Tag: Film Review

REVIEW: Ser du månen, Daniel? (2019)

Danish Theatrical Release Poster – Nordisk Film

The following is a review of ‘Ser Du Månen, Daniel?‘ (also known as ‘Daniel‘) — Directed by Niels Arden Oplev and Anders W. Berthelsen (co-director).

Although the Danish entry — May el-Toukhy’s outstanding film, Dronningen — was not, ultimately, nominated for the Academy Award for Best International Feature, 2019 was a pretty great year for Danish films. Outside of the aforementioned May el-Toukhy film, last year also saw the release of other great Danish films like Michael Noer’s period piece Før Frosten and Rasmus Kloster Bro’s claustrophobic directorial feature film debut Cutterhead. Mads Brügger also released his award-winning documentary Cold Case Hammarskjold. Continue reading “REVIEW: Ser du månen, Daniel? (2019)” →

REVIEW: Extraction (2020)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Extraction — Directed by Sam Hargrave.

The straight-to-Netflix action thriller Extraction is based on the comic book Ciudad, which was written by Ande Parks (comic book writer), and the Russo brothers (the directors of Avengers: Endgame, one of whom also wrote Extraction). Extraction was even directed by a Marvel movie veteran. This is the directorial debut of Sam Hargrave, who has experience as a stunt double and stunt coordinator on multiple Marvel movies. Unlike Disney-Marvel movies, however, Extraction is filled to the brim with excessive violence. Hargrave’s debut, though not narratively challenging, is a thrilling exercise in hectic action set pieces. It’s not exactly John Wick-quality, but it is one of the best Netflix original action films to have been released thus far. Continue reading “REVIEW: Extraction (2020)” →

REVIEW: Coffee & Kareem (2020)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a short review of Coffee & Kareem — Directed by Michael Dowse.

Michael Dowse’s Coffee & Kareem is an action-comedy buddy film about police officer James Coffee (played by Ed Helms) and his attempt to connect with and establish a rapport with his girlfriend’s son, Kareem (played by Terrence Little Gardenhigh), who both doesn’t trust law enforcement and is protective of his mother (played by Taraji P. Henson). While driving Kareem home from school, both Kareem and officer Coffee become involved in dangerous criminal activity and encounter dirty cops. Continue reading “REVIEW: Coffee & Kareem (2020)” →

REVIEW: After Hours (1985)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

The following is a review of Martin Scorsese’s 1985 classic After Hours — Written by Joseph Minion.

Although his 1980 feature film Raging Bull earned Martin Scorsese rave reviews and industry awards recognition, its success did not ensure that Martin Scorsese’s 1980s would be a nice and smooth ride with nothing but successes. Even though he had already made films that we still talk about today, Scorsese was not the box office draw that modern cineastes might have imagined. His follow-up to Raging Bull, his 1982 near-masterpiece The King of Comedy struggled at the box office. Then Paramount Pictures got cold feet due to a sizable budget as well as religious protests, and, as a result, they, eventually, canceled the production of Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ, which was finally made and released with the help of Universal Studios in 1988. So one might understand if, in the mid-to-early 1980s, Martin Scorsese needed to make something wildly different. It was at this point when, before he finally got to make his aforementioned controversial religious passion project, Martin Scorsese made his frantic black comedy After Hours. Continue reading “REVIEW: After Hours (1985)” →

REVIEW: El Hoyo (2019)

Festival Release Poster – Basque Films; Mr. Miyagi Films; Plataforma La Película; A.I.E

The following is a review of El Hoyo, also known as The Platform — Directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.

I have been looking forward to this movie for close to six months. I heard it described as one of the best horror films of 2019 and one of the coolest movie concepts of that year. People whose opinions I pay attention to were praising this movie so much that I ended up having fairly strong expectations for the film. Thankfully, Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s feature film directorial debut did not disappoint, even though the debut director failed to make his film stand out from other similar films. Continue reading “REVIEW: El Hoyo (2019)” →

REVIEW: Lost Girls (2020)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Lost Girls — Directed by Liz Garbus.

Netflix is starting to build itself a strong reputation for being a good home for true-crime content. There are numerous Netflix exclusive true-crime docu-series and films that I have been very fascinated by. The latest true-crime content from Netflix is Lost Girls, the narrative film debut from the seasoned documentary film director, Liz Garbus, who I don’t think, ultimately, does enough with this incredible true story. Continue reading “REVIEW: Lost Girls (2020)” →

REVIEW: The Invisible Man (2020)

Theatrical Release Poster – Universal Pictures

The following is a review of The Invisible Man — Directed by Leigh Whannell.

120 years after H. G. Wells’ original science fiction novel The Invisible Man was released, Alex Kurtzman’s The Mummy was released to negative reviews. That film was intended to kickstart an interconnected cinematic universe known as the ‘Dark Universe,’ of which a The Invisible Man-adaptation was supposed to be a part. However, instead, the Dark Universe quickly became the most used example of a cinematic universe that fell apart before it had a chance to connect two films. Three years after the release of Kurtzman’s monster movie, which was a critical and financial failure, we have the latest adaptation of the aforementioned iconic Wells-novel. Although Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man is notably not a part of any cinematic universe, he has done what Kurtzman, unfortunately, failed to do, i.e. make an effective and modern monster movie. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Invisible Man (2020)” →

REVIEW: Camino a Roma (2020 – Documentary)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Road to Roma (Orig. Title: Camino a Roma) — Directed by Andrés Clariond Rangel & Gabriel Nuncio.

Andrés Clariond Rangel and Gabriel Nuncio’s Road to Roma is a making of-documentary about Alfonso Cuarón’s Oscar-winning Netflix film Roma. This documentary is available on Netflix right now, but it will also be available on the upcoming Criterion Collection release of the Netflix film. Therefore, one could argue that this is really just a glorified special feature, but since the documentary has a runtime of 73 minutes, I think, it deserves to be treated as its own thing and be reviewed, just like I reviewed Anthony Wonke’s The Director and the Jedi. Continue reading “REVIEW: Camino a Roma (2020 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You — Directed by Michael Fimognari.

Netflix has only released its own films since late 2015, but, just five years later, the streaming service now has what could be a successful film series. 2018’s To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (from director Susan Johnson) was a surprise romantic-comedy hit that its young target audience ate up. Two years later and we now have its first sequel, Michael Fimognari’s To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You. Continue reading “REVIEW: To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You (2020)” →

REVIEW: Klovn: The Final (2020)

Danish Theatrical Release Poster — Nordisk Film

The following is a review of Klovn: The Final — Directed by Mikkel Nørgaard.

The Final is the third and supposedly final film entry in the wildly popular Danish comedy series known as Klovn (which means clown), a Danish comedy franchise inspired by Curb Your Enthusiasm starring two of Denmark’s most popular comedians, Casper Christensen and Frank Hvam, playing fictionalized versions of themselves. Casper Christensen, who recently appeared in Chris Addison’s Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway-led comedy The Hustle, could be called Denmark’s Jerry Seinfeld, but his character on the show is very different. The Casper character is a womanizing sexual addict, who constantly gets his best friend Frank into trouble. Frank Hvam’s character is the ‘Larry David’ of Klovn. The Frank-character makes many embarrassing blunders, and his partnership with Casper Christensen always gets him into trouble with his wife and their friends. Continue reading “REVIEW: Klovn: The Final (2020)” →