Tag: Movie Review

REVIEW: The Wolverine (2013)

Release Poster - 20th Century Fox
Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a spoiler-filled review of The Wolverine – Directed by James Mangold

X-Men Origins: Wolverine was an unnecessary, bloated mess of a film that managed to – not just butcher the Deadpool character – but also harm the legacy of Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. In 2013, James Mangold managed to restore Jackman’s legacy with an exciting chapter in that character’s story. So, today, in anticipation of the release of James Mangold’s Logan, I want to do a spoiler-filled review of Mangold’s first film about Wolverine. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Wolverine (2013)” →

REVIEW: I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of I Don’t Feel at Home in this World Anymore – Directed by Macon Blair

One of last year’s most genuine and shocking surprises were Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, a violent thriller set in a neo-nazi bar. Green Room was a great little film, which starred Macon Blair in a supporting role, and it made me look back at what Saulnier had made before.

I soon came across Saulnier’s 2013 thriller Blue Ruin, which also starred Macon Blair (this time in a leading role). Both Green Room and Blue Ruin are great, violent thriller films, and I particularly enjoyed Blue Ruin. Therefore my interest was instantly piqued when Macon Blair’s directorial debut – I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore – went on to win the Sundance Festival’s Grand Jury Prize for the U. S. Dramatic competition. Continue reading “REVIEW: I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore (2017)” →

REVIEW: Girlfriend’s Day (2017)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of Girlfriend’s Day – Directed by Michael Paul Stephenson

On Valentine’s Day 2017, Netflix released an original film from the mind of – and starring – Bob Odenkirk with a lean runtime of 70 minutes. As I am a fan of Odenkirk, it should’ve been easy to get through. It should’ve been a treat. But, somehow, it took me more than a week to get through and finish. Continue reading “REVIEW: Girlfriend’s Day (2017)” →

REVIEW: A Cure for Wellness (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster - 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of A Cure for Wellness – Directed by Gore Verbinski

A Cure for Wellness follows Lockhart (played by Dane DeHaan), an overworked and ambitious executive, who is sent to the Swiss Alps to retrieve Pembroke (played by Harry Groener), his company’s CEO, from a wellness center. It was supposed to be a quick retrieval. He didn’t intend to stay there for more than a few hours, but when Lockhart wakes up from a car crash he appears to have broken his leg. Continue reading “REVIEW: A Cure for Wellness (2017)” →

REVIEW: La La Land (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Summit Entertainment
Theatrical Release Poster – Summit Entertainment

The following is a review of La La Land – Directed by Damien Chazelle

They don’t make movies like they used to. Cinema is dead. – Odds are that you’ve encountered similar sentiments online or by the water cooler this past year. 2016 was, somewhat unfairly, called a bad year for movies, when it was just a bad year for summer blockbuster films. As is always the case with discovering new films, you have to know where to look.

It is all about finding the right talents, the right studios, or the premises that will pique your interest. Sometimes the right movie for you is one that reminds you of great classics but still isn’t blind to the nostalgia it’s feeding on. With a charismatic and charming cast, a brilliant director, and a genre that people are sometimes turned off by, La La Land is here at the right time to breathe new life into our love of movies.  Continue reading “REVIEW: La La Land (2016)” →

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)” →