Tag: Netflix

IJR Awards 2019: Film Nominations Announced

It is finally time for me to announce my own personal film nominations for the 7th I’m Jeffrey Rex Awards. Sure, we’re in 2020 now, but I needed some time to watch some of the films that weren’t released until January 2020 in Denmark to properly celebrate 2019 films.

There will be a couple of surprises here, and I’m not just talking about the nominees. There are a couple of completely new categories listed below. Each new category will have an asterisk next to it. Well, let’s get to it. Continue reading “IJR Awards 2019: Film Nominations Announced” →

REVIEW: Uncut Gems (2019)

Theatrical Release Poster – A24

The following is a review of Uncut Gems — Directed by Josh & Benny Safdie.

“Keep an eye on the Safdie Brothers.” — I ended my short review of 2017’s Good Time thusly. When I watched that film I don’t think I knew of the Safdies Brothers’ early career as young but already somewhat prolific independent filmmakers. To me, they were (and, in a way, still are) exciting newcomers to the world stage of cinema. Good Time was a brilliant but anxiety-inducing nightmare that gave us Robert Pattinson’s finest performance, thus far. That film showcased the Safdies’ talents as directors both with the exquisite mastering of tension and anxiousness, as well as the ability to pull out awards-worthy performances from actors who have a tendency to be pigeonholed. With Uncut Gems, the filmmaking duo has done it again. Adam Sandler delivers his finest performance since 2017’s The Meyerowitz Stories in the Safdies’ Good Time-follow-up, which is even more nailbiting and even more impressive. Continue reading “REVIEW: Uncut Gems (2019)” →

REVIEW: A Fall From Grace (2020)

Release Poster

The following is a review of A Fall From Grace — Directed by Tyler Perry.

Tyler Perry is a prolific cinematic triple-threat. Perry often both writes, directs, and stars in his own films, which, at least in the US, are well-known. His claim to fame is a series of films that, for the uninitiated, look like nothing more than a rip-off of Big Momma’s House. I think it’s safe to say that while Perry may be well-known in America, Perry and his Madea-character have not made it big outside of North America. I have never seen any of those films, which Spike Lee has previously criticized profusely, and I don’t think anyone I know in Denmark has either. But, for cineastes, his reputation precedes him nonetheless. However, I think it is fair to say that Tyler Perry’s A Fall From Grace is one of the worst and most absurd original films that Netflix has released. Continue reading “REVIEW: A Fall From Grace (2020)” →

Top Ten TV-Shows of 2019

The New Golden Age of Television continued in 2019 with yet another great year of television. This must be reiterated year after year — yes, even in a year with a disappointing conclusion to Game of Thrones — 2019 continued that age, or trend, in which television is as effective as, or even more so than, cinema. For some, television of 2019 is undoubtedly best defined by the conclusion to shows like Game of Thrones or Fleabag, and, for others, it is best defined by limited series that shocked you to your core. Continue reading “Top Ten TV-Shows of 2019” →

REVIEW: The Two Popes (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Two Popes — Directed by Fernando Meirelles.

Fernando Meirelles’ The Two Popes is based on writer Anthony McCarten’s non-fiction work The Pope and inspired by the historic papal renunciation in 2013. Meirelles’ film is about a number of conversations between Pope Benedict XVI (played by Anthony Hopkins) and Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio (played by Jonathan Pryce). These conversations highlight the conservative and ‘progressive’ branches of the Catholic Church and the things that they have in common. These conversations are both incredibly interesting and surprisingly funny. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Two Popes (2019)” →

REVIEW: 6 Underground (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of 6 Underground — Directed by Michael Bay.

If you think the Netflix film-catalog merely consists of Oscar bait and shoddy romantic-comedies, then Michael Bay’s 6 Underground is here to disprove that notion. While Netflix is releasing this year’s batch of awards-worthy dramas — like Marriage Story and The Irishman — they also have their complete antithesis, 6 Underground, ready for quick consumption. Its star, Ryan Reynolds, has been seen in marketing describing the film as the ‘most Michael Bay movie in the history of Michael Bay,’ thus promising an explosion-heavy, no-holds-barred modern action movie from one of the most commercially successful filmmakers in history. Reynolds’ description is apt, however, 6 Underground just isn’t a very good movie. Continue reading “REVIEW: 6 Underground (2019)” →

REVIEW: Marriage Story (2019)

Character Posters – Netflix

The following is a review of Marriage Story — Directed by Noah Baumbach.

Noah Baumbach’s Marriage Story is one of the most difficult and rawest films that I have seen this year, and I absolutely do mean that as a huge compliment. Like few other films have been able to do this year, Baumbach’s film genuinely moved me to tears multiple times over the course of the exhausting and heartbreaking but absolutely necessary 136-minute runtime. Baumbach has with The Meyerowitz Stories and Marriage Story now made two of the best films that Netflix has ever been associated with, and I actually think his latest film is not just the best of the two, but also one of the few true Netflix masterpieces that have been released this decade. Continue reading “REVIEW: Marriage Story (2019)” →

REVIEW: The Irishman (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Irishman — Directed by Martin Scorsese.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Martin Scorsese would arguably be on the Mt. Rushmore of American filmmakers if such a thing existed. When Scorsese laments the supposed death of cinema or questions the artistic merit of modern blockbusters, you listen to him for the simple reason that few people know the medium, the power of cinema, or the industry as well as he does. His understanding of the power of what is within or out of the frame of cinema is indescribable. Though his detractors may suggest that he is a glorified gangster film director, nothing could be further from the truth. With The Irishman, Martin Scorsese has given us a haunting and elegiac historical epic disguised as a greatest hits gangster film that stresses that, even in the autumn of his life, the master hasn’t missed a beat. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Irishman (2019)” →

REVIEW: The Crown – Season Three (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of the third season of The Crown — Available on Netflix.

When The Crown premiered in 2016, I proclaimed that Claire Foy’s Queen Elizabeth II might become the new face of Netflix. In 2017, following a truly outstanding second season, I argued that The Crown had become the greatest live-action television series that Netflix had ever made. Then the long wait began. It has been two years since we last saw new episodes of this show, and now all of the central characters have been recast as the next stage of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign begins. Though this third season is not as impeccable as I thought the previous season was, Peter Morgan’s series is still a must-watch series even for those people who aren’t necessarily obsessed with royal families. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Crown – Season Three (2019)” →

REVIEW: Klaus (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Klaus — Directed by Sergio Pablos.

This year it almost seems like Netflix is plotting to take over the entirety of the Academy Awards. In a couple of months, Netflix hopes to have films like The Irishman, Marriage Story, and Dolemite Is My Name earn nominations and possibly wins at the prestigious awards show. At the same time, Netflix has distributed some of the year’s most talked-about documentaries, so they should earn a nomination in that category as well. Netflix has plenty of frontrunners this year’s film awards season. If Sergio Pablos’ film has anything to say about it, Netflix might also earn a nomination in the animated feature film category for the very first time. Pablos’ Klaus isn’t just Netflix’s first true attempt to earn such a nomination, Klaus is also quite good. Continue reading “REVIEW: Klaus (2019)” →