Matthew Liedke

REVIEW: ‘Little Women’ is positively wonderful

There’s already been six adaptations of “Little Women,” so why not add another one to the list?

Actually making a new one was a good choice, because it turns out to be one of the greater book adaptations and one of 2019’s finest films.

Like other adaptations, “Little Women” follows the stories of Jo (Saoirse Ronan), Meg (Emma Watson), Amy (Florence Pugh) and Beth (Eliza Scanlen). They live in Massachusetts during the Civil War with their mother Margaret (Laura Dern) while their father is off fighting for the Union Army.

The picture explores their lives as teenagers living together as well as their time as young adults, where they’re off on their own adventures. For example, Jo, is working to become a steady author, while Amy is an aspiring painter in Europe.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Little Women’ is positively wonderful”

REVIEW: ‘Cats’ is crazy, but its music is catchy

Cats are not dogs. This is information the movie really wants an audience to know, so much so that Judi Dench turns directly to the camera to say it. That’s just one of the lessons one will learn over the course of the cinematic experience that is “Cats.” It truly is something to behold.

Based on the stage play of the same name, “Cats” is set in London and follows a group of felines who love to sing and dance. The main character we’re introduced at the start is Victoria (Francesca Hayward), who’s introduced to the Jellicle cats. The Jellicle cats all have their own traits, quirks, and even personalized songs that they sing.

Victoria meeting with the Jellicle cats happens to be a meeting of destiny, as it turns out it’s the night of the Jellicle ball, where a single cat is chosen to have their life thoroughly improved. Over the course of the film, different cats sing and perform with the hope of being the one.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Cats’ is crazy, but its music is catchy”

REVIEW: ‘The Two Popes’ has a pair of great performances, and not much else

“The Two Popes” combines two things that are supposed to be left off the table at family get-togethers: religion and politics. The two subjects are ripe for good acting performances, though, which is what this movie provides.

The movie mostly takes place in early 2013, just before Pope Benedict XVI (Anthony Hopkins) resigned and Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio (Jonathan Pryce) was elected to the position. The film explores how Benedict came to his decision to resign, the first pope to do so since 1415, and his conversations with Jorge, now Pope Francis.

The drama mostly comes from Francis and Benedict being on opposite sides of what direction the church should go. Francis leans more toward a liberal viewpoint, and therefore wants to reform the Catholic Church. Benedict, meanwhile, was pushing a more conservative view, with an agenda to keep church traditions. The two, though, eventually find common ground.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘The Two Popes’ has a pair of great performances, and not much else”

REVIEW: ‘Parasite’ is a twisted, terrific film

“Parasite” is a ~~heartwarming~~ story about a close-knit family of four, who just happen to start a con on another family.

A South Korean film, “Parasite” follows the story of a family including the father Kim Ki-Taek (Song Kang-ho), wife Kim Chung-sook (Chang Hyae-jin), their son Kim Ki-woo (Choi Woo-shik) and daughter Kim Ki-jeong (Park So-dam). The family lives in a small, below ground level apartment and get by with low paying jobs.

Through a reference by one of his friends, though, Kim Ki-woo stumbles upon a tutoring job for a very wealthy family. Relying on quick thinking and street smarts, Kim Ki-woo ends up forcing out other staff who work for the wealthy family, the Parks, and gets jobs for his three other family members. Their con work gets off to a good start and the family becomes more comfortable, but as the movie wears on, a shocking discovery is made.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Parasite’ is a twisted, terrific film”

REVIEW: ‘Bombshell’ has strong acting, but lacks extensive insight

Roger Ailes’ ouster from the media company he built is explored in this drama, but it only scratches the