Alfonso Cuarón’s incredible Gravity. Due to Clooney’s own experience with the genre, I was very interested in seeing what kind of story he had planned to tell with The Midnight Sky, which he both starred in and directed. Unfortunately, it ended up being a bit of a disappointment, for me. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Midnight Sky (2020)” →

REVIEW: We Can Be Heroes (2020)

We Can Be Heroes Still Image
‘We Can Be Heroes,’ Still Image — Photo: Ryan Green / Netflix.

Directed by Robert Rodríguez — Screenplay by Robert Rodríguez.

Robert Rodríquez’ We Can Be Heroes is a sequel to his 2005 family adventure film The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3D. His 2020 standalone sequel tells the story of how after the superhero team ‘The Heroics’ — this universe’s Avengers — fail to prevent an alien attack, their children, who almost all exhibit X-Men like superpowers, must work together to find a way to save their parents and the entire world from the invading extraterrestrials. Continue reading “REVIEW: We Can Be Heroes (2020)” →

REVIEW: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)

Still Image Boseman Ma Rainey
‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,’ Still Image — Photo: David Lee / Netflix.

Directed by George C. Wolfe — Screenplay by Ruben Santiago-Hudson.

Based on the August Wilson play of the same name, George C. Wolfe’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom primarily takes place in a recording studio in Chicago back in the 1920s. Here Ma Rainey (played by Viola Davis), lovingly dubbed the ‘Mother of the Blues,’ is planning to record several songs with her band. Rainey arrives fashionably late and is ready and able to throw her weight around, whereas the ambitious, animated, and flirty Levee (played by Chadwick Boseman), a young and talented trumpeter, is preparing his next move towards stardom while practicing with the rest of the band. While Rainey battles with both her manager and a producer for the purpose of having some control of her own career, Levee’s ambitious attitude doesn’t sit right with Ma or his bandmates (played by Glynn Turman, Colman Domingo, and Michael Potts). Continue reading “REVIEW: Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020)” →

REVIEW: Collective (2020 – Documentary)

‘Collective,’ Still Image — Photo: HBO Europe / HBO Nordic.

Directed by Alexander Nanau — Seen on HBO Nordic.

It was inevitable that during this global coronavirus pandemic we would all start to think more about the state of our countries’ health systems and hospitals. During both the first and second wave of the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about how many patients each hospital can take in, and so on and so forth. I thought about all of this as I watched the incredible and infuriating Romanian documentary Collective, which is an exposé of widespread corruption in Romania and a health system that, as one whistleblower puts it, has lost its humanity. Continue reading “REVIEW: Collective (2020 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: I’m Your Woman (2020)

Still Photo Wilson Webb Amazon
‘I’m Your Woman,’ Still Image — Photo: Wilson Webb / Amazon Studios.

Directed by Julia Hart — Screenplay by Julia Hart & Jordan Horowitz.

In the first scenes of Julia Hart’s latest film, I’m Your Woman, we are introduced to Jean (played by Rachel Brosnahan) who has become passive and inactive as she has resigned herself to never become a mother, which she had always hoped to become. For Jean, days go by at home, while her husband, Eddie (played by Bill Heck), goes out to do God-knows-what. But then one day her dream comes true in the oddest way possible. One day, Eddie stands in the doorway with a nameless child who he insists is theirs. Continue reading “REVIEW: I’m Your Woman (2020)” →

REVIEW: Host (2020)

Release Poster – Shudder

Directed by Rob Savage — Screenplay by Gemma Hurley, Rob Savage, and Jed Shepherd.

Whether we would like it to happen or not, I am sure that over the next many years we will be treated to several films about, or simply set during, the Coronavirus Pandemic. It will be interesting to see what films treat that period of time appropriately and if any films about said period can stand the test of time. However, today I want to talk about the first fictional film that I have ever seen that directly mentions the Coronavirus pandemic, which is the Rob Savage-helmed techno-horror film Host. Continue reading “REVIEW: Host (2020)” →

REVIEW: Hillbilly Elegy (2020)

Hillbilly Elegy - Still Image - Lacey Terrell - Netflix
‘Hillbilly Elegy,’ Still Image — Photo by Lacey Terrell / Netflix.

Directed by Ron Howard — Screenplay by Vanessa Taylor.

Though it was once touted as a huge player at the upcoming Academy Awards, the overall critical reception of Ron Howard’s adaptation of J.D. Vance’s memoir Hillbilly Elegy has been surprisingly negative. What was once looked upon as the film that might finally be the vehicle that would give Amy Adams and Glenn Close the Oscars that their careers most definitely deserve, now looks like a surprisingly unengaging piece of Oscar-bait, which is a term that refers to films that give off the impression that they were made only to be nominated for Oscars. However, while I do think one performance is good enough to earn praise at awards ceremonies, the film as a whole is not memorable or good enough to leave a lasting impression. Continue reading “REVIEW: Hillbilly Elegy (2020)” →

Overview: November 2020

Overview provides my readers with a brief overview of the articles or reviews that I have written, as well as additional bite-sized thoughts on films or shows about which I do not intend to write thorough reviews. In November 2020, among other things, I wrote about Danish television and the highly anticipated Danish black-comedy Retfærdighedens Ryttere.

Continue reading “Overview: November 2020” →

REVIEW: The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special (2020)

Film Poster - Lego Star Wars
Release Poster – Disney+

Directed by Ken Cunningham — Available on Disney+.

It can be difficult to enjoy Star Wars fully when the fanbase is as fractured as it has been these last few years. A significant part of the fandom has a deep hatred for a film that I like quite a bit, and it has made it so draining to debate Star Wars opinions these days. These last few weeks, I have been watching the second season of The Mandalorian, which I will hopefully be reviewing soon, and it, along with this LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special released on Disney+, truly reminded me why I have always loved Star Wars so much that even online disputes can’t ruin it for me. The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special is genuinely wonderful and a good time for the whole family. Continue reading “REVIEW: The LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special (2020)” →