Review: ‘A Whisker Away’ is a Fun Tale of Puppy Love With Cats

Studio Colorido have been one of the few anime studios to really make a mark internationally in the past few years. A Whisker Away, their second collaboration with Toho Animation after 2018’s Crunchyroll-exclusive film Penguin Highway, is good enough, even if its love story of naïve obsession is a little more than worrisome. The film is directed by Junichi Sato and stars Mirai Sasaki and Natsuke Hanae as the two main characters. Continue reading “Review: ‘A Whisker Away’ is a Fun Tale of Puppy Love With Cats” →

Review: ‘The High Note’ is a Little Pitchy at First, But Finds its Key Nicely

The diva is an interesting way to study the nature and ambition of women – and especially women who want to be famous – in the public sphere. The High Note, directed by Nisha Gantara, the mastermind behind the Amazon Prime series TransParent and 2019’s underrated gem Late Night, seeks to both complicate this archetype and reveal her humanity, but it doesn’t quite manage to see beyond the surface level. Continue reading “Review: ‘The High Note’ is a Little Pitchy at First, But Finds its Key Nicely” →

Review: ‘The Lovebirds’ is the Fun Film We Need Right Now

Not every romantic relationship is the way a romantic comedy makes it seem – there will be fights, and there will be long fights. Michael Showalter’s The Lovebirds challenges this notion in an entertaining way, and much like his previous collaboration with Kumail Nanjiani, 2017’s The Big Sick, this film is fantastic in the way it combines genres to create a compelling story – albeit in a very different way. Continue reading “Review: ‘The Lovebirds’ is the Fun Film We Need Right Now” →

Review: ‘How to Build a Girl’ is a Sweet Coming of Age Story With Plenty of Bite to It

Combining coming-of-age stories with rock music is an easy mix, it seems – whether it’s Almost Famous, Dazed & Confused, or even The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the subgenre of young characters’ emotional growth fueled by a backdrop of rock and roll is one that always seems to stay relevant, regardless of the few that don’t stick. 20 years after the genre’s peak, Coky Giedroyc’s How to Build a Girl, adapted from Caitlin Moran’s novel of the same name, joins the list. While it is far from original, it’s a worthwhile watch because it shines a new light on the genre. Continue reading “Review: ‘How to Build a Girl’ is a Sweet Coming of Age Story With Plenty of Bite to It” →

Review: ‘My Spy’ is Fun Enough for Your Self-Quarantine

It seems like every Hollywood fighter-turned-actor is getting their own kid-team-up movie. The Rock had The Game Plan, Arnold Schwarzenegger had Kindergarten Cop, Hulk Hogan had Mr. Nanny, Jackie Chan had The Spy Next Door, John Cena had Playing With Fire, and now Dave Bautista has My Spy. There’s just something appealing to directors about seeing these macho movie heroes paired with an adorable kid – it’s the kind of film that would appeal to a more general audience, not just those who love violence and explosions. Continue reading “Review: ‘My Spy’ is Fun Enough for Your Self-Quarantine” →

Review: ‘Coffee & Kareem’ is a Hard-R “Comedy” With a Childish Sense of Humor

A movie featuring a guy being dismembered right at the start of its Netflix trailer can mean one of two things: it’s either gonna have great violence or it’s gonna be straight-up torture porn. Coffee & Kareem is the exception. Continue reading “Review: ‘Coffee & Kareem’ is a Hard-R “Comedy” With a Childish Sense of Humor” →

Review: ‘Impractical Jokers: The Movie’ is Great, Even if You’re Not a Fan of the Show

TruTV’s Impractical Jokers is one of the funniest, most ridiculous shows on television at the moment. A prank show created by the comedy group The Tenderloins (Joe Gatto, James “Murr” Murray, Brian “Q” Quinn, and Sal Vulcano), the show centers around competitive games of dares, in which each Joker receives a grade for their individual prank and dare, and the loser is subject to public humiliation in the form of a punishment. Continue reading “Review: ‘Impractical Jokers: The Movie’ is Great, Even if You’re Not a Fan of the Show” →

Review: ‘Spenser Confidential’ is a Mediocre Film, But a Great Homage to Classic Action Flicks

2020 seems to be the year of action film throwbacks. First we had Bad Boys for Life, then the sadly-delayed back-to-basics Bond film No Time to Die, and now, we have the Netflix exclusive Spenser Confidential, the fifth action collaboration between Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg. Continue reading “Review: ‘Spenser Confidential’ is a Mediocre Film, But a Great Homage to Classic Action Flicks” →

Review: ‘Downhill’ is Proof Not All American Adaptations Are Awful

Back in the ancient time known as 2014, Swedish filmmaker Ruben Östlund created a film known as Force Majeure, an internationally co-produced comedy following the marital tension of a couple snowed in during an avalanche on their ski trip. Fast-forward to 3 or 4 years later, where Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, known for their work on The Way Way Back and Community, decided to adapt this to an American audience. The result is Downhill, which is a nice take on the original as it exemplifies what it means for an adaptation to be “similar but different”.

Continue reading “Review: ‘Downhill’ is Proof Not All American Adaptations Are Awful” →