Film – Page 2 – A Mixed Review

The Invisible Man Review: Injecting Pre-Existing IP Where It Isn’t Needed

December 1, 2020November 30, 20202020, 3.5 stars, Film, Reviews

The Invisible Man, an 1897 novel by sci-fi titan H.G. Wells, was an out-of-the-box choice for a horror movie adaptation. The 2020 movie of the same name is a far cry from the book; it’s a cross between an Elisabeth Moss vehicle and psychological horror movie. Blumhouse, the studio behind The Purge series and Get Out, used recognizable, existing IP to sell a movie concept. It’s become a familiar formula for Hollywood with Peter Berg’s poorly received Battleship (2012) coming nearly a decade ago and a Margot Robbie-led Barbie movie on the horizon.

They Live Review: A Cult Classic Worthy of Its Cult Status

November 30, 20201988, 4 stars, Film, Reviews

Writer-director John Carpenter is synonymous with classic horror films like Halloween and The Thing and unconventional action movies like Big Trouble in Little China and Escape from New York. But perhaps no movie is more representative of his eclectic filmography than They Live.

Borat Subsequent Moviefilm Review: The Genie’s Already Out of the Bottle

November 23, 20202020, 3 stars, Film, Reviews

Fourteen years after Borat, co-writer and star Sacha Baron Cohen donned the famous oversized gray suit and lush mustache again for its sequel. While the Borat Subsequent Moviefilm prides itself in revealing the same American ugliness as Borat, it does so without the original’s deft touch. Where Borat allowed Baron Cohen to amble from one improvised moment to the next, the Subsequent Moviefilm is overplotted, worrying more about the connective tissue than the substance.

Yes, God, Yes Review: An Honest to God Sexual Comedy

November 20, 2020November 20, 20202020, 4 stars, Film, Reviews

Writer-director Karen Maine’s debut film conjures laughs, guilt, and nostalgia, particularly for young adults of a certain religious sect, or perhaps more accurately, former members of a religious sect. Yes, God, Yes is unusually sweet for a teen sex comedy, a feat accomplished through Maine’s perceptive script and Stranger Things star Natalie Dyer’s emotive performance. The semi-autobiographical coming-of-age story is refreshingly light fare in a somber year.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers Review: An Enduring Second Act

November 18, 2020December 17, 20202002, 4.5 stars, Film, Reviews

Peter Jackson and his army of cast and crew returned for a second trip to Middle-earth in 2002’s The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, based on author J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy epic of the same name. Centered around the breathtaking Battle of Helm’s Deep, a council of talking trees, and a band of hobbits on the perilous road to Mordor, the sequel surpasses the introductory Fellowship of the Ring. The Two Towers offers more swordplay, scares, and magic than its predecessor.

Boys State Review: Win at Any Cost

November 6, 20202020, 4 stars, Film, Reviews

In response to the 2016 presidential election, a new documentary from A24 and Apple turns to America’s youth to explain how we got here and where we go next. Directors Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss followed 1,000 sweaty, hormonal teenage boys during the American Legion’s week-long civics camp to figure out if the kids are alright. Boys State is an uncomfortable glimpse at partisan politics tinged with an unnatural concentration on toxic masculinity in adolescence.

Softness of Bodies Review: A Young Poet’s Egocentrism

July 31, 2020July 31, 20202018, 4 stars, Film, Reviews

Starving artist and expat Charlie is in desperate need of 800 euros in writer-director Jordan Blady’s darkly comedic first feature. To the audience’s great amusement, Blady’s narcissistic protagonist is willing to go to extraordinary lengths to get ahead. The sonnet-length, 74-minute indie debuted at the LA Film Festival in 2018.

Palm Springs Review: A Warm, Thoughtful Modification to the Time Loop Genre

July 30, 2020July 31, 20202020, 4.5 stars, Film, Reviews

Artists can’t control the state of the world in which their art debuts; for film productions, circumstances are even dicier. Does the movie match or combat the prevailing societal mood? Will the economy support its release? Are the themes pertinent to a current issue? If the work isn’t discovered initially, will it stand the test of time for a future audience? The stars aligned to answer these questions for Palm Springs, a romantic comedy that dropped on Hulu in July 2020.

Sorry We Missed You Review: Confronting the Gig Economy

July 22, 2020April 24, 20212020, 4 stars, Film, Reviews

Backed by a cast of relative unknowns, director Ken Loach delivers a story true to those living on the margins. The filmmaker’s latest work is set in Newcastle, a city in Northeast England, but without the accents and references to soccer, it could just as easily be set in New Haven, a city in the American Northeast. Loach and writer Paul Laverty empathize with members of the shrinking middle class who are casualties of globalization and negligent labor laws.

The Lodge Review: An Uneasy, Cerebral Surprise

July 18, 2020June 26, 20202020, 4 stars, Film, Reviews

Two children experience the inscrutable while trapped in a remote cabin with their stepmother-to-be. The Lodge doesn’t bend genre conventions or invent a wholly original horror premise, but the twisty, austere, and perturbing psychological horror movie is the genre’s finest release since Midsommar. The latest from Parasite distributor Neon is also a memorable American introduction for Austrian directors Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala.