Review: ‘One Way to Tomorrow’ is a Turkish Version of the Before Trilogy

One Way to Tomorrow, Netflix’s first original film from Turkey, is a pleasant if unimaginative tale of a chance encounter between two strangers who have more in common than they initially believe. The film’s somewhat confusingly translated title references the fact that the two main characters, Ali (Metin Akdülger), a lawyer, and Leyla (Dilan Çiçek Deniz), a violinist, have purchased one-way tickets on a 14-hour train journey from the Turkish capital city of Ankara to the seaport of Izmir. One Way to Tomorrow, which is adapted from the 2014 Swedish film How to Stop a Wedding, explores concepts of forgiveness, acceptance, and the intimacy that can quickly develop between strangers. Continue reading “Review: ‘One Way to Tomorrow’ is a Turkish Version of the Before Trilogy” →

Review: ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ is Just as Campy and Enjoyable as its Namesake

The Eurovision Song Contest is a fever dream like no other. For the past few years, we’ve had performances featuring Germans confessing their love for Genghis Khan, a Romanian singer “summoning” demons onstage, a Russian song dedicated to grandmothers, and a Polish singer churning butter onstage – and those are only the bottom tier of weird. The COVID-cancelled contest is so absurd, in fact, that we now have a Will Ferrell movie about it – and unlike some of his most recent ventures, this one’s actually good. Continue reading “Review: ‘Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga’ is Just as Campy and Enjoyable as its Namesake” →

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: ‘Artemis Fowl’ Lacks Any Redeemable Characteristics

Artemis Fowl, which premiered last weekon Disney+, is based on the famous book written by Eion Colfer. It’s directed by Kenneth Branagh and stars Ferdia Shaw, Lara McDonnell, Josh Gad, Colin Farell, and Judi Dench. This film centers on young Artemis Fowl, the son of a criminal mastermind, who must rescue his father who’s held captive by a mysterious enemy called Opal Koboi. Continue reading “Review: ‘Artemis Fowl’ Lacks Any Redeemable Characteristics” →

Review: ‘The King of Staten Island’ Teaches Some Hearty Lessons

Based on the real-life comedian Pete Davidson, Judd Apatow’s sixth feature film, The King of Staten Island, finds its protagonist, Scott (Pete Davidson), growing up on Staten Island while being unable to accept his father’s death in the 9/11 attacks. Now that he’s a young adult who spends his time smoking weed and dreaming of becoming a tattoo artist, he must deal with his sister (Maude Apatow) going away to college and his mother (Marisa Tomei) getting a new boyfriend (Bill Burr) as well as confronting his own inner turmoil. Continue reading “Review: ‘The King of Staten Island’ Teaches Some Hearty Lessons” →

Review: ‘Shirley’ Finds Itself Sinking into the Unsettling Nightmare of Art

Based on the real-life author Shirley Jackson, Josephine Decker’s fifth feature film finds its namesake protagonist (Elisabeth Moss) and husband, college professor Stanley Hyman (Michael Stuhlbarg) taking in a young couple (Odessa Young and Logan Lerman) as the husband, Fred, works under Stanley. The moment these two couples meet, a palpable tension remains in the air, particularly due to the stellar performance of Moss. Continue reading “Review: ‘Shirley’ Finds Itself Sinking into the Unsettling Nightmare of Art” →

Review: ‘Spaceship Earth’ is Interesting, but Not Out of This World.

Spaceship Earth, a documentary out now on Hulu, tells the tale of the Biosphere 2 project from the early 90’s, in which 8 crew members were sealed in an allegedly self-contained facility for two years. As one comes to learn through the documentary, things did not go entirely according to plan. With vague mission parameters, managerial secrecy, and publicity issues, the experiment was largely seen as a failure. Continue reading “Review: ‘Spaceship Earth’ is Interesting, but Not Out of This World.” →

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: Ruh Roh, ‘Scoob!’ isn’t Worth a Scooby Snack

Due to the ongoing pandemic, new movies are only available to watch on video on demand or streaming services like Prime Video, Hulu, or Netflix. Titles that would have been released in theaters now have been shelved or put online. One of these titles is Scoob!, directed by straight to video veteran Tom Cervone, and features the Scooby-Doo “gang” that populated our childhood cartoons. Continue reading “Review: Ruh Roh, ‘Scoob!’ isn’t Worth a Scooby Snack” →