The following is a review of Joker — Directed by Todd Phillips.
It has felt almost impossible to drown out the noise surrounding Todd Phillips’ Joker. Any film even tangentially related to Batman has a gigantic spotlight on it at all times, but the drama surrounding the release of this standalone origin story has been different. Though the film has won numerous film festival awards, including the coveted Golden Lion-award from the Venice Film Festival, even select critics who liked the film have seemingly been apprehensive about recommending it. Continue reading “REVIEW: Joker (2019)”→
The following is a review of the Netflix mini-series Unbelievable.
Netflix’s Unbelievable is an eight-episode-long true-crime drama mini-series based primarily on an article titled ‘An Unbelievable Story of Rape.’ Unbelievable dramatizes a series of rape cases from the Washington and Colorado areas that took place between 2008 and 2011. The series follows both Marie Adler (played by Kaitlyn Dever), a victim of sexual assault who is charged with making a false crime report, and two detectives — Grace Rasmussen (played by Toni Collette) and Karen Duvall (played by Merritt Wever) — who are investigating the links between several rape cases from different areas. Though, heartbreakingly, her case is not on their radar. Continue reading “REVIEW: Unbelievable (2019 – Mini-Series)”→
The following is a review of In the Shadow of the Moon — Directed by Jim Mickle.
Not to be confused with the David Sington documentary of the same name, Jim Mickle’s In the Shadow of the Moon is a science-fiction crime film that follows police officer Thomas Lockhart (played by Boyd Holbrook), a father in waiting, as he tries to catch a criminal whose actions have caused several civilians to display suspicious wounds and then violently die as they bleed from their heads’ orifices. The suspected murderer is a young African-American woman (played by Cleopatra Coleman), and Lockhart eventually catches up to her on the night of the murderers.
His night ends violently as he makes her fall onto subway train tracks where she is swiftly run over by an oncoming train. When the suspected murderer returns back to life nine years after she died, Lockhart starts to entertain the thought that she was literally carried away by a moonlight shadow, to quote a 1980s hit song, to a different place, or time, entirely, which was suggested to him by an elusive scientist on the night of her first appearance. Continue reading “REVIEW: In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)”→
The following is a review of Ad Astra — Directed by James Gray.
As we are getting closer and closer to the end of a decade, we naturally get the urge to take a look backward and reflect on the films that have shaped a decade in film history. One genre that has thrived in the 2010s is science-fiction. It almost feels like every year of this decade has had at least one science-fiction or space-set film that appealed to an adult audience and included challenging themes or stories. Just like 2013 and 2014 had Gravity and Interstellar respectively, 2019 has James Gray’s Ad Astra — an intimate, meditative, and introspective science-fiction film about a son following in the footsteps of his father to complete a mission. Just like both of the two aforementioned films, Ad Astra is ambitious and exceptional. Continue reading “REVIEW: Ad Astra (2019)”→
Spanish Theatrical Release Poster – Sony Pictures Releasing International
The following is a review of Dolor y Gloria (int. title: Pain and Glory) — Directed by Pedro Almodóvar.
Dolor y Gloria is Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar’s twenty-second feature film, but, admittedly, the first film of his that I have seen. It is a semi-autobiographical film about an aging Spanish filmmaker (whose name is unmistakably close to being an anagram for Almodóvar) who feels that his body and mind is working against him. Salvador Mallo (played by Antonio Banderas), the aforementioned fictitious filmmaker, is constantly depressed, and he also suffers from difficult headaches and serious back problems. All of these issues have stopped him in his tracks and made it difficult for him to continue to make his art — his films. Continue reading “REVIEW: Dolor y Gloria (2019)”→
The following is a review of IT: Chapter Two — Directed by Andy Muschietti.
