Tag: Film Review

REVIEW: Judy (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – LD Entertainment / Pathé

The following is a review of Judy — Directed by Rupert Goold.

Rupert Goold’s Judy is a biographical picture about the final year of Judy Garland’s life. The biopic is based on the Peter Quilter stage musical End of the Rainbow, and the film mostly takes place in 1969 when Judy Garland (played by Renée Zellweger) relocated to the United Kingdom for work and to be able to afford a potential custody battle in court. The multi-talented star is, at this point in her life, a wreck. The American industries that made her a star now see her as unreliable, she is unable to pay her bills, she doesn’t eat, she is severely depressed, and she suffers from issues related to substance abuse. Her job in London represents one last moment in the spotlight to dazzle, use her stardom, and make the money she needs to keep her family together. Though she often hesitates to go on stage, it is only on the stage that she can find energy and satisfaction in her last year. Continue reading “REVIEW: Judy (2019)” →

REVIEW: Wounds (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Wounds — Directed by Babak Anvari.

A couple of years ago, Babak Anvari’s underseen and underappreciated Persian-language horror film — and directorial feature film debut — Under the Shadow was rightfully selected to compete for the foreign-language film award at the Oscars as the British entry. Anvari’s debut was a great surprise and a film that I have recommended to many people over the years. Even though poor word of mouth preceded its release on Netflix, I was still excited to see his second effort as a director of feature-length films. Unfortunately, Wounds, his first English-language feature film, is a messy, dreadful, and disappointing sophomore film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wounds (2019)” →

REVIEW: The Laundromat (2019)

The following is a review of The Laundromat — Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

Earlier this year, Palme d’Or-winning director Steven Soderbergh’s first Netflix film High Flying Bird was released on Netflix. It, a great film about the intersection of sports and business, is still one of the best surprises of the year. The Laundromat, Soderbergh’s second Netflix feature film, was a film that I was looking forward to, for quite some time, due to the director and the cast. Based on the premise, the filmmaker, and the cast, I thought this was going to be one of the most interesting films of the year. Unfortunately, The Laundromat, a playful but tired biographical drama, is interesting for all the wrong reasons. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Laundromat (2019)” →

REVIEW: El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie — Directed by Vince Gilligan.

In the eleventh episode of the fifth season of Breaking Bad, Jesse Pinkman (played by Aaron Paul) found himself at a crossroads. He had been given an opportunity for a clean break, a new identity, and a fresh start. His dangerous business partner and former high school teacher (with whom he had built a drug empire), Walter White (played by Bryan Cranston), had told him that maybe that is exactly what Jesse needed: “You know, I really think that would be good for you. A clean slate. Just think about it. Get a job, something legitimate, something you like. Meet a girl. Start a family even, hell, you’re still so damn young. What’s here for you anyway? I’ll tell you if I could, I’d trade places.” Continue reading “REVIEW: El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019)” →

REVIEW: Gemini Man (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Gemini Man (in regular 2D, 24fps) — Directed by Ang Lee.

Digital de-aging is a trend in Hollywood that we should probably get used to. Disney’s Marvel films have used this technology to make actors like Michael Douglas look fresh-faced and young. Disney has also shown that they are unafraid of bringing deceased actors’ likenesses back to the big screen like they did in Gareth Edwards’ Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Gemini Man, though not a Disney film, is a major motion picture blockbuster built on this not-so-cheap trick. Continue reading “REVIEW: Gemini Man (2019)” →

REVIEW: In the Tall Grass (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of In the Tall Grass — Directed by Vincenzo Natali.

Vincenzo Natali’s In the Tall Grass is a straight-to-Netflix horror film based on the Stephen King and Joe Hill novella of the same name, which was initially released in issues of Esquire magazine in 2012. Natali’s adaptation follows Cal (played by Avery Whitted) and his pregnant sister Becky (played by Laysla De Oliveira), who is considering giving up her baby for adoption. When they are driving in the middle of nowhere, Cal has to pull over because his sister is feeling sick. While having stopped by the side of the road, they both hear a boy (played by Will Buie, Jr.) screaming for help from inside a nearby field of very tall grass. They both decide to enter the field to get him out, but, once they have entered the claustrophobic green field of grass, they quickly realize that they are unable to escape it or even find each other. Continue reading “REVIEW: In the Tall Grass (2019)” →

REVIEW: Joker (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros. Pictures

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)” →

REVIEW: Unbelievable (2019 – Mini-Series)

Release Poster – Netflix

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)” →

REVIEW: In the Shadow of the Moon (2019)

Release Poster — Netflix

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)” →

REVIEW: Ad Astra (2019)

Theatrical IMAX-Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

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)” →