Tag: Drama

REVIEW: Destroyer (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Annapurna Pictures

The following is a review of Destroyer — Directed by Karyn Kusama.

In the first scenes of Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer, a seemingly inebriated LAPD detective, Erin Bell (played by Nicole Kidman), walks onto the scene of a crime to investigate what colleagues of her’s think of what happened to a murder victim with three dots in the back of his neck. What follows is a labyrinthine narrative complete with twists and shoot-outs as we learn what events made Bell, a former undercover officer, into a disheveled and visibly weathered revenge-seeking rogue detective. Continue reading “REVIEW: Destroyer (2018)” →

REVIEW: Roma (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Roma — Directed by Alfonso Cuarón

There was something very nice and special about my experience of watching Alfonso Cuarón’s latest drama on Netflix, the sole distributor of this film. This is a streaming platform that hopes to be able to take this Mexican heartbreaker all the way to the Academy Awards. Netflix gets a lot of criticism from the film community and, for a lot of it, it is well-earned. Their logo is bright red-on-white, its logo’s sound effect is loud and intrusive, and once the film comes to an end you are yanked away by the service to watch the trailer for some other Netflix Original, thus rushing you out of the experience of sitting with a film, taking it in properly, during the final credits. Continue reading “REVIEW: Roma (2018)” →

REVIEW: Private Life (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Private Life — Directed by Tamara Jenkins.

Tamara Jenkins’ Private Life is a dramedy about a never-ending pursuit of parenthood. The film follows a frustrated middle-aged couple — Richard (played by Paul Giamatti) and Rachel (played by Kathryn Hahn) — as they desperately attempt to become parents. Expensive medical procedures, adoption, egg donor — you name it and they’ve either tried or considered the method. When their desperation reaches a new high, the couple decides to ask Richard’s niece, Sadie (played by Kayli Carter), if she would consider being their egg donor, even though her family might be against it. Continue reading “REVIEW: Private Life (2018)” →

REVIEW: Darkest Hour (2017)

UK Theatrical Release Poster – Focus Features

The following is a review of Darkest Hour — Directed by Joe Wright.

Darkest Hour — not to be confused with The Darkest Hour, a 2011 alien invasion movie set in Russia — is the newest film from British director Joe Wright, who is behind such films as 2007’s beautiful, heart-wrenching, and soul-crushing Atonement.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Darkest Hour (2017)” →

REVIEW: La La Land (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Summit Entertainment
Theatrical Release Poster – Summit Entertainment

The following is a review of La La Land – Directed by Damien Chazelle

They don’t make movies like they used to. Cinema is dead. – Odds are that you’ve encountered similar sentiments online or by the water cooler this past year. 2016 was, somewhat unfairly, called a bad year for movies, when it was just a bad year for summer blockbuster films. As is always the case with discovering new films, you have to know where to look.

It is all about finding the right talents, the right studios, or the premises that will pique your interest. Sometimes the right movie for you is one that reminds you of great classics but still isn’t blind to the nostalgia it’s feeding on. With a charismatic and charming cast, a brilliant director, and a genre that people are sometimes turned off by, La La Land is here at the right time to breathe new life into our love of movies.  Continue reading “REVIEW: La La Land (2016)” →

REVIEW: Other People (2016)

Release Poster - Vertical Entertainment
Release Poster – Vertical Entertainment

The following is a quick review of Other People – written and directed by Chris Kelly.

Other People takes place in Sacramento, California, where David (played by Jesse Plemons), an openly gay writer, has returned to take care of his mother (played by Molly Shannon) who is in the advanced stages of leiomyosarcoma. By going home, David has to deal with his father (played Bradley Whitford), who refuses to accept him because of his sexuality.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Other People (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Night Manager (2016 – Mini-Series)

The Night Manager Reviewed

The following is a review of the BBC/AMC mini-series The Night Manager, directed by Susanne Bier.

Strictly scheduled mini-series don’t always land with me at the right moment. I latch onto longer television shows or movies much easier, but once in a while some mini-series will pop up on my radar, and some aspect of it will pull me in. In 2015, Show Me A Hero was the mini-series for me, and Oscar Isaac was the main reason why I gave the HBO mini-series a chance. Now, I have found a mini-series that is exactly what I need. BBC’s The Night Manager is pretty great. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Night Manager (2016 – Mini-Series)” →

REVIEW: 50/50 (2011)

5050 Poster

The following is a review of 50/50, a Jonathan Levine film.

When I first encountered 50/50 I had heard very little about it. I knew the premise, I was very familiar with the stellar cast, but I could have never expected how much I would love this film. It is one of the most perfect ‘dramedies’ (comedy-drama) out there. It is well-directed, well-acted, and unforgettable. 50/50 is a dramedy masterpiece.  Continue reading “REVIEW: 50/50 (2011)” →

REVIEW: Mr. Robot – Season One (2015)

Mr Robot Reviewed

The following is a season review of the first season of Mr. Robot. This review was written in May 2016.

I just finished Mr. Robot some days ago. I know, I know, it aired in the U.S. in the middle of 2015. But Mr. Robot was not, I believe, shown anywhere in Denmark, which is kind of odd considering one of the characters is Danish, and the first episode is directed by a Dane. But somehow, some way Mr. Robot didn’t air in Denmark in 2015. For a long time, Mr. Robot was this weird little show airing on the USA Network that a lot of my followers just tweeted about on Twitter.

I had no real idea what it was all about. When I sat down to finally watch the trailer I was intrigued. Rami Malek who I had seen in some other shows and films (but mostly recognized from the 2015 PlayStation exclusive Until Dawn) was the lead, and Christian Slater was the main supporting character in a show about ‘hacktivists’. I had no idea that Mr. Robot was going to become an obsession of mine when I finally sat down to watch the season one Blu-Ray. Continue reading “REVIEW: Mr. Robot – Season One (2015)” →

REVIEW: The Walk (2015)

TriStar Pictures’ Theatrical Release Poster for The Walk (2015)

The following is a review of The Walk, a Robert Zemeckis film. The reviewed film was seen in IMAX 3D.

The Walk follows the street artist Philippe Petit (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and shows us how he evolved into a legendary high-wire artist. Along the way, he meets a lover, friends, and partners – and together they all embark on a mission to illegally perform a high-wire between the two towers of the World Trade Center back in 1974. Petit becomes particularly obsessed with these towers, and this obsession threatens to end the group. Their great coup changes all partners, for better or worse, and this coming-of-age coup ends up revealing what Petit’s obsession truly means to him. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Walk (2015)” →