You gotta love the idealism. In an effort to watch more documentaries this year than the zero I watched last year, Science Fair is the second I have watched (the first being the excellent Won’t You Be My Neighbor) so far. I was very interested in Science Fair because I can relate to the high […]
Science Fair
December 5, 2018 by
Film Title
Science FairSynopsis
A look at the International Science and Engineering Fair competition and its competitors.
Director
Cristina Costantini, Darren FosterCast
A bunch of kids.
Suspiria (2018) What Year Is It?
December 3, 2018 by
Film Title
Suspiria (2018)Synopsis
Yawn, except for the pretzel scene
Director
Luca GuadagninoCast
Dakota Johnson
Tilda Swinton
Doris Hick
Malgorzata Bela
Angela Winkler
Suspiria (2018) What year is it? (Award season consideration has returned, so my mini-reviews are back as well. Enjoy as I rapid-fire them at you through the end of the year.) I am not quite sure what to make of Suspiria. [Here is link to Matt’s review of the original] On one hand, I found […]
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
December 2, 2018 by
Film Title
Won't You Be My NeighborSynopsis
The story of everyone’s favorite grandpa.
Director
Morgan NevilleCast
Fred Rogers
Joanne Rogers
John Rogers
It’s such a good feeling. A feeling you know. Fred Rogers believed that most television programming in the 1960s – especially the content aimed at children – was loud and distracting drivel. It was entertainment at the expense of others – pies in the face, slippery banana peels, and stupidity that was intended to get […]
First Reformed
November 27, 2018 by
Film Title
First ReformedSynopsis
A preacher is forced to come to terms with every major political and personal issue known to man.
Director
Paul SchraderCast
Ethan Hawke
Amanda Seyfried
Cedric the Entertainer
The Thanksgiving conversation of the ages. (Award season consideration has returned, so my mini-reviews are back as well. Enjoy as I rapid-fire them at you through the end of the year.) First Reformed is an ambitious film that attempts to take on multiple, major societal and political issues through the lens of a preacher. Abortion, […]
Robin Hood (2018)
November 21, 2018 by
Film Title
Robin Hood (2018)Synopsis
Robin Hood steals stuff, including your money.
Director
Otto BathurstCast
Taron Egerton
Jamie Foxx
Ben Mendelsohn
Tim Minchin
F. Murray Abraham
Eve Hewson
Jaime Dornan
A steaming wad of everything. In what was one of the weirdest screening experiences of my movie-writing career, I saw the eighty-fourth (approximately) incarnation of Robin Hood, inspiringly titled Robin Hood. The good news is this latest version can be whatever you want it to be. War movie, comedy, action-adventure, romance, B-movie, spoof, fantasy, homage […]
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald
November 16, 2018 by
Film Title
Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of GrindelwaldSynopsis
A heap of exposition with just a dash of magic.
Director
David YatesCast
Eddie Redmayne
Katherine Waterston
Johnny Depp
Jude Law
Ezra Miller
Dan Fogler
Zoe Kravitz
Callum Turner
Cornell John
Alison Sudol
Claudia Kim
Not your kids’ Wizarding World. Remember way back in 2001 when a young Daniel Radcliffe charmed us all in a kid’s film based on a children’s book? We thought the first Harry Potter film was a good family affair, even if it did contain snakes, child abuse, and a creepy guy eating unicorns and living […]
The Nutcracker and the Four Realms
November 4, 2018 by
Film Title
The Nutcracker and the Four RealmsSynopsis
Exploring Narnia after the Nutcracker sharted on it.
Director
Lasse Hallstrom, Joe JohnstonCast
Mackenzie Foy
Morgan Freeman
Keira Knightley
Jayden Fowora-Knight
Helen Mirren
Misty Copeland
Matthew Macfadyen
Ohhhhhh, dear. A couple of weeks ago, I spent the better part of eight days wandering around the various parks of Disney World. The average temperature there this time of year is low-to-mid 80s, but we were lucky enough to experience low-to-mid 90s because climate change is fake news. Toss in some legendary humidity and […]
Hunter Killer
October 28, 2018 by
Film Title
Hunter KillerSynopsis
The hunt for clear and present danger.
Director
Donovan MarshCast
Gerard Butler
Gary Oldman
Linda Cardellini
Common
Michael Nyqvist
Toby Stephens
Not much below the surface. We are almost into award-consideration season, as movies like A Star is Born and Bohemian Rhapsody start. We are also almost into the holiday movie season, where all of the remaining blockbusters of the year stomp all over those award-chasing films. But, we are not there yet, which is why […]
First Man
October 10, 2018 by
Film Title
First ManSynopsis
Gemini and Apollo, featuring Neil Armstrong.
Director
Damien ChazelleCast
Ryan Gosling
Claire Foy
Jason Clarke
Corey Stoll
Kyle Chandler
Pablo Schreiber
Christopher Abbott
Olivia Hamilton
Ethan Embry
Ciaran Hinds
Nerds. Have you ever ridden Mission Space at Epcot? I have and I love it. My wife has also and decidedly did not love it. I think her exact words were I have a headache and I might throw up. First Man has the same effect without requiring that pesky centrifuge to simulate increased G-forces. […]
Venom
October 8, 2018 by
Film Title
VenomDirector
Ruben FleischerCast
Tom Hardy
Michelle Williams
Jenny Slate
Riz Ahmed
Scott Haze
Reid Scott
Where have all the villains gone? According to IGN, Venom is the twenty-second greatest comic book villain of all-time. I have no idea what that really means because I do not read comic books. I would be very hard-pressed to name twenty-three comic book villains at all (unless we are just naming X-Men bad guys), […]
