Alexander Skarsgård has transformed himself to play the role that I think he was born to play in THE NORTHMAN – Photo: Universal Pictures.
Directed by Robert Eggers (The Witch) – Screenplay by Robert Eggers & Sjón.
Inspired by Icelandic sagas and Saxo Grammaticus’ Gesta Danorum legend of Prince Amleth of Jutland (the latter of which was supposedly the inspiration for William Shakespeare’s Hamlet), The Northman is a $90 million budgeted epic viking revenge film from Robert Eggers, the director of the relatively low-budgeted indie ‘art house-esque’ horror films The Witch and The Lighthouse. It is a dirty, violent, blood-soaked, and brilliantly-made film, and it is easily Robert Eggers’ most accessible film, even though it definitely isn’t your average big-budgeted action film.
Guillermo Del Toro’s NIGHTMARE ALLEY – PHOTO: Kerry Hayes / 20th Century Studios.
Directed by Guillermo Del Toro – Screenplay by Guillermo Del Toro & Kim Morgan.
Based on the 1946 William Lindsay Gresham novel of the same name (which was first adapted by Edmund Goulding in 1947), Guillermo Del Toro’s Nightmare Alley follows a mysterious drifter named Stan Carlisle, who is hired by a carnival and soon becomes fascinated by the mentalist techniques that his co-workers have made a living off. When he leaves the carnival to thrive off the techniques that he has acquired, he became infatuated by the power of his act and the money that they lead him to. It won’t be long until he decides to fool the wrong person.
This year, like I’ve sometimes done in the past, I’m splitting up my blog’s awards into two parts. The second part is all about cinema, while this first half concerns video games, music, superhero entertainment, and, chiefly, television. As you’ll see, one show in particular really blew me away in 2021. I should also say that I’ve classified shows like The Book of Boba Fett, Station Eleven, Yellowjackets, Mayor of Kingstown as 2022 shows, so they are ineligible for this edition of the IJR Awards. In any case, let’s get to it.
MJ (played by Zendaya) and Peter Parker/Spider-Man (played by Tom Holland) trying to escape the public eye in Spider-Man: No Way Home — Photo: Matt Kennedy / Sony Pictures.
Directed by Jon Watts — Screenplay by Chris McKenna & Erik Sommers.
Next year is the 20th anniversary of the first-ever live-action Spider-Man film, Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, which catapulted an already immensely popular comic book and animation character into big screen superstardom. A lot has happened since then. At this point, three different actors have played Marvel’s beloved wall-crawler on the big screen, and all of them have devoted fanbases. This, Spider-Man: No Way Home, is the third solo film in Tom Holland’s tenure as Peter Parker, but it is so much more than that as trailers have revealed. Rest assured, this is a spoiler-free review that will not reveal anything you wouldn’t already know from promotional material. Promotional material — trailers and posters — have revealed that No Way Home will feature villains (and the actors that originally played those villains) from the previous two Spider-Man sagas and thus connect the different cinematic universes. It is a massive crossover event for Spider-Man fans. My one worry going into the theater was that this movie might be too big to work, but, ultimately, I don’t think that is the case. Because at its heart, this is very much a Spider-Man movie, and I think they manage to balance the various elements of the film remarkably well.
Okay, I know. This is insane. But I enjoyed doing it last year, so it’s happening again! The 91st Academy Awards haven’t even been held, and I’ve only seen, like, twelve films from 2019 at this point. I love writing about the awards season, but, to be honest with you, I find the annual best picture frontrunner backlash to be draining. So, therefore, I think it’s much easier for me to write about next year’s awards season. And don’t you worry, I have a pretty good idea of what is coming out this year. So, without further ado, let’s get to it. Continue reading “Crazy Early 92nd Academy Awards Predictions – Special Features #46”→
The following is a review of Netflix’s Death Note – Directed by Adam Wingard.
Adam Wingard’s Death Note follows Light Turner (played by Nat Wolff), a Seattle High School student dressed all in black that does other people’s homework for money, who one day finds a book that literally fell from the skies. The book is a ‘death note,’ and it gives him the power to control a death god named Ryuk (voiced by Willem Dafoe). Continue reading “REVIEW: Death Note (2017)”→
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)”→
I'm Jeffrey Rex 