A science fiction movie about an alien invasion titled, ‘Annihilation’, conjures up thoughts of a Michael Bay action extravaganza, not a heady, deliberate think-piece with lofty ambition and moments of abject terror, but that’s exactly what Alex Garland’s film is. This is the follow-up to his heady, deliberate sci-fi thought provoker, ‘Ex Machina’, although this… Continue reading ‘Annihilation’ – A Meditative, Disturbing, Sci-Fi Wonder?
‘Vice’ is satire of the highest order, and like any good satire is equal parts hilarious, disturbing, and ultimately, sobering. Buoyed by incredible performances, writer/director Adam McKay skewers a U.S. power structure defined by a GOP long con perpetrated on the American people, symbolized in the figure of one man, former Vice President and public… Continue reading ‘Vice’ – Is Adam McKay the Satirist of our Time?
Writer/Director M. Night Shyamalan has had one of the most maddening careers of any auteur in recent history. His meteoric rise and subsequent fall out of favor has been well documented, coupled with profiles that have painted him as a narcissistic Hitchcock/Spielberg wannabe, but with 2016’s hit (and sly ‘Unbreakable’ sequel), ‘Split’, it had appeared his back… Continue reading ‘Glass’ – An Interesting, yet Confounding, Critique of Comic Book Culture?
As a character, Spider-Man has been around for a long time and has had multiple iterations on the page. His alter ego Peter Parker has gone through the trials of high school and college, gotten married, had his marriage erased by the devil, died, come back to life, become a billionaire, but always seems… Continue reading ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ – A Comic Book Character Evolves?
This Thanksgiving, everyone is back for ‘Creed II” except for wunderkind writer/director Ryan Coogler. While it would be absurd to say that his skills aren’t missed, luckily he was able to set up a sturdy enough foundation with the characters and the talented actors who play them to help this sequel succeed. Sylvester Stallone may have been… Continue reading ‘Creed II’ – A Sequel to ‘Creed’, ‘Rocky’, or Both?
Seemingly out of nowhere, a little movie about a kid coming of age in the ‘mid90s’ southern California skater subculture previewed, evoking a nostalgia for all those of a certain age who could relate to its smattering of hip-hop and punk/grunge samples, as well as its low-key vibe. Then at the end of the preview, the… Continue reading ‘mid90s’ – Is Jonah Hill’s Ode to Youth Provocative, Profound, or Somewhere in Between?
In hindsight, launching a definitive sequel to 1978’s classic John Carpenter horror film, ‘Halloween’, as it celebrates its 40th(?!) anniversary, is a no-brainer. What isn’t is uber-horror-producer Jason Blum’s ability to get notoriously cantankerous Carpenter’s blessing, match the IP with unlikely filmmakers David Gordon Green and Danny McBride, disavow decades of sequels and re-imaginings,… Continue reading ‘Halloween’ – The Best Slasher Sequel in a Long Time, Possibly Ever?
‘A Star Is Born’ should not work as well as it does. Ostensibly a vanity project shepherded by Bradley Cooper, who stars, directs, and co-writes, with a feature turn by Lady Gaga (billed as such), this is the 4th(?!) time a movie has born this title and story arc. Audiences have seen this a… Continue reading ‘A Star Is Born’ – Can an Oft-Told Tale Still Work Today?
Watching ‘First Man’ on an IMAX screen, director Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling’s follow-up to ‘La La Land’, it’s striking that such a bombastic event as the first steps on the moon could be presented in such a subdued, melancholic, yet visceral way. Yet it completely makes sense to make this film now, at a time when it… Continue reading ‘First Man’ – A Case for the Dearth of Armstrong Biopics?
Shane Black’s ‘The Predator’ is not a good movie. It struggles with such basic film notions as tone, character development, structure, editing, pace, and sense. Although it really does not work on any level, despite all of its faults, the movie remains entertaining throughout. The reason why is because of the name at the top of this… Continue reading ‘The Predator’ – Is it Possible to Enjoy a Really Bad Movie?
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