2015’s Ant-Man provided audiences a lighter mood in the Peyton Reed-directed heist film which helped to soften the blow of the largely serious Age of Ultron. It also acted as a backdoor introduction to Captain America: Civil War, a film… Read More ›
Reviews
Noir and comedy intertwine for Jack Eve’s “Bees Make Honey”.
There’s no denying that writer/director Jack Eve’s got ambition. Watching a single frame of genre mash-up Bees Make Honey makes that abundantly clear. With bold strokes, Jack sets about combining aspects of straight period pieces and film noir mysteries, with… Read More ›
Do your soul some good and let your “Hearts Beat Loud”.
Contained within director Brett Haley’s little indie darling, Hearts Beat Loud, resides an indomitable, overflowing joy. It’s unexpected, wondrous, and bound to fill your soul up until it, too, overflows. Sweet without being saccharine, loving without being profane, pure without… Read More ›
Punk-Rock gets the rom-com it didn’t know it wanted in ‘Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town’.
Feature debuts are a chance for any filmmaker to make an impression and to present audiences with a viewpoint perhaps unseen before. Folks, Christian Papierniak’s rock-infused dramedy Izzy Gets the F*ck Across Town does all that and a little more…. Read More ›
Simply put, “Incredibles 2” is worth the wait.
It’s been 14 years since Brad Bird’s now-classic The Incredibles hit theaters and, for many, the wait’s been excruciating. Gratefully, not only are the Parrs returning, but they’re returning with a story that’s a sequel in the purest form –… Read More ›
Documentary “Pressing On” leaves its imprint on audiences in an infectious, rock n’ roll ride.
Of the things we take for granted, the written word is possibly the highest on the list. Before Johannes Gutenberg devised the printing press in 1440, there was little focus on or desire for the common person to read, which… Read More ›
In need of a date night? Don’t wait, “Set It Up”.
Netflix’s latest original feature isn’t going to blow the doors off your house, but that’s not what it’s geared for. Instead, Set It Up is a silly, light-hearted, rom-com that’ll take you on an amusing ride all the way to… Read More ›
Family affair ‘The Year of Spectacular Men’ is a strong prologue of potential.
Coming-of-age tales are typically restricted to the teen crowd. Stories of a lost innocence or new-found acceptance that empowers the central character in a way which emboldens them to tackle the world around them. Though it’s not atypical for stories… Read More ›
Documentary ‘Mountain’ will leave you as breathless as the views.
Many documentaries seek to enrich the lives of an audience through an exploration of a time, an area, or even an individual. These are the expectations set up by traditional documentaries seen the world over and these are the expectations… Read More ›
Part documentary, part dramatization, crime drama ‘American Animals’ is fully mesmerizing.
There’s this feeling that infuses all youth; a feeling that something at some point from somewhere will happen and their lives will rise up out of the banal to become extraordinary. That feeling can turn into a sense of existential… Read More ›
Only melancholic memories remain when “All Summers End”.
There’s a strange sense of freedom that comes over us in our youth every summer. Maybe it’s the longer stretches of daylight, the rising heat, or lack of parental supervision as they toil away at their jobs. Whatever it is,… Read More ›
Lost treasures provide for a joyful exploration of history in ‘Saving Brinton’.
For many, going to the movie theater is all about escapism. Whether by some space odyssey, gut-busting comedy, biopic, family drama, or adventure historical, the movie theater is a place to depart the seriousness of life and embark on a… Read More ›
Graphic novel adaptation ‘I Kill Giants’ is beautifully constructed, but misses its emotionally landing.
When the term “graphic novel” is tossed around, most immediately turn toward stories that capture grand adventures of heroes, like Superman, Batman, the Avengers, who display their superhuman strength or intellect while defeating similarly striking villains bent on world, or… Read More ›
Curiouser and Curiouser, Vaughn Stein’s feature debut ‘Terminal’ is a candy-coated neon nightmare into the bowels of Wonderland.
Appearances can be deceiving. Always be the smartest person in the room. There’s no such thing as coincidence. These may be rote clichés, yet the failure to adhere to them will get you killed in Vaughn Stein’s feature debut, Terminal…. Read More ›
Netflix’s Martin Freeman-led zombie apocalypse feature ‘Cargo’ meanders narratively, reducing tension and emotion along the way.
For years now, zombie-related stories have been the rage on screens big and small. Whether telling the on-going story of a group of survivors (AMC’s The Walking Dead) or a one-shot of a father protecting his daughter (Train to Busan),… Read More ›
‘Deadpool 2’ packs as many laughs as bullets in this surprising sequel.
The less audiences know about Deadpool 2 going in, the better, so everything that follows will refrain from the kind of details that would spoil the experience. So what should you expect? Violence, profanity, a surprising amount of genuine heart,… Read More ›
Despite appearances, ‘Ghost Stories’ is no by-the-numbers affair.
Writing partners Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson are likely not names you’d know though you’re likely familiar with their work. Nyman’s an actor who’s worked on The League of Gentlemen, The Brothers Bloom, and Despicable Me 3, whereas Dyson’s spent… Read More ›
“Avengers: Infinity War” is the MCU Crossover Event We’ve Waited For.
In May 2008, a small, newly-formed, independent studio laid everything they had on a director whose greatest success was 2003’s Elf and an actor who was considered a washed-up has-been and was looking to make a comeback to tell the… Read More ›
Youthful rebellion shakes ‘The House of Tomorrow’.
Black Flag. Sex Pistols. The Clash. The Ramones. The Stooges. The Vandals. R. Buckminster Fuller? Something doesn’t quite fit here, right? At first glance, the inclusion of Fuller in a row of punk rock elite seems utterly ridiculous until you… Read More ›
Save your quarters, folks. You’re not going to want next on ‘Rampage’.
Adapting video games for film tends to underwhelm at the box office. It either takes a straight-forward premise and mucks it up (poor besmirched Super Mario Bros) or largely misunderstands what made the game fun (this includes you Street Fighter)…. Read More ›