Tag: Review

REVIEW: The Light Between Oceans (2016)

Theatrical Release Poster - Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Theatrical Release Poster – Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

The following is a review of The Light Between Oceans – directed by Derek Cianfrance.

The Light Between Oceans – the newest drama from director Derek Cianfrance – is based on M. L. Stedman’s debut novel of the same name from 2012, and it stars Michael Fassbender, Alicia Vikander, and Rachel Weisz. Cianfrance has been known to bring out some pretty remarkable performances from his cast, and he once again succeeds in The Light Between Oceans. But it doesn’t come close to being as good as his last two films. Continue reading “REVIEW: The Light Between Oceans (2016)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man 3 (2007)

Release Poster - Columbia Pictures
Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following is a spoiler-filled retro review of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3. It was written in 2016.

I remember liking Spider-Man 3 just fine, when it was released. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, and it definitely wasn’t as good as the first two Raimi Spider-Man films. But it was fine, right? Then, when I rewatched it when it was released on home video, I realized that maybe I had been too easy on the film.

Today, after having rewatched it nine years after its theatrical release, I can safely say that Spider-Man 3 is as bad as people say. But I still like it more than both of Marc Webb’s The Amazing Spider-Man films. Let’s talk about the film that made Sony reboot their Spider-Man franchise. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man 3 (2007)” →

REVIEW: The Night Of (2016 – Mini-Series)

The Night Of Reviewed

The following review of HBO’s Limited Series ‘The Night Of’ contains spoilers for the entire series.

The Night Of is about the murder of a young woman named Andrea Cornish (played by Sofia Black D’Elia). Andrea was killed on an October night, after having slept with Nasir ‘Naz’ Khan (played by Riz Ahmed), a Pakistani-American college student, who took her for a ride in a ‘stolen’ cab car, before returning to her home to spend the night.

Naz flees from the scene of the crime, but is apprehended later the same night. The protagonist of The Night Of soon makes an appearance, as John Stone (played by John Turturro), a lawyer, decides to take on Naz’s case. Soon Stone and Khan must prove that Naz didn’t murder Andrea Cornish, while the show highlights what is wrong with the system.
Continue reading “REVIEW: The Night Of (2016 – Mini-Series)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Blue Valentine (2010)

Theatrical Release Poster - The Weinstein Company
Theatrical Release Poster – The Weinstein Company

The following is a quick spoiler-filled retro review of Derek Cianfrance’s Blue Valentine.

“You always hurt the one you love,” Ryan Gosling’s character sings in Derek Cianfrance’s ‘love story’ Blue Valentine from 2010. That line tells you everything you need to know about this film, which tells a story about two people (played by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams) falling in love, starting a family, and how they become victims of complacency and expectations for their spouse.  Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Blue Valentine (2010)” →

REVIEW: XOXO (2016)

Release Poster - Netflix
Release Poster – Netflix

The following is a quick review of XOXO, a Netflix original film.

“Eat. Sleep. Rave. Repeat.” – Let me preface this review by saying that I didn’t want to dislike it, when I pressed play on Netflix. I like Sarah Hyland, and she was why I wanted to watch this film. It looked like We Are Your Friends, which I haven’t heard a lot of good things about, but I kept an open mind. But, no, this definitely wasn’t made for me. Continue reading “REVIEW: XOXO (2016)” →

RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man (2002)

Release Poster - Columbia Pictures
Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following is a quick spoiler-filled retro review of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man.

Great directors like James Cameron and David Fincher had been interested in making a film about Marvel’s famous wall-crawler, but it was up to the famous horror-director Sam Raimi to show the world just how special this character was, and he really did. Spider-Man is one of the most important superhero films ever made. Continue reading “RETRO REVIEW: Spider-Man (2002)” →

REVIEW: Preacher – Season One (2016)

Preacher Review Outline

The following is a quick review of the first season of Preacher. There are spoilers here.

Preacher takes place in a small town in Texas, where Jesse Custer has returned to be the preacher of his father’s church. Out of the blue, one day, a powerful entity shoots itself into Jesse Custer and gives him the power to force the listener to do exactly what he says. Custer quickly chooses to use his newfound power for his job, but people are coming to stop him from using the power. What is ‘Genesis’? Continue reading “REVIEW: Preacher – Season One (2016)” →

REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)

Release Poster - Columbia Pictures
Release Poster – Columbia Pictures

The following quick review of The Amazing Spider-Man was written in August 2016.

Five years after the release of Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, Sony restarted their Spider-Man–film franchise instead of making the fourth Raimi film. This new reboot had to reintroduce his origin, and the writers had chosen to make the Lizard the villain. For a while, it looked like it was going to be the exact Spider-Man story I had always wanted.  Continue reading “REVIEW: The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)” →

Trailer Recap: Arrival

“Why are they here?” – That’s the question in Denis Villeneuve’s newest film Arrival, based on a short story by Ted Chiang. Today two trailers for the film were released, the one above this paragraph is the regular official trailer, but in this recap I’ll also be discussing the international trailer, which can be found here. Continue reading “Trailer Recap: Arrival” →

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.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Suicide Squad (2016)” →