Richard Linklater’s new dramedy, “Where’d You Go, Bernadette?” is about a suburban housewife in the Pacific Northwest who has a nervous breakdown and then intentionally checks out of her everyday life – without warning or notice to anyone – to rediscover who she is as a person. If this sounds familiar to you, it might be...
If one franchise could safely secure the title of most unexpected longevity in film history, it would most likely be the “Fast & Furious” series. The original film, titled exactly that in 2001, was a moderate success. It did well with audiences, but to critics it was essentially a “Point Break” (1991) remake if you...
Quentin Tarantino’s new film, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” is pretty much what one would expect from Tarantino rewriting 1960s history for his own art, much like he did with WW2 in “Inglourious Basterds” (2009) or the Civil War in “Django Unchained” (2012). If you’ve ever wondered what it would be like if real life, and...
The biggest counter-culture movement in modern history arguably occurred in the 1960s, both as a society and in pop culture. As most who lived during that decade or have extensively researched it can attest to, though, it was also a period that ended on a sour note, thanks to the violence and addiction issues that ran rampant...
Last summer marked the debut of filmmaker Ari Aster with his critical hit “Hereditary.” Following the film’s debut, movie fanatics and insiders were almost instantly predicting that Aster would be the next big thing in the horror genre. But while critics and fans may be pinning Aster as the new horror god, the director...
Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday” is the second film this summer season to feature a classic rock soundtrack, and it hits theaters one month after “Rocketman,” and a month before “Blinded by the Light.” As someone who’s considered the Beatles her favorite band since high school, it’s been really hard for me to buy into Hollywood...
Elton John is one of those music artists whose songs you just like, even if you’re not big on his genre or era. While watching Dexter Fletcher’s musical biopic, “Rocketman,” which is based on Elton’s life, I found myself singing (or rather lip-syncing) along to every song, even though I’ve never considered myself a huge fan....
United Artists’ “Booksmart” is the latest raunchy R-rated teen comedy to hit theaters. For the past couple of weeks, the movie’s been received with overwhelmingly positive reviews across the board. The director is former starlet Olivia Wilde, who currently fancies herself a filmmaker. Fortunately for her (and her film’s...
There is a fine line between taking influence for your own original idea from another source and just plain ripping off another artist. Chris Addison’s “The Hustle,” a new comedy starring Rebel Wilson and Anne Hathaway, is being described as a modern, gender-swapped version of Frank Oz’s “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (1988) –...
Despite all the criticism Marvel gets for playing it safe and not taking many real risks with their storytelling and character development, there are a couple of things they get right: taking their films seriously and being dramatic without coming across as bleak. The ending of the previous Avengers feature, “Infinity War,”...
With Claire Denis’ new sci-fi drama “High Life” slated to be out this April, we’ve continued the recent trend of space-related films being released. The documentary “Apollo 11,” has received much praise from space history buffs, is still in some theaters, yet has already found its way online, too. Only seven months ago,...
If you had told me five years ago that one of the two goofy guys who make up the comedy duo Key & Peele would turn out to be one of the best horror masterminds in film, I wouldn’t have known what to think. But even as a horror filmmaker, Jordan Peele is a funny guy, and his comedic roots are palpable in his feature film...
