In this edition of Bite-Sized Reviews, I reveal my thoughts on a horror video game adaptation, a Jack Black-led Christmas film, an Apple TV+ film whose title references a Frank Sinatra song, and an indie horror film with an interesting premise.
Continue reading “‘Fly Me to the Moon,’ ‘Late Night With the Devil,’ ‘Dear Santa,’ and ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
In addition to all of the other reviews I’m publishing by themselves, and other relevant articles to kick off the year, I am also starting the year by publishing a small handful of bite-sized review compilation posts. In this edition, I’ll give you my thoughts on two Danish films from last year that didn’t fully win me over, as well as an American horror film released 12 months ago, and John Krasinski’s family film about imaginary friends.
Continue reading “‘Night Swim,’ ‘IF,’ ‘For Evigt,’ and ‘Birthday Girl’ | Bite-Sized Reviews”
Directed by Clint Eastwood — Screenplay by Jonathan Abrams.
Movie-star-turned-filmmaker Clint Eastwood is a 94-year-old four-time Oscar winner who is still working with some of the industry’s best actors and studios. Although we’d all love for him to keep making films forever, this could theoretically be the final film from one of the very few stars of Hollywood of which adults of all ages will have had some kind of knowledge. It could even, given his status and talent as a filmmaker, have been a genuine Oscar contender. You would think, then, that this film — which stars actors like Nicholas Hoult, Toni Collette, J.K. Simmons, Kiefer Sutherland, and others — would be a film that Warner Bros. would proudly release in theaters as prestigious cinema for grown-ups. And yet, that’s not exactly what happened. Eastwood’s potentially final film was released in fewer than 50 theaters across the United States, as well as modest theatrical releases in only a select few territories around the world. Instead, it was prioritized as a holiday streaming release as a ‘Max Original’. It sounds like a headscratcher even before you see the film, and, frankly, it’s still a headscratcher after you see it because, well, Juror #2 is a gripping legal thriller that shows that Clint Eastwood, even at 94 years old, still has what it takes to make compelling films.
Continue reading “Juror #2 (2024) | REVIEW”
I know. I didn’t just forget which year we’re in. We’re about to say goodbye to 2024, and here I am with a list of the very best films, shows, and whatnot from 2023? That’s certainly a choice, right? Look, I’ll be honest. I’ve been pretty busy this year, and I, around summer time, felt like I might as well wait until I had seen the two or three films that I felt I had to watch before publishing my lists for 2023. It kind of makes sense, right? If it’s already late, then I might as well make sure the choices are bulletproof, you know? Anyhow, here we are, and I’m going to be running you through all of my winners in a single post. Some awards have been canned (e.g. poster, trailer), other fresh ones have been added (e.g. stunts). It’ll take some time, but stick with me here. Oh, and look on the bright side, this way the wait between the 2023 and 2024 lists won’t be all that long. Anyway, let’s get to it (and happy holidays!).
Continue reading “11th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards – 2023”
Directed by Sean Baker — Screenplay by Sean Baker.
When Sean Baker walked up to the stage to accept the Palme d’Or prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, he stood next to George Lucas, who had just received an honorary award. There the legendary creator of Star Wars, essentially the blockbuster film that changed the direction of American cinema for the next many decades, stood next to perhaps the most well-known American independent filmmaker who was enjoying the biggest moment of his career with his latest film, Anora. Arguably, no two filmmakers could better symbolize the vast breadth of American filmmaking, and here Baker was becoming the first American competitive Palme d’Or winning director in more than a decade (since Malick in 2011). Frankly, for Baker, Anora marks arguably his feature with the most public appeal.
Continue reading “Anora (2024) | REVIEW”
Directed by Steve McQueen — Screenplay by Steve McQueen.
Despite sharing a name with the celebrated American Bullitt-actor known as the so-called ‘King of Cool,’ this film’s director, the British Steve McQueen, has done a lot to cement himself as one of British filmmaking’s most clear artistic voices, while at the same time becoming not only a critical darling but also someone who has been celebrated at award shows and, in general, for his contribution to culture. After he burst onto the scene as a feature filmmaker with the capital-g great films Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave, and the underseen Widows, McQueen went on to make Small Axe, a phenomenal anthology series about racism, activism, and the joy and spirit of specific communities in mid-to-late 20th century Britain. Since then he has been knighted, and then gone on to make a couple of attempts at documentary filmmaking with his Uprising and Occupied City. Now, with Blitz, he has made his return to narrative feature filmmaking, and while it is not quite as good as his best output, it is absolutely consistent with the artistic interests for which we have come to know him.
Continue reading “Blitz (2024) | REVIEW”
Directed by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (65) — Screenplay by Scott Beck and Bryan Woods (A Quiet Place; The Boogeyman).
Though not their directorial debut, writing-directing duo Scott Beck and Bryan Woods had their mainstream, big studio debut as directors with last year’s Adam Driver-led sci-fi flick titled 65, which, despite having a great trailer, was a relatively disappointing and unremarkable film. This was a disappointment because, in recent years, the duo had proven themselves to be effective genre film writers with their awards-nominated A Quiet Place screenplay. With their latest film, Heretic, they’ve crafted a psychological horror film that proves their talents and that what they had done a couple of years earlier was by no means an accident or a fluke. This one is terrific.
Continue reading “Heretic (2024) | REVIEW”
In this review compilation, I have shared my thoughts on a Michael Haneke classic, as well as one of the most devastating wrestling movies. In addition to this, I have highlighted three different horror films from 2024, none of which, sadly, won me over. Read more below to find out why that’s the case.
Continue reading “‘The Piano Teacher,’ ‘The Iron Claw,’ and More | Review Compilation”
Directed by Sir Ridley Scott (The Last Duel; Alien) — Screenplay by David Scarpa (All the Money in the World).
Set around fifteen or sixteen years after the events of the original film, Ridley Scott’s Gladiator 2 follows Lucius Verus (played by Paul Mescal) who has built a new life for himself in Northern Africa, where he goes by the name ‘Hanno.’ When his new home is invaded by the Roman Army, led by General Acacius (played by Pedro Pascal), his wife is killed, he is taken as a slave, and is later acquired as a gladiator. He is forced to return to the capital region of the Roman Empire, which he was once a prince of but now holds hatred for. Lucius’ services as a gladiator are bought by the ambitious Macrinus (played by Denzel Washington), who aspires to control all of Rome, and Macrinus promises Lucius that, if they work together, he will work towards giving Lucius the opportunity to fight and take down General Acacius, who Lucius blames for the death of his wife. Unbeknownst to Lucius, however, General Acacius is married to Lucius’ mother, Lucilla (still played by Connie Nielsen), and he, in fact, has secret plans to start a revolution, restore power to the Senate, and remove the dangerous co-emperors of Rome, Geta (played by Joseph Quinn) and Caracalla (played by Fred Hechinger).
Continue reading “Gladiator 2 (2024) | REVIEW”
Directed by Maisy Stella — Screenplay by Maisy Stella.
The strange title made me very curious about what this film was, and I am glad I found the time to watch it. Megan Park’s My Old Ass is such a sweet coming-of-age film that is oozing with charm. Here we find an 18-year-old young woman (played by Maisy Stella) who, through magic mushrooms and other unexplained occurrences, finds a way to communicate with her 39-year-old self (played by Aubrey Plaza) from the future. That is about all you need to know about the film, and, even if you have reservations about watching something with unexplained timey-wimey mechanics, I would suggest that you should get over that and enjoy this film for what it is, even though I, too, sometimes, raised an eyebrow at the mechanics of it all.
Continue reading “My Old Ass (2024) | REVIEW”
I'm Jeffrey Rex 