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Review: Rian Johnson's 'Knives Out' is a Razor-Sharp Murder Mystery
Perhaps best known as the writer & director of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, filmmaker Rian Johnson got his big start in 2005 with the neo-noir mystery Brick. A hard-boiled detective story in the vein of The Maltese Falcon, Brick won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and paved the way for his sophomore effort, 2008's The Brothers Bloom. The caper comedy-drama, about two sibling con artists, was inspired by Bogdanovich's Paper Moon and David Mamet's heist-thriller, House of Games. For his third film, Johnson continued taking innovative approaches to familiar genres with the twisty, multi-layered 2012 sci-fi Looper. Now, the filmmaker is paying homage to the works of Agatha Christie with Knives Out, a black comedy whodunnit influenced by classic mystery films like Murder on the Orient Express and The Mirror Crack'd.
› Posted on November 22 in Review | 10 Comments
Review: Mike Flanagan's 'Doctor Sleep' Film is Not to Be Overlooked
In 2011, Mike Flanagan wrote, edited, and directed his first feature, the low-budget indie horror Absentia. After the success of his Kickstarter-funded indie film, Flanagan got the opportunity to adapt his own 2006 short, Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan, as a feature. The Blumhouse-produced Oculus made $45 million at the box office on a $5 million budget, signifying Flanagan as a unique up-and-coming voice in the genre. Then in 2016, the Salem, Massachusetts native cemented himself as a genuine horror auteur with the releases of Hush, Before I Wake, and Ouija: Origin of Evil, all three of which he wrote, edited, and directed. A year later, Flanagan was called up to the majors, first adapting the Stephen King novel Gerald's Game as a Netflix Original Film and, shortly thereafter, the critically acclaimed 10-episode series The Haunting of Hill House, based on Shirley Jackson's 1959 book. Now, the seasoned filmmaker takes on Doctor Sleep, an adaptation of King's 2013 novel of the same name, which is a sequel to his 1977 bestseller, The Shining.
› Posted on November 8 in Horror, Review | 3 Comments
Review: Survival Thriller 'Ready or Not' Packs Heat & Plays for Keeps
Formed in 2011 by directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, along with their executive producer Chad Villella, the filmmaking trio collectively known as "Radio Silence" has been working in the horror genre for nearly a decade. They made their initial debut in the 2012 horror anthology film, V/H/S, with the segment known as 10/31/98, in which a group of friends in search of a Halloween party stumbles upon an actual house of horrors. In 2014, the collective delivered their first feature, a found-footage take on Rosemary's Baby titled Devil's Due, before contributing two segments to the 2015 horror anthology film Southbound. Now, Bettinelli-Olpin & Gillett are back in feature mode with the film Ready or Not, a black comedy thriller about an eccentric wealthy family bound by a deadly, time-honored tradition.
› Posted on August 22 in Review | 3 Comments
Review: 'Hobbs & Shaw' Delivers Big Tag-Team Action By the Truckload
After eight movies so far, the Fast and the Furious franchise (which launched in 2001) gets its first spin-off as Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson (most recently in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and Skyscraper) and Jason Statham (from the Crank movies and The Meg) reprise their roles (first introduced in Fast & Furious 6) as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw in Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw. Directed by David Leitch (Deadpool 2, Atomic Blonde), from a screenplay by Drew Pearce (Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, Iron Man 3) and longtime Fast & Furious scribe Chris Morgan, the film delivers on the over-the-top action, on-the-nose scripting, and off-the-charts charisma that the series has been known for.
› Posted on August 1 in Review | 5 Comments
Review: Favreau's Photorealistic 'The Lion King' Movie Roars to Life
Co-directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, Disney’s 1994 animated movie The Lion King won Academy Awards for original score (Hans Zimmer) and the original song "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (by Elton John & Tim Rice), as well as the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. In 1997, the stage production made its Broadway debut, winning six Tony Awards; 22 years later, it still remains one of Broadway’s biggest hits, recently marking its 9,000th show. The beloved Disney classic also inspired two direct-to-video follow-ups – The Lion King II: Simba's Pride (1998), and The Lion King 1½ (2004) – and two television series, Timon and Pumbaa and The Lion Guard. Now, after the critical and financial success of 2016's The Jungle Book remake, director Jon Favreau is utilizing the same photorealistic computer animation technology to re-tell the story of The Lion King for contemporary audiences in an immersive way.
› Posted on July 18 in Review | 2 Comments
Review: 'Spider-Man: Far From Home' is a Spider-Fan's Dream Come True
Serving as both an effervescent epilogue to the weighty and momentous Avengers: Endgame and a thrilling prelude to the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), Spider-Man: Far From Home is an exceedingly fun, action-packed cinematic spectacle that – like its titular web-slinger – is propelled by heart, humor, and heroism. In the aftermath of Endgame, which reversed Thanos' dusting actions and brought Peter Parker (Tom Holland) – and billions of others – back to life, Peter continues to mourn the death of his mentor, whose heroic sacrifice made his return possible. When a new threat arises while on a class trip, however, Peter must set aside his grief and step up to become the hero Tony Stark always knew he could be.
