Tag: Review

REVIEW: The Greatest Showman (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – 20th Century Fox

The following is a review of The Greatest Showman — Directed by Michael Gracey.

It’s the end of the year, so let’s give it a go with a Christmas analogy. Imagine you’re about to open this great, big present covered with gorgeous wrapping paper. But as you rip off the wrapping paper, and open the box that contains your gift, you start to sense the disappointment as the great, big gift is much smaller than the box and the wrapping paper made it seem.

What did you get? Oh, it’s this neat little plaque with some inspirational quote on it. It’s about as generic as possible. That’s The Greatest Showman. A good-hearted hoodwink so disappointing that you question why you ever got excited at all. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Greatest Showman (2017)” →

REVIEW: Wind River (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a review of Wind River – Written and Directed by Taylor Sheridan.

When Taylor Sheridan gets one of his screenplays made, you pay attention. The first two films in his so-called ‘frontier trilogy’ — Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario and David Mackenzie’s Hell or High Water — were amazing films that both ended up on my top ten films of the year lists in 2015 and 2016 respectively. And although Sheridan’s presumably last film in his frontier trilogy — Wind River, the first in the trilogy that he has directed himself — won’t be among my ten favorites of 2017, this modern western is still one hell of a movie. Continue reading “REVIEW: Wind River (2017)” →

REVIEW: Bright (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a review of Bright — Directed by David Ayer.

2017 has been a remarkable year for Netflix, in that they’ve given us a handful of great films to be watched in the comfort of our own homes, as well as some great seasons of television. Okja, The Meyerowitz Stories, and Mudbound are terrific Netflix original films. But none of those films were this year’s biggest Netflix risk: Bright, on the other hand, is, and, unfortunately, the first Netflix blockbuster, which reportedly has a budget of $90 million, is a disappointment. Continue reading “REVIEW: Bright (2017)” →

REVIEW: Easy – Season Two (2017)

Season 1 Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a short review of the second season of Easy.

Last year, mumblecore filmmaker Joe Swanberg gave us a Chicago-based anthology series on relationships called Easy. While I enjoyed watching the series, I was, admittedly, a little bit disappointed that Easy wasn’t more up my alley. Although the first season’s cast featured several familiar faces, I wasn’t really hooked on the first season. Thankfully, the second season of Easy reveals a better product. Continue reading “REVIEW: Easy – Season Two (2017)” →

REVIEW: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Disney / Lucasfilm

The following is my review of Star Wars: The Last Jedi — Directed by Rian Johnson.

There is nothing like Star Wars. The Star Wars saga includes the biggest films of all-time, the most influential films of all-time, and one of the most rabid and passionate fandoms in popular culture. There is an innumerable amount of lore about the galaxy far, far away, and the philosophy of Jediism was once recorded as a religion. Star Wars, as author Chris Taylor wrote, conquered the universe, and its influences can be felt throughout popular culture.  Continue reading “REVIEW: Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi (2017)” →

REVIEW: The Square (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Magnolia Pictures

The following is a review of The Square — Directed by Ruben Östlund.

Had you told me in the beginning of the year that a Swedish film about a Dane looking for his stolen smartphone while he has to take part in discussions about the amorphous nature of ‘the exhibitable’ at an art museum, then I probably wouldn’t have known whether to laugh or cry. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Square (2017)” →

REVIEW: Mudbound (2017)

Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a short review of Mudbound – Directed by Dee Rees

Mudbound is a period piece set in the 1940s about two families from opposite sides of the track — the impoverished African-American Jackson family and the white and more wealthy McAllan family — whose paths cross when Henry McAllan (played by Jason Clarke) is the victim of a scam and, as a result, has to move his family, including his racist father (played by Jonathan Banks), to an area unbefitting the lives that they had thought they would lead in Mississippi. Continue reading “REVIEW: Mudbound (2017)” →

REVIEW: Justice League (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – Warner Bros.

The following is a review of Justice League – Directed by Zack Snyder and Joss Whedon.

A couple of months ago, I was looking through some old pieces of paper that I had found in a drawer. In it, I found a membership certificate for some sort of Danish Batman-fan club, and it had my name on it (actually, it was misspelled). This certificate was from when I was just around the age of six or seven.

I am telling you this to provide you with a bit of context for my own background and my love for DC Comics. I’m one of those kids who would hunker down and read Superman comics in the back of the store, while my dad was talking to the comic book store owner. Did I read Marvel Comics too? Definitely, but that shouldn’t take away from my love for DC Comics. I am now, and always have been, a fan of these characters. Continue reading “REVIEW: Justice League (2017)” →

REVIEW: Good Time (2017)

Release Poster – A24

The following is a short review of Good Time – Directed by The Safdie Brothers.

Have you ever been awake for more than twenty-four hours and then felt like a whole week has passed? Well, what if one night was so anxiety-inducing that it felt like it lasted a lifetime? That is Good Time, a misguided young man’s journey through a hellish night in New York to save his developmentally challenged brother from a hellish existence behind bars. Continue reading “REVIEW: Good Time (2017)” →

REVIEW: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)

Theatrical Release Poster – A24 & Curzon Artificial Eye

The following is a review of The Killing of a Sacred Deer – Directed by Yorgos Lanthimos.

Danish auteur Lars Von Trier — the director behind such films as Breaking the Waves, Melancholia, and Anti-Christ — once said that a film should be ‘like a rock in your shoe.’ The newest work from Greek auteur Yorgos Lanthimos titled The Killing of a Sacred Deer is that kind of film. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Killing of a Sacred Deer (2017)” →