The following is a review of HBO Films’ Paterno — Directed by Barry Levinson.
HBO Film’s Paterno is a drama about the true story of the Jerry Sandusky-sex abuse cover-up, which found legendary head coach Joe Paterno (played by Al Pacino) in the spotlight as he failed to properly report and follow-up on the serious allegations. Continue reading “REVIEW: Paterno (2018)”
The following is a review of A Quiet Place — Directed by John Krasinski.
Actor-turned-director John Krasinski’s third feature film as a director is the horror-thriller film A Quiet Place, which follows the Abbott family in the dystopian near-future wherein the entire world seems abandoned and empty due to the existence of blind, mysterious, and violent creatures that hide and wait for something as harmless as the sound of a pin drop to pounce on any pray alive to be taken. Continue reading “REVIEW: A Quiet Place (2018)”
The following is a review of the second episode of HBO’s Barry — Created by Bill Hader & Alec Berg.
In the second episode of HBO’s new half-hour dark comedy show Barry — Chapter Two: Use It — the title character (played by Bill Hader) tries his hardest to find a proper way to react to the death of Ryan Madison, which he is involved in, while the rest of the acting class decides to hold a memorial in Ryan’s honor wherein they will all perform in some way, shape, or form. At the same time, the local police department is trying to figure out what happened on the night of Ryan Madison’s death, while the Chechen mob is looking for Barry and Fuches (played by Stephen Root).
Continue reading “REVIEW: Barry – “Chapter Two: Use It””
The following is a review of Ready Player One — Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Steven Spielberg — you won’t find many directors as skilled as he is, and you probably won’t ever find a filmmaker with as good an eye for entertainment as he has. His name is etched into the world of film and pop culture, and there really are not many like him. It is pretty perfect for the director behind such films as Jurassic Park, the Indiana Jones-films, and E. T.: The Extra-Terrestrial to make Ready Player One — a film so drenched in nostalgia and popular nerd culture that it might as well have been called ‘Easter Egg: The Movie.’ Continue reading “REVIEW: Ready Player One (2018)”
The following is a review of the first episode of HBO’s Barry — Created by Bill Hader & Alec Berg.
Barry — a half-hour dark comedy series from HBO — comes from Saturday Night Live-alum Bill Hader, who plays the titular character, and Alec Berg, a producer of such shows as Seinfeld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and Silicon Valley. And if you’re the type of person who loved Dexter but thought it could have used a little bit of comedy, then Barry isn’t just ‘for you’ it is a match made in heaven. Continue reading “REVIEW: Barry – “Chapter One: Make Your Mark””
The following is a review of Game Over, Man! — A Netflix Film.
Game Over, Man! is an action-comedy very clearly inspired by Die Hard, even though the title of this film, for some odd reason, refers to a popular Bill Paxton quote from Aliens. This film, however, follows three housekeepers working at a hotel capable of attracting wealthy individuals and celebrities for late night partying. Continue reading “REVIEW: Game Over, Man! (2018)”
The following is a review of You Were Never Really Here — Directed by Lynne Ramsay.
After I saw Lynne Ramsay’s You Were Never Really Here the day before yesterday, I decided to reread one of Roger Ebert’s excellent reviews of Taxi Driver — the Scorsese classic which this Lynne Ramsay film, rightly, has been compared to a lot. In the review, Ebert smartly noted that Travis Bickle’s response to his own iconic line “Are you talking to me?” — “Well, I’m the only one here,” — was the truest line in a film about loneliness and alienation. Continue reading “REVIEW: You Were Never Really Here (2018)”
The following is a review of Tomb Raider — Directed by Roar Uthaug.
After winning her Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Girl, Interrupted, Angelina Jolie went on to play smart female adventurous archaeologist Lara Croft in the first film based on the popular series of video games Tomb Raider. Neither of the two Jolie-led Tomb Raider-films were at all memorable, to me. Continue reading “REVIEW: Tomb Raider (2018)”
The following is a review of ANNIHILATION — Directed by Alex Garland.
There is this really sad quote about daring cinema that I once found as I was searching the Web for some interesting thoughts on the film industry. Actor and filmmaker Sean Penn reportedly once said that “if you put three thoughts into a movie, you’ve broken the law and no one will come [see it].” It is a quote that I’ve used before to describe cerebral cinema that was rejected by audiences. But I think the quote’s best companion piece is Alex Garland’s ANNIHILATION, a smart science-fiction film that was literally cast aside by a major studio because the film ‘broke that law.’
Continue reading “REVIEW: ANNIHILATION (2018)”
The following is a review of The Outsider — Directed by Martin Zandvliet.
Winning an Oscar used to mean an actor would get a bigger push. It used to really mean something. But in the case of Jared Leto, who won an Oscar for his transformative performance in the mostly forgotten biopic Dallas Buyers Club, it hasn’t really meant that much, other than the fact that films like The Outsider can put ‘Academy Award winner’ on its poster. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Outsider (2018)”
I'm Jeffrey Rex 