Tag: Review

REVIEW: IO (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of IO — Directed by Jonathan Helpert.

Netflix is starting to build itself a — let’s call it — ‘fascinating’ library of original films. The service is filled to the brim with poor-to-average comedies, many of which feature Adam Sandler and his friends, and yet Netflix has started to make a name for itself as a place where unconventional or unmarketable films from great, noteworthy filmmakers are given a global reach.

But, in between these two piles of films of varying success, a film like IO exists. IO has a small but recognizable cast, the film is made by an up-and-coming filmmaker, and it struggles with themes present in films that sci-fi aficionados adore. Continue reading “REVIEW: IO (2019)” →

REVIEW: True Detective – “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”

This is a recap and review of the second episode of the third season of True Detective — Expect spoilers for the episode.

In the second episode of the third season of True Detective — Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye — as the search for Julie continues in 1980, Wayne Hays (played by Mahershala Ali) and Roland West (played by Stephen Dorff) ask around about the corn husk dolls. Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye was written by Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Continue reading “REVIEW: True Detective – “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye”” →

REVIEW: True Detective – “The Great War and Modern Memory”

This is a recap and review of the season premiere of the third season of True Detective — Expect spoilers for the episode.

In the first episode of the third season of True Detective — The Great War and Modern Memory — we are introduced to detectives Wayne Hays (played by Mahershala Ali) and Roland West (played by Stephen Dorff) as they investigate the Purcell-case. The Great War and Modern Memory was written by Nic Pizzolatto and directed by Jeremy Saulnier. Continue reading “REVIEW: True Detective – “The Great War and Modern Memory”” →

REVIEW: The Last Laugh (2019)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of The Last Laugh — Directed by Greg Pritkin

Greg Pritkin’s Netflix film, The Last Laugh, which is dedicated to the late filmmaker Paul Mazursky, follows Al Hart (played by Chevy Chase), an elderly man who used to be the manager of comedians, as he somewhat reluctantly agrees to stay at the retirement home ‘Palm Sunshine.’ At the retirement home, he meets his old client Buddy Green (played by Richard Dreyfuss), with whom it is decided that he must go on tour in an effort to stay alive and realize a dream. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Last Laugh (2019)” →

REVIEW: Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019)

Release Poster — HBO

The following is a review of Brexit: The Uncivil War — Directed by Toby Haynes.

HBO’s latest TV-film, Brexit: The Uncivil War, comes from the director of a number of Doctor Who-episodes as well as the brilliant Sherlock-episode “The Reichenbach Fall,” Toby Haynes, who has now reteamed with Sherlock-star Benedict Cumberbatch to retell the story of the infamous portmanteau term, the solution for which still confuses and frustrates many people around the world. Continue reading “REVIEW: Brexit: The Uncivil War (2019)” →

REVIEW: Mary Poppins Returns (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The following is a review of Mary Poppins Returns — Directed by Rob Marshall.

Whether P. L. Travers liked it or not, Robert Stevenson’s Mary Poppins is a recognized children’s’ musical classic. Though not exactly timeless, I think it is remarkable that both my mother and my sister and I all grew up watching Stevenson’s film. When I rewatched Mary Poppins recently, I must admit that I did not love it like I’ve been told I did when I was a child. Continue reading “REVIEW: Mary Poppins Returns (2018)” →

REVIEW: Destroyer (2018)

Theatrical Release Poster – Annapurna Pictures

The following is a review of Destroyer — Directed by Karyn Kusama.

In the first scenes of Karyn Kusama’s Destroyer, a seemingly inebriated LAPD detective, Erin Bell (played by Nicole Kidman), walks onto the scene of a crime to investigate what colleagues of her’s think of what happened to a murder victim with three dots in the back of his neck. What follows is a labyrinthine narrative complete with twists and shoot-outs as we learn what events made Bell, a former undercover officer, into a disheveled and visibly weathered revenge-seeking rogue detective. Continue reading “REVIEW: Destroyer (2018)” →

REVIEW: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a short review of Black Mirror: Bandersnatch — an interactive film on Netflix.

Black Mirror as a series has become one of those anthology series events that I look forward to every time it pops up on Netflix. Black Mirror gives us decent-to-great science-fiction stories that don’t always seem far-fetched. But no Black Mirror episode has felt more like an event than its first interactive film — Bandersnatch — which was released on Netflix today. Continue reading “REVIEW: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)” →

REVIEW: Creed II (2018)

US Theatrical Release Poster – Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

The following is a review of Creed II — Directed by Steven Caple, Jr.

Back in early July this year, I watched and reviewed the highly anticipated sequel to Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario. The sequel subtitled Day of the Soldado was directed by Stefano Sollima and his film provided us with a perfect example of just how wrong it can go when you make a change in the director’s chair for a sequel. Day of the Soldado was offensive and hollow, and it is one of the biggest film disappointments of the year for me. Continue reading “REVIEW: Creed II (2018)” →

REVIEW: Bird Box (2018)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Bird Box — Directed by Susanne Bier.

The post-apocalyptic novel upon which Susanne Bier’s film of the same name, Bird Box, is based came out in 2014. So, let’s just get one thing out of the way, its ideas, though perhaps stale in a world where A Quiet Place just came out months ago, do not deserve to be cast aside just because Krasinski beat Bier to the punch. Besides, A Quiet Place isn’t even the film Bird Box resembles the most. Continue reading “REVIEW: Bird Box (2018)” →