› Posted on July 2 in Marvel, Review | 11 Comments
Review: Pixar's Latest Sequel 'Toy Story 4' Plays With Your Emotions
Pixar's original Toy Story (1995) movie was a major milestone in filmmaking. It was nominated for three Oscars (Best Original Screenplay; Best Original Song; Best Original Score), and two Golden Globes (Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical; Best Original Song). Director John Lasseter won a special achievement award from The Academy "for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film." Made by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures, Toy Story was a massive commercial success, launching toys (of course), video games, theme park attractions, spin-offs, and two fantastic sequels — Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 3 (2010). Now, after creating the perfect animated trilogy, Pixar & Disney are extending – and perhaps concluding – the franchise with Toy Story 4, a very weird, melancholic epilogue to the series and to childhood itself.
› Posted on June 21 in Pixar, Review | 3 Comments
Review: Simon Kinberg's 'X-Men: Dark Phoenix' Goes Down in Flames
Written by Chris Claremont and illustrated by John Byrne, the "Dark Phoenix" saga is one of the most enduring storylines in the history of Marvel Comics. First published in Uncanny X-Men #129-138 (1980), the iconic story follows Jean Grey's transformation from gifted mutant into a god-like cosmic entity known as the "Phoenix". In 2006, screenwriters Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn adapted elements of the story for Brett Ratner's sequel X-Men: The Last Stand with mixed results. Now thirteen years later, Kinberg is taking another stab at adapting the classic tale with Dark Phoenix, the twelfth installment in Fox's seemingly-never-ending X-Men film series. A direct sequel to Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), the film is the final installment of the main X-Men saga after The Walt Disney Company's acquisition of 20th Century Fox.
› Posted on June 6 in Marvel, Review | 25 Comments
Review: Dougherty's 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' Vies for Supremacy
In the aftermath of World War II, Japan's Toho Co., Ltd. assembled a team of filmmakers – co-writer and director Ishirō Honda, producer Tomoyuki Tanaka, co-writer Takeo Murata, and special effects director Eiji Tsuburaya – to create a new kind of movie monster. Originally conceived as a walking metaphor for nuclear annihilation, Godzilla roared onto screens in Honda's genre-defining 1954 masterpiece, Gojira. The film captured the imagination – and embodied the fears – of an entire nation. Now 65 years later, the Godzilla series is fully recognized by Guinness World Records as the longest running film franchise in history with a whopping 35 films starring the titular beast. The latest entry, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, is the next chapter in Warner Bros Pictures' and Legendary Pictures' cinematic "MonsterVerse", following in the massive footsteps of Gareth Edwards' Godzilla (2014) and Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Kong: Skull Island (2017).
› Posted on May 31 in Review, Sci-Fi | 8 Comments
Review: Guy Ritchie's Live-Action 'Aladdin' Movie Wishes in One Hand
Based on the Arabic folktale Aladdin and the Magic Lamp from the book One Thousand and One Nights (aka "Arabian Nights"), plus the 1940 film The Thief of Bagdad, Disney's animated Aladdin from 1992 was the most successful movie of that year, grossing $217 million in the US and over $504 million worldwide. The hand-drawn animated film's massive success led to two direct-to-video sequels, The Return of Jafar (1994) and Aladdin and the King of Thieves (1996), an animated series for TV, and a Broadway musical adaptation. Now, after the success of other live-action Disney remakes like Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and Beauty and the Beast, British director Guy Ritchie is reimagining the beloved animated classic as a big-budget, live-action, Bollywood spectacle with flying carpets, magic genies, and a lot of wishful thinking.
› Posted on May 24 in Review | 6 Comments
Review: Olivia Wilde's Debut Comedy 'Booksmart' Makes the Grade
Olivia Wilde. The American actress, who derived her stage name from Irish author Oscar Wilde, is best known for her roles on television series including "The O.C." and "House", and in films like Tron: Legacy, Cowboys & Aliens, Year One, In Time, Drinking Buddies, and Rush. Now, the talented star of stage and screen is working behind the camera. After directing the shorts Free Hugs (2011), Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros: No Love Like Yours (2016), and Red Hot Chili Peppers: Dark Necessities (2016), Wilde is making her feature-length directorial debut with Booksmart, an uproarious and unfiltered coming-of-age comedy that's equal parts Superbad, Lady Bird, Can't Hardly Wait, and Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, filled to the brim with a bevy of top-notch performances from an ensemble of young, up-and-coming stars.
› Posted on May 23 in Review | 4 Comments
Review: 'John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum' is a High-Octane Blast to the Cerebellum
With the original John Wick, screenwriter Derek Kolstad and co-directors Chad Stahelski and David Leitch created an atmospheric neo-noir thriller with exhilarating action sequences, an iconic action hero in John Wick, and an equally iconic lead performance by Keanu Reeves. The film, about an ex-assassin (Reeves) who comes out of retirement to track down the gangsters that killed his dog, earned $88 million worldwide, and thus began the John Wick Cinematic Universe™. Stahelski and Kolstad doubled-down on the non-stop, exquisitely choreographed bloodshed in the sequel John Wick: Chapter 2 while exploring the mythological, hyper-real criminal underworld John Wick inhabits. Now, with John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Stahelski and Kolstad walk a tightrope between world-building and trigger-pulling to deliver a propulsive action flick with some of the most impressive stunts and set pieces in American action cinema.
› Posted on May 17 in Review | 5 Comments
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