Review: ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ Wants to Make Us Feel Good… And It Doesn’t Work

Aaron Sorkin is arguably this generation’s most prolific screenwriter. With the right director collaborating with him, his stories featuring people talking in rooms can be enthralling to watch. But in 2017, Sorkin decided to make his directorial debut with his screenplay, Molly’s Game. While the plot at times took irrelevant turns, his directorial style showed some visual promise that could pair well with his dialogue. It showed promise that many critics and audiences were excited to see grow with subsequent projects. Continue reading “Review: ‘The Trial of the Chicago 7’ Wants to Make Us Feel Good… And It Doesn’t Work” →

Review: ‘The Opening Act’ is a Nice Love Letter to Standup Comedy

The Apatovian formula is simple: Pluck an up-and-coming comic from the small leagues, support them while they write their own darkly funny but authentically heartfelt semi-autobiographical comedy then produce and/or direct the final format. This method has led to many successes, even without Apatow’s name, including Amy Schumer’s Trainwreck, Kumail Nanjiani’s The Big Sick, and Pete Davidson’s The King of Staten Island. Continue reading “Review: ‘The Opening Act’ is a Nice Love Letter to Standup Comedy” →

Review: ‘Hubie Halloween’ Has No Real Tricks, But Many Treats

Last year, while being interviewed by Howard Stern, Adam Sandler said if he didn’t get a Best Actor nomination for Uncut Gems, he would make a film that was bad on purpose. Hubie Halloween is Sandler’s first film since not getting nominated, so it would appear this is the promised revenge movie, but I am “pleased,” for lack of a better word, to report that this film is not terrible. It isn’t great, but for a Sandler comedy, this is notably good. Continue reading “Review: ‘Hubie Halloween’ Has No Real Tricks, But Many Treats” →

Review: ‘Enola Holmes’ is Far Beyond Elementary, My Dear

We’ve seen a million of adaptations of Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books. From Jeremy Brett and Robert Downey, Jr. on the big screen to Benedict Cumberbatch’s performance in the iconic BBC series Sherlock, this film, adapted from Nancy Springer’s Enola Holmes YA novels, is slightly different – rather than focusing on the famous detective, this focuses on his younger sister Enola, and the result is a cool revolutionary tale about rejecting the status quo and choosing your own destiny. Continue reading “Review: ‘Enola Holmes’ is Far Beyond Elementary, My Dear” →

Review: Gaspar Noé’s ‘Lux Æterna’ Is His Best Work Since ‘Irréversible’

Translated from Latin, the section of the Roman Catholic Church’s Requiem Mass entitled Lux Aeterna states, “May light eternal shine upon them, O Lord, with Thy saints forever, for Thou art kind. Eternal Rest give to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.” Continue reading “Review: Gaspar Noé’s ‘Lux Æterna’ Is His Best Work Since ‘Irréversible’” →

Review: ‘The Devil All the Time’: The Road to Chaos is Paved with Good Actors

Antonio Campos’ new Netflix film, The Devil All the Time, can be called many things; but subtle is not one of them. There are not many words in the English language to quantify the insanity of this picture. Truly, the most accurate description is that all 138 minutes are completely bonkers. This multi-generataional epic follows the lives of several families connected to Knockemstiff, Ohio from the mid-1940’s to the 1960’s. Continue reading “Review: ‘The Devil All the Time’: The Road to Chaos is Paved with Good Actors” →

Review: ‘The Babysitter: Killer Queen’ is a Bloody Mess

There is unfortunately no other way to say it. The Babysitter: Killer Queen, McG’s follow up to his 2017 Netflix horror-comedy The Babysitter, is terrible. In fact, if you want to be more accurate to the trailers, it’s bloody terrible. As much as I enjoyed the first film, which saw nerdy preteen Cole (Judah Lewis) discover that his cool babysitter Bee (Samara Weaving) and her friends are a part of a Satanic cult, the sequel tries too hard to be edgy, and ruins everything good about the first film. Continue reading “Review: ‘The Babysitter: Killer Queen’ is a Bloody Mess” →

Review: ‘Unpregnant’ is the Teen Comedy About Abortion You Weren’t Expecting

For much of film history, characters who chose to get an abortion were treated with tragic endings for their “moral failings.” Saint Frances and Never Rarely Sometimes Always are recent dramas that explore the termination of a pregnancy with a sense of empathy missing from previous films. The modern abortion drama aims to reframe the choice to have an abortion as not a question of morality, but rather the personal. Continue reading “Review: ‘Unpregnant’ is the Teen Comedy About Abortion You Weren’t Expecting” →

Review: ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ is a Treat For Fans of Kaufman’s Unique Style

Unlike the rest of the world, Charlie Kaufman has had a successful 2020. His debut novel, Antkind, was published to critical acclaim in July, while his third film, I’m Thinking of Ending Things, was just released on Netflix. Based on the 2016 novel by Canadian writer Ian Reid, I’m Thinking of Ending Things stars Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemons as a young couple who are driving to meet his parents for dinner. The visit turns out to be much more eventful than anticipated. Continue reading “Review: ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ is a Treat For Fans of Kaufman’s Unique Style” →

Review: ‘Tenet’ is the Savior of Cinemas That Instills Wonder and Disappointment

Certain names carry a style of cinema unto themselves. Quentin Tarantino. Martin Scorsese. Steven Spielberg. Certainly, the generation of movie audiences growing up in this millennium has added Christopher Nolan to this list. His time-bending/breaking style of blockbuster stories with deeper, artistic themes have built higher expectations with each subsequent addition to his filmography. Continue reading “Review: ‘Tenet’ is the Savior of Cinemas That Instills Wonder and Disappointment” →