It would be an understatement to say that Andy Muschietti’s IT (2017) was a great success. Successfully building on audiences’ relationship with the 1990s mini-series, novel, or creature design, IT went on to become the highest-grossing Stephen King adaptation and the highest-grossing horror film in North American box office history (not adjusted for inflation). Therefore, naturally, expectations for the adaptation of the second ‘half’ of the 1000-page long clown-focused King novel were through the roof. Ultimately, although I don’t think the second chapter lives entirely up to the frightening but charming first film, IT: Chapter Two finds much more success in depicting the grown-up half of the novel than the mini-series did, and, even though I have notable problems with the film, I’m mostly satisfied with how this oversized crowdpleaser wrapped up the story. Continue reading “REVIEW: IT – Chapter Two (2019)”→
UK Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
The following is a review of Toy Story 4 — Directed by Josh Cooley.
I once wrote that I am ‘a part of the Pixar-generation,’ i.e. I’ve grown up with their films and Toy Story was one of the first films I saw. I’ve loved almost all of the Pixar-films, and I love the Toy Story-films most of them all. The first film was a childhood favorite of mine. The second film was almost equally brilliant and becomes better the more I watch it. And, especially for my generation, the third film was a cathartic and nostalgic heartbreaker that had adults bawling their eyes out in crowded theaters or airplanes.
Toy Story is a special film series. The first three films are all some of the greatest animated films ever made and arguably include a couple of masterpieces among them. But it is also a film series that ended on the perfect note with Toy Story 3. So, I cannot say that I ever really wanted a fourth film. However, Toy Story 4 from feature film debut director Josh Cooley is another heartwarming and heartbreaking coming-of-age tale featuring childhood playthings. Though we didn’t need it, Pixar has, thankfully, brought us yet another great installment in this beloved film series, even though the fourth film isn’t as much of an instant classic as the first three films were. Continue reading “REVIEW: Toy Story 4 (2019)”→
The following is a review of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark — Directed by André Øvredal.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is an adaptation of a trilogy of children’s horror short story collections of the same name from author Alvin Schwartz. The film has been in development since 2013, and now Norwegian filmmaker André Øvredal has finally brought the children’s short stories to the big screen in the form of a horror film that’s frankly really enjoyable if you know what you’re getting into. This is just scary enough to severely frighten teens, but I don’t think it is so frightening that it’ll haunt them at night unless they are young tweens, but you and your kids’ mileage may vary. It’s a cute and fairly effective horror film that, I think, has the potential to become a favorite for teens. Those who dug Annabelle Comes Home will be happy with this similarly cutesy horror film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (2019)”→
The following is a short review of The Kid — Directed by Vincent D’Onofrio.
Maybe it’s an unfair and impolite thought, but whenever an actor-turned-director gets an A-list cast for his next feature, I start to worry that the star-studded cast only agreed to appear in the film as a favor to a good friend who is trying their hand at a new thing that he or she is relatively inexperienced at. The Kid, a new somewhat-biographical western, is Vincent D’Onofrio’s second feature film as a director. His sophomore effort as a director features a cast that includes Ethan Hawke, Chris Pratt, and Dane DeHaan. I may never learn if they joined this film as a favor or not, but I can say that I enjoyed this film quite a bit. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Kid (2019)”→
Theatrical Release Poster – Entertainment Studios Motion Pictures
The following is a review of Replicas — Directed by Jeffrey Nachmanoff.
Jeffrey Nachmanoff’s Replicas follows William Foster (played by Keanu Reeves), a research neuroscientist who experiments with the concept of transferring a human mind — even that of a deceased individual — into the body of an android. William and his colleague Ed Whittle (played by Thomas Middleditch), however, are not finding much success, seeing as their best experiment ended with an expensive android speaking and then ripping its own face off. But the success of their experiments becomes much more important to William when he loses his wife (played by Alice Eve) and his three kids in a violent accident. As a direct result of the accident, William decides to secretly attempt to transfer his family’s minds into new bodies using the technology that his employer has provided the research division with. But William is faced with a tough decision when he finds out that he can only transfer three members of his family into new bodies. William has to not only decide which family member to let go, but he also has to wipe their existence from his family’s memories. Continue reading “REVIEW: Replicas (2019)”→
I'm Jeffrey Rex 