Tag: Film Review

REVIEW: O. J.: Made in America (2016 – Documentary)

Release Poster - ESPN Films
Release Poster – ESPN Films

The following is a review of O. J.: Made in America – Directed by Ezra Edelman

Orenthal James Simpson – a USC Trojans legend, Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee, movie star, and a convicted felon. In 1985, 5-time Pro Bowl and 1-time NFL MVP O. J. Simpson, a former running back for the Buffalo Bills and the San Francisco 49ers, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

He had become an actor, and in a few years he would become a movie star with the popular The Naked Gun movie series. Ten years later, in 1995, Simpson was acquitted of the murders of his ex-wife and her friend. O. J.: Made in America tells the story of O. J. Simpson’s tumultuous life leading up to his imprisonment after an armed robbery in Las Vegas in 2008. Continue reading “REVIEW: O. J.: Made in America (2016 – Documentary)” →

REVIEW: Sully (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Warner Bros.
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following is a review of Clint Eastwood’s Sully.

Sully, which is based on a memoir written by Chesley Sullenberger and Jeffrey Zaslow, tells the true story of the events surrounding US Airways Flight 1549 – the plane that pilot Chesley Sullenberger (played by Tom Hanks) felt that he was forced to land on New York’s Hudson River. However, in the days that followed, Sullenberger had to defend his decision to the press and to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB).
Continue reading “REVIEW: Sully (2016)” →

REVIEW: Rings (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster - Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Rings – Directed by F. Javier Gutiérrez

First you watch it, then you die – I guess that is one way to market your movie. The first American remake of the popular Japanese film Ringu (which was an adaptation of a Japanese horror novel) was actually quite successful and effective. Gore Verbinski’s The Ring was absolutely terrifying, but I don’t think anyone will think as highly of Gutiérrez’s Rings. I don’t exactly hate the seemingly pessimistic tagline, but I really dislike the film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Rings (2017)” →

REVIEW: iBoy (2017)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of iBoy – Directed by Adam Randall

iBoy – the newest Netflix Original Film – is based on the novel of the same name by Kevin Brooks, and it is a teenage science-fiction film about Tom (played by Bill Milner), a British teen, who has a crush on a girl named Lucy (played by Maisie Williams). One day, he goes over to her family’s apartment and he sees that it has been broken into. Continue reading “REVIEW: iBoy (2017)” →

REVIEW: Split (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster - Split
Release Poster – Split

The following is a review of Split – Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

M. Night Shyamalan has had an interesting career so far. He was once called the next Steven Spielberg and the ‘hottest’ name in storytelling, but when he released The Village, which got mixed reviews, his career fell off a cliff. Suddenly, the guy who was known for his fun story twists, became known for films like The Last Airbender and The Happening. M. Night Shyamalan became known as the guy that made perhaps the most unintentionally funny natural disaster film of the 21st Century (I am again, of course, referring to The Happening). Continue reading “REVIEW: Split (2017)” →

REVIEW: Zoolander 2 (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a quick review of Zoolander 2 – Directed by Ben Stiller

I really liked the original Zoolander a lot. Sure, it was a dumb comedy, but I still think it’s a really funny and rewatchable film. So I had high hopes for Zoolander 2, even though I knew that sequels to ‘old’ comedies don’t always turn out well. I had seen Dumb and Dumber To – another sequel to a comedy I loved – and that was a huge disappointment. It saddens me to state, however, that Zoolander 2 might be an even worse comedy sequel. Continue reading “REVIEW: Zoolander 2 (2016)” →

REVIEW: Silence (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Paramount Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Silence – Directed by Martin Scorsese

Based on the 1966 Japanese novel of the same name, legendary film director Martin Scorsese’s next historical epic Silence is a story about the limit to one’s faith for a priest in a foreign, strange, and Godless land. It takes place in the 17th Century and the film opens by showing intense punishment in Japan. Father Ferreira (played by Liam Neeson) is witnessing Christians being tortured, and we soon learn that he eventually renounced his faith. Continue reading “REVIEW: Silence (2016)” →

REVIEW: Beware the Slenderman (2017)

Release Poster - HBO
Release Poster – HBO

The following is a quick review of the HBO Documentary – Beware the Slenderman

In Wisconsin in 2014, two young girls lured one of their friends into the woods before stabbing her and almost killing her. They did this to impress the infamous Slenderman, a fictional online boogeyman. Beware the Slenderman tells the story of the attempted murder and how the two girls were influenced by the online urban legend.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Beware the Slenderman (2017)” →

REVIEW: Take the 10 (2017)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of Take the 10 – Directed by Chester Tam

In Take the 10, we see a day in the life of two friends – Chester (played by Tony Revolori) and Chris (played by Josh Peck) – wherein one of them desperately wants to sell his car before traveling to Brazil, while the other wants to go to a concert. Soon, however, their day is ruined by an awful boss, a surprising drive-by, and a violent drug dealer. Continue reading “REVIEW: Take the 10 (2017)” →

REVIEW: Manchester by the Sea (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Roadside Attractions
Theatrical Release Poster – Roadside Attractions

The following is a review of Manchester by the Sea – Written and directed by Kenneth Lonergan

Manchester by the Sea mostly takes place in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, which is the hometown of our main character Lee Chandler (played by Casey Affleck). At the beginning of the film, however, Lee is a relentlessly self-punishing and reserved janitor who no longer keeps in touch with the rest of his family. He spends nights getting drunk and getting into fights with anyone who looks at him the wrong way. Continue reading “REVIEW: Manchester by the Sea (2016)” →