Category: Films

Film Review: “Blink Twice”

Kravitz’s directorial debut is a messy but impressive comic thriller

Let’s get this out of the way – Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut, Blink Twice, very closely recalls a similar directorial debut from 2017, Jordan Peele’s Get Out. “It’s Get Out, but for women,” would be an apt headline. This comparison should be considered a compliment, even if it oversaturates the public discourse about the film. All of this shouldn’t take away from Kravitz’s stylish, thrilling, sometimes messy, but thoroughly entertaining thriller. Blink Twice is an imperfect concoction of thrills, laughs, and sinister themes.  Continue reading “Film Review: “Blink Twice””

Film Review: “Sugarcane”

Sugarcane depicts the importance of breaking a generational cycle of trauma and exposing the truth

If you’re unfamiliar with “Indian residential schools,” which were boarding schools run by the Catholic church for Indigenous children in Canada and the United States, their existence marks a horrific chapter in North American history with repercussions still being felt (and investigated) to this day. Sugarcane is a new documentary by co-directors Emily Kassie and Julian Brave Noisecat that brings us into the emotional fold of these repercussions. Sugarcane shines a specific spotlight on the Canadian residential school system and the traumatic impact they’ve had on generations of Indigenous families. It’s a troubling and devastating documentary, but all the more important viewing for the strength and resilience it represents. Continue reading “Film Review: “Sugarcane””

Film Review: “Twisters”

Powell’s charm almost saves lackluster Twister follow up 

Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones), Tyler (Glen Powell, middle) and Javi (Anthony Ramos) survey the weather.

Director Lee Isaac Chung, who garnered well deserved attention and a Best Director Oscar nomination for his affecting indie family drama Minari back in 2020, tries his hand at a big summer blockbuster with Twisters, a sequel of sorts to Twister, the box-office success that opened way back in 1996. Lee should stick to indie fare. Twisters is at best a serviceable piece of entertainment, and, at worst, an uninspired and unimaginative virtual reboot of the original.

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Film Review: “Touch”

Wistful love story deftly captures the ephemeral nature of time

Miko (Kôki)) and Kristófer (Palmi Kormákur) fall in love after meeting at her father’s restaurant.

Icelandic director Baltasar Kormákur, known for his edge-of-your seat survival adventure pictures like Everest and Adrift, might not be the first name you’d think of to adapt a romantic mystery for the big screen. But with Touch, his adaptation of fellow Icelander Olaf Olasson’s 2022 novel of the same name, Kormákur proves he’s just as skilled at plumbing the depths of the human heart as he is the drive of the human spirit.

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Film Review: “MaXXXine”

Ti West completes his horror trilogy in devilishly fun ’80s fashion

First came X. Shortly after came the prequel, Pearl. And now, MaXXXine, writer/director Ti West’s end cap on a remarkably gory, provocative, homage-filled horror trilogy. Mia Goth is at the center of all three films, an actor who has transcended “scream queen” status to become a bona fide megastar of the genre. She deserved an Oscar nomination for her performance in Pearl, and arguably an earlier nomination for her dual roles in X. In MaXXXine, the creative pairing of West and Goth complete their trilogy in entertaining, if not spectacular, fashion. MaXXXine is an overt homage to the wide-ranging horror genre birthed from Hollywood between the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s, from the prestigious to the grimy. Continue reading “Film Review: “MaXXXine””

Film Review: “Daddio”

Johnson, Penn excel in thoughtful taxicab drama

A woman (Dakota Johnson) taking a cab ride home from JFK converses with Clark (Sean Penn), her driver.

Screenwriter Christy Hall makes her directorial debut with Daddio, a script she originally conceived of as a stage play. That theatrical quality is evident in the film, an emotionally rich two-character study that takes place in near real time. Featuring stellar performances from Dakota Johnson and Sean Penn, Daddio is the sort of understated but affecting drama that often gets lost in the summer blockbuster shuffle but deserves to be seen.

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Film Review: “A Quiet Place: Day One”

No need to make noise for this franchise prequel 

Sam (Lupita Nyong’o) surveys damage after an alien attack.

Both the original A Quiet Place and its follow up, A Quiet Place Part II, made my Top 10 lists for 2018 and 2021, respectively. A Quiet Place: Day One, the new film in the series, however, falls far short of achieving that honor this year. A prequel to the original movie, this third film in the franchise offers audiences nothing new, and merely repeats elements that made the first two movies so successful.

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Film Review: “The Bikeriders”

The Bikeriders is Comer’s star-making vehicle

Director Jeff Nichols has been on an impressive streak of memorable dramatic films that directly or indirectly involve the culture of middle-America, including Shotgun Stories, Take Shelter, Mud, and Loving. The Bikeriders is his latest dramatic piece of cinematic Americana (or, “Ameridrama”, to coin a phrase), stradling the median between mainstream drama and niche historical fiction. The Bikeriders is a surprisingly charming piece of old-school storytelling, buoyed by an impressive script and strong performances. Continue reading “Film Review: “The Bikeriders””

Film Review: “Tuesday”

Death stops for Julia Louis-Dreyfus in smart, introspective picture 

Zora (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) struggles with grief over the pending loss of her ill daughter.

Croatian filmmaker Daina Oniunas-Pusic has earned multiple awards for her short films, and now parlays that talent on to the big screen with Tuesday, her terrific feature film debut. A contemplative and serious meditation on life, death, grief, and letting go, Oniunas-Pusic’s film never feels heavy-handed, even as it grapples with some of life’s most weighty philosophical questions.

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Film Review: “Bad Boys: Ride or Die”

Bad Boys sticks to its guns for an explosively fun summer flick

After “The Slap,” Will Smith took a much needed multi-year hiatus from acting. Whatever self-reflection, anger management, family therapy or whatnot he (was forced to or voluntarily) went through, good for him. He also made a very wise decision (likely in close coordination with his agent) to return to movies within the warm embrace of the most tried-and-true action franchise of his career: Bad Boys. Re-teaming with Martin Lawrence and directors Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah (Bad Boys for Life), this fourth installment, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, proves that the series still has some juice left in the tank, as long as it sticks to its iconic blend of neon-soaked action and curse-filled bickering. Continue reading “Film Review: “Bad Boys: Ride or Die””