Category: Reviews

REVIEW: Atomic Blonde (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Focus Features

The following is a quick review of Atomic Blonde – Directed by David Leitch.

Atomic Blonde is an action spy film set in the lead-up to the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. The film stars Charlize Theron as Lorraine Broughton, a top spy for the MI6, who has been sent to Berlin to investigate the murder of another agent (played by Sam Hargrave), as well as retrieve a list that contains information about a double agent known only as ‘Satchel.’ In Berlin, Broughton is backed up by David Percival (played by James McAvoy), in her search for the aforementioned list. Continue reading “REVIEW: Atomic Blonde (2017)” →

REVIEW: Wish Upon (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Broad Green Pictures and Orion Pictures

The following is a review of Wish Upon – Directed by John R. Leonetti.

Wish Upon follows Clare (played by Joey King), a young teenage girl, who is given a magic Chinese music box by her dumpster-diving father (played by Ryan Phillippe) that grants you seven wishes. However, once she gets halfway through the wishes, it becomes clear that whenever a wish is granted a life is taken, and that when she runs out of wishes her own life will be taken as well. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wish Upon (2017)” →

REVIEW: War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of War for the Planet of the Apes – Directed by Matt Reeves.

As I sat down to watch War for the Planet of the Apes last week, I was reminded of how overlooked this franchise and, indeed, this trilogy has been this decade. I remember how I expected nothing from the first film in this reboot trilogy – Rise of the Planet of the Apes – but also how much I was blown away by it.

When Rupert Wyatt was replaced by Matt Reeves, who had previously directed Cloverfield and the American remake of Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In, I began to worry about the state of the Apes-franchise yet again.

Yet Dawn of the Planet of the Apes was good enough to be considered for end of the year-top ten lists. War for the Planet of the Apes is no different. In fact, I think Reeves has outdone himself and made what will ultimately be one of the best films of the year.
Continue reading “REVIEW: War for the Planet of the Apes (2017)” →

REVIEW: It Comes At Night (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – A24

The following is a review of It Comes At Night – Directed by Trey Edward Shults.

Following the critical success of his feature film directorial debut Krisha, director Trey Edward Shults has teamed up with A24 again to release his second film It Comes At Night. A24 has a great reputation of releasing smart, interesting, and different films.

However, much like last year’s extremely popular A24 ‘horror film’ The Witch, It Comes At Night suffers from being marketed as a conventional horror film. Thus bringing in audiences that are unprepared for the type of film it, ultimately, is. Continue reading “REVIEW: It Comes At Night (2017)” →

REVIEW: The Mummy (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a review of The Mummy – Directed by Alex Kurtzman.

Back in 2014, Universal Pictures tried to make a new series of films featuring the classic Universal Monsters characters. The first film was Gary Shore’s Dracula Untold, but, after that film was both critically panned and financially unsuccessful, the ‘monsterverse’ was eventually cancelled.

Now Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy is the first film in the new shared universe of Universal Monsters known as the Dark Universe. Unfortunately, while the film’s leading man is one of the biggest action movie stars in Hollywood, Kurtzman’s The Mummy is completely forgettable and quite dull. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Mummy (2017)” →

REVIEW: The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of The LEGO Batman Movie – Directed by Chris McKay.

Everything, indeed, was awesome about Phil Lord and Chris Miller’s fantastic The LEGO Movie. It was one of the biggest surprise hits of 2014, and so, obviously, we were going to get more big LEGO films. The first of these is a spin-off of The LEGO Movie, in which Will Arnett’s take on Batman was one of the highlights.

Now, with The LEGO Batman Movie, the Warner Bros. Animation Group has made sure that someone like me will be looking forward to each and every big LEGO film, because The LEGO Batman Movie is terrific. Continue reading “REVIEW: The LEGO Batman Movie (2017)” →

REVIEW: Baywatch (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a quick review of Baywatch – Directed by Seth Gordon.

Baywatch is a comedy film based on the series of the same name. It takes place in Emerald Bay, Florida, where Lt. Mitch Bucannon (played by Dwayne Johnson) is the head of the team of lifeguards known as the ‘Baywatch’ division. Continue reading “REVIEW: Baywatch (2017)” →

REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)

Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Wonder Woman – Directed by Patty Jenkins.

Although there are a lot of female heroes to read about in comic books, few of them have been given a chance on the big screen. In fairness, Hollywood has tried to make female superhero films work before, but when those attempts didn’t work out well, they weren’t really interested in pursuing other similar projects.

Jeannot Szwarc’s Supergirl was critically panned, as was both Pitof’s Catwoman and Rob Bowman’s Elektra. Now, in 2017, we are finally getting a good film about a true feminist icon. Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman is here, and while it isn’t perfect, it is a strong origin story for an important comic book character. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wonder Woman (2017)” →

REVIEW: War Machine (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Netflix’s War Machine – Directed by David Michôd.

In 2015, Netflix acquired the distribution rights to a film directed by David Michôd and starring Brad Pitt, one of the true movie stars of our day. Netflix acquired the film prior to having premiered both Beasts of No Nation and The Ridiculous Six later in 2015, and this film was thus one of the first major motion picture projects that Netflix had acquired.

Now, in the summer of 2017, the film now titled War Machine has premiered. It has been a long wait for people like me who were excited to see such a high profile production premiere on the streaming service, but it is finally here and, honestly, I don’t think it was worth the wait. Continue reading “REVIEW: War Machine (2017)” →

REVIEW: The Leftovers – “G’Day Melbourne”

The following is a review and recap of the fourth episode of the third season of The Leftovers (HBO). Expect Full Story Spoilers.

In the fourth episode of the third season – G’Day Melbourne – Nora (played by Carrie Coon) meets with the group that claims to be able to reunite her with her lost loved ones, while Kevin, Jr. (played by Justin Theroux) sees someone he thought was dead on Australian television. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Leftovers – “G’Day Melbourne”” →