Tag: 2019

Best of the 2010s: Directorial Debut Films

There is something very exciting about a directorial debut. Obviously, the filmmaker is excited about their first chance to step behind the camera on a feature film, but, as an audience member or film writer of any kind, it is so fascinating to see the choices being made. Sometimes some of the boldest and most imaginative filmmakers present us with instant classics, other times newcomers deliver a product that may not be extraordinary filmmaking but which may still be a moving or exciting motion picture. In this month’s best of the decade list, I’m honoring the very best directorial debuts. Some of them are first works for potential auteurs, while others are impressive blockbuster entertainment from untested new filmmakers just learning the ropes. Continue reading “Best of the 2010s: Directorial Debut Films” →

REVIEW: Game of Thrones – “The Long Night”

The following is a spoiler-filled review of the third episode of the eighth and final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Expect spoilers for the episode in the review.

In the third episode of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, the Dothraki, the Unsullied, the men of the North, and two dragons defend Winterfell from the Army of the Dead, the Night King, and the dragon-wight. It is the battle we’ve all been waiting for. But, I have to say, to me, the episode was surprisingly underwhelming. Continue reading “REVIEW: Game of Thrones – “The Long Night”” →

REVIEW: Avengers: Endgame (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The review does not include spoilers for Avengers: Endgame, (dirs. Anthony & Joe Russo) but you should absolutely expect spoilers for every film that came before it in the connected universe.

“All that for a drop of blood,” Thanos, the Mad Titan, groaned in 2018’s Avengers: Infinity War moments before Doctor Strange relinquished the time stone to save Tony Stark’s life. Soon the not-so-seasoned Avengers turned to dust. The teenaged talking tree, the brave wall-crawler, an African king with a seemingly impenetrable suit made to look like an anthropomorphic big cat, and a quippy, tricker-happy, 70s music-loving outlaw — all gone from one moment to the next. Those left standing were left to live with their mistakes, as the Avengers had now well and truly lost even though a Norse God, multiple supersoldiers, an eccentric billionaire, and a magical surgeon — to name a few — had fought long and hard to save fifty-percent of the known universe. They failed. If those sentences made no sense to you whatsoever, then Avengers: Endgame isn’t for you. If, however, you’ve been waiting to see — nay, obsessing about — what comes next for Earth’s Mightiest Heroes, then Endgame was designed for you. It is a somber epic like nothing you’ve ever seen before. Avengers: Endgame is peerless in scope and attention to detail, as well as moving from start to finish. Continue reading “REVIEW: Avengers: Endgame (2019)” →

REVIEW: Game of Thrones – “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”

The following is a spoiler-filled review of the second episode of the eighth and final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Expect spoilers for the episode in the review.

In the second episode of the eighth and final season of Game of Thrones, Ser Jaime Lannister (played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) confronts the Starks and Daenerys at Winterfell, Bran (played by Isaac Hempstead Wright) reveals his plan, and the North gets ready for battle. Continue reading “REVIEW: Game of Thrones – “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms”” →

Final Predictions for Avengers: Endgame – Special Features #50

By this time next week, I will have seen Avengers: Endgame, the sequel to Infinity War and the 22nd film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a total of three times. At this point in time, the MCU is this generation’s Star Wars. The build-up of hype for Endgame has been unreal. Even teasers with barely any new footage receive millions of views. The film is breaking tons of records already before it’s out in the wild. So, today, I thought I’d release ten predictions for Avengers: Endgame. Continue reading “Final Predictions for Avengers: Endgame – Special Features #50” →

REVIEW: The Upside (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – STX Films / Lantern Entertainment

The following is a short review of The Upside — Directed by Neil Burger.

A remake of Olivier Nakache & Éric Toledano’s French film, Intouchables, from 2011, Neil Burger’s The Upside follows Dell Scott (played by Kevin Hart), an African-American father on parole, who is hired to be the caregiver of the quadriplegic millionaire Phillip Lacasse (played by Bryan Cranston), who, after having lost his wife, has lost his will to live. Together, they form an — according to this film’s cliched formula — unlikely friendship from which they both learn a lot about life and culture. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Upside (2019)” →

REVIEW: The Curse of La Llorona (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of The Curse of La Llorona — Directed by Michael Chaves.

Though the film’s marketing hasn’t done a good enough job of alerting audiences of this, The Curse of La Llorona is the latest film in the Conjuring-film universe made popular by James Wan. Unfortunately, much like the first Annabelle-film and The Nun, this, the third spin-off film in the film series, is another let-down, and, now, there are as many bad films in the connected horror film universe as there are good. Hence, the good no longer outweighs the bad.
Continue reading “REVIEW: The Curse of La Llorona (2019)” →

REVIEW: Game of Thrones – “Winterfell”

The following is a spoiler-filled review of the season premiere of the eighth and final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Expect spoilers for the episode in the review.

In the final season premiere of Game of Thrones, Euron (Pilou Asbæk) returns to King’s Landing with the army of the Golden Company for Cersei (Lena Headey), while Bronn (Jerome Flynn) is given a special job. Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke), her army, and Jon Snow (Kit Harington) arrive at Winterfell, where the people of the North are distrustful of the woman that their king has bent the knee to. There are more reunions than you probably even needed in the premiere of the final season of HBO’s Game of Thrones. Continue reading “REVIEW: Game of Thrones – “Winterfell”” →

REVIEW: Hellboy (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Lionsgate

The following is a review of Hellboy (2019) — Directed by Neil Marshall.

In 2004 and 2008, Oscar-winning auteur Guillermo del Toro brought us two critically well-received comic book monster movies about Mike Mignola’s Dark Horse Comics creation ‘Hellboy,’ a red Nazi-summoned half-demon that fights for the human race against monsters and other dark forces. Even though del Toro is a beloved figure and his films are still held in high regard, del Toro’s request for a third film was denied. Instead, producers decided that it was time to replace the first two films’ auteur — del Toro, who had a real, recognizable love for his creatures — and its indispensable leading man, Ron Perlman — who was absolutely perfect in the role — in a new reboot of the franchise. Continue reading “REVIEW: Hellboy (2019)” →

REVIEW: The Silence (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Silence — Directed by John R. Leonetti.

John R. Leonetti’s The Silence — not to be confused with Martin Scorsese’s Silence, which has a similar title, or John Krasinski’s A Quiet Place and Susanne Bier’s Bird Box, both of which have similar plots — follows a family during an apocalyptic event in which prehistoric bat-like creatures have come out of hiding to attack and feast on anything and anyone they hear. Stanley Tucci plays the family father, Miranda Otto his wife, and Kiernan Shipka plays one of his children — a deaf teenager. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Silence (2019)” →