Chris Pine reunites with “Hell or High Water” director David Mackenzie for “Outlaw King,” a historical epic that follows the rise of Scottish King Robert the Bruce, as he attempts to unify medieval Scotland against oppressive English rule. Beginning immediately after the defeat and capture of William Wallace (best known as the protagonist of 1995’s “Braveheart”), “Outlaw King” follows...
“Beautiful Boy,” a story based on the memoirs of a meth addict and his father, stars rising newcomer Timothee Chalamet as Nic Sheff and seasoned actor Steve Carell as David Sheff. Although it boasts a star-studded cast (among them a Golden Globe winner and Academy Award nominee), “Beautiful Boy” falls brutally short. While the exhilarating soundtrack, powerful performances and...
“Bohemian Rhapsody” is the highly awaited biopic on the legendary 1970s rock band Queen and its frontman Freddie Mercury. Like most, I’ve heard their singles before (including “Bohemian Rhapsody,” the mega-hit the movie is named after), but I knew nothing about the history of the band. While I expected a decent take on the dangers of rock star life,...
Although actors-turned-directors aren’t something new, it is a relatively recent phenomenon that these directorial debutants experience significant initial success. Last year alone, directorial newcomers Jordan Peele and Greta Gerwig made very successful debuts with “Get Out” and “Lady Bird,” both of which received positive receptions both critically and commercially. Jonah Hill has managed to continue that trend into this...
As a fan of the original 1978 “Halloween,” I had high hopes for the 2018 sequel. Thankfully, it did not disappoint. “Halloween” is a crowd-pleaser, with frequent nods to its predecessor, gory scenes galore and a satisfying ending. This movie is definitely a trip down nostalgia lane, but the cinematography, soundtrack, and plot are so timeless that even casual...
“Hell Fest” was marketed as a twist on the slasher film go-to: instead of a town or the woods, the masked killer would stalk a group of teenagers in a Halloween-themed traveling amusement park (an obvious nod to Halloween Horror Nights, Fright Fest and similar theme parks that pop-ups around this time). Although the change in scenery is new,...
As I sit down to write this article (directly after I left the theater), “Venom” currently sits at a 31 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a 7.1 on IMDB, with the former (which despite what the following paragraphs may lead you to believe) being a pretty accurate reflection of the overall quality of the film, while the latter makes...
“The House with a Clock in Its Walls” follows a young orphan named Lewis, who moves in with his uncle, Johnathan (Jack Black), following the death of his parents. Shortly after arriving, Lewis discovers that his uncle is a warlock, his neighbor Ms. Zimmerman (Cate Blanchett) is a witch and that the house they live in contains a magic...
One of the most inconsistent yet interesting modern movie franchises has to be that of James Wan’s “The Conjuring,” and its respective sequel and spin off titles. The first film, which was released more than five years ago, received critical acclaim and to this day remains one of the few movies to genuinely scare me. So when I first...
It’s been nearly 14 years since the release of “The Incredibles,” and other than the occasional outcry for a sequel, or the equally sporadic and random influxes of “Where’s my supersuit” memes which served as general reminders of the film’s existence, the desire or even general interest in “The Incredibles 2” was lost to me. When the movie was...