Tag: Movie Review

REVIEW: Suicide Squad (2016)

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

The following is a review of David Ayer’s Suicide Squad.

The DC Cinematic Universe needs a hit right now. Man of Steel was polarizing. Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice was critically panned and it needed an extended cut to fix some of its many problems. Now, Warner Bros. and DC have released a film about bad guys teaming up to do ‘good.’ It may be a bit of a risk, but they are going for a Guardians of the Galaxy-like surprise hit. Unfortunately, Suicide Squad doesn’t hold a candle to the aforementioned Marvel Studios hit. David Ayer’s film is an almost incoherent mess of a film.
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UPDATED REVIEW: Midnight Special (2016)

Jaeden Lieberher in MIDNIGHT SPECIAL — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures.

This is an updated review of Jeff Nichols’ MIDNIGHT SPECIAL. The original review, which can be found here, was updated in June of 2023. Most of the review was rewritten and the score was upped.

Jeff Nichols is one of the most promising young directors out there. His first feature film – Shotgun Stories – was an excellent low-budget revenge tale about brotherhood. His two other films – Take Shelter & Mud – put him on worldwide critics’ radar as they were some of the best films of the years in which they were released. That early filmography highlights an impressive and talented filmmaker who clearly has it within himself to be more than merely an indie darling. With Midnight Special, Jeff Nichols made his first film that is placed squarely in the science-fiction genre, and, back when it was released, it was one of my most anticipated films of that year. To me, this felt like the right moment for Nichols to make a film that could really get his name out there, but, while I did like it when I first saw it, it didn’t immediately live up to the expectations that I had for it. Having now, years later, had the chance to watch it over and over again, I can say that it has only gotten better with each and every rewatch. Midnight Special is an exceptional film that I think I understand much better now.

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REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)

Film Poster - The Weinstein Company
Film Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a review of John Carney’s Sing Street.

Sing Street did not get a theatrical release in Denmark, as far as I am aware. So, back when every reviewer was talking about how great Sing Street was, I found out that I had to wait for the Blu-Ray release. I had only heard great things about the film, so I was really interested in it.

Sing Street was never on my list of most anticipated films of the year – even though I really enjoyed John Carney’s last film (Begin Again) – but when people were praising this film as one of the most enjoyable movie experiences of the year, I started to worry that maybe I would be let down when I finally got to see it. Well, now I’ve seen it, and it turns out that it is better than I thought it would be. Sing Street is a wonderful film. Continue reading “REVIEW: Sing Street (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

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

The following spoiler-filled review of The Dark Knight Rises was written in August 2016

I don’t think I have ever mentioned this on the blog before, but I’ve only seen The Dark Knight Rises three times. Once in the movie theater, once on Blu-Ray, and once yesterday when I rewatched it for this review. I really liked it when I first saw it in theaters, but, when I rewatched it for the first time, it didn’t work on me as well as it had previously. Following this latest rewatch, I will say immediately that it definitely is not as disappointing as my memory had conjured up. Look, I’m not going to come out and say that this film is an ‘underappreciated masterpiece’ or anything like that — not at all. This film still has its problems. But when I finished rewatching the film last night, I had to admit that maybe I had been a bit too harsh on it for the last couple of years. The online vocal minority has begun to really criticize this film in recent years, but while The Dark Knight Rises definitely doesn’t come close to the quality of the first two films in the Dark Knight Trilogy, I do think it is still a solid ending to an excellent trilogy. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Dark Knight Rises (2012)” →

RETRO REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)

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

The following spoiler-filled retro review of The Dark Knight was written in August 2016

I saw this film in a movie theater, but I don’t quite remember how I felt after I first saw it. What I do remember, quite clearly actually, was that my sister bought the Blu-Ray for me as a Christmas gift. I think The Dark Knight is a haunting superhero movie masterpiece, but, for a specific reason, I don’t often sit down to watch it.

I’ve always thought Heath Ledger was an exceptionally entertaining actor, and it was tough for me to hear that the world had lost him when we did. Although he was brilliant in Brokeback Mountain and while I was never worried about what he would do with the Joker character, this performance remains one of the most surprisingly magnificent performances that I’ve ever seen. The Dark Knight wouldn’t be a masterpiece without Heath Ledger’s performance. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: The Dark Knight (2008)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Batman Begins (2005)

Batman Begins Poster
Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following retro review of Batman Begins was written in August 2016.

I grew up with many different takes on a live-action Batman and Bruce Wayne. Michael Keaton. Val Kilmer. George Clooney. But it wasn’t until I saw Christian Bale in Batman Begins that I loved, I don’t just mean liked, a live-action version of the character. When I first saw Batman Begins, I hadn’t seen Bale in a lot of films (probably just American Psycho and Reign of Fire), but when I saw Bale as Bruce Wayne I was just overjoyed this was going to be my Batman – like I, at that time, saw Roger Moore as my James Bond. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Batman Begins (2005)” →

REVIEW: Captain Fantastic (2016)

Captain Fantastic Poster - Blue
Release Poster – Bleecker Street

The following is a review of Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic.

“Power to the people. Stick it to the man.” – In Matt Ross’s Captain Fantastic, Ben Cash (played by Viggo Mortensen), who lives in a forest with his wife and their six children, gets the news that his wife has taken her own life while she was at a hospital. Ben’s father-in-law (played by Frank Langella) is upset with Ben, and he feels that Ben is to blame for the loss of his daughter.

Despite warnings that his father-in-law will have him arrested, and seek custody of the children, if Ben attends his wife’s funeral, the Cash-family go on a road trip to New Mexico for the funeral. On their way, Ben’s children learn what it’s like to live in the real world, while the actions of their father are brought into question.
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REVIEW: Tallulah (2016)

Netflix Release Poster
Netflix Release Poster

The following is a quick review of the Netflix Original Film ‘Tallulah’.

In Tallulah, a young woman nicknamed ‘Lu’ (played by Ellen Page) rescues, or kidnaps, a baby girl from a negligent and irresponsible mother (played by Tammy Blanchard). With no money and no experience as a parent, Lu goes to the mother (played by Allison Janney) of her missing boyfriend (played by Evan Jonigkeit), and says that the baby is his.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Tallulah (2016)” →

CLASSIC REVIEW: Aliens (1986)

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

The following is a review of the classic science-fiction action film ‘Aliens’. This review was written in July 2016 in honor of the film’s 30th Anniversary.

After the success of 1984’s The Terminator, 20th Century Fox gave James Cameron the go-ahead to direct a sequel to the amazing science-fiction horror film, Alien. No one could’ve predicted the success Cameron’s sequel would get. Even though Alien is, itself, somewhat of a horror classic, Cameron somehow managed to make a sequel that was remarkably different from the original film, but still ended up being a classic, being iconic, and being, easily, one of the best sequels of all-time.  Continue reading “CLASSIC REVIEW: Aliens (1986)” →

REVIEW: Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond Poster
Promotional Poster – Paramount Pictures

The following is a review of Star Trek Beyond.

Hold on to something! Star Trek is back. While the ‘Abramsverse,’ meaning the universe created or rebooted after J. J. Abrams and Bad Robot started making Star Trek, has gotten a lot of criticism from fans of the original films and series, you cannot deny, though, that Abrams got the franchise back into the public memory with the excellent Star Trek from 2009 and Star Trek Into Darkness, a solid action sequel, from 2013.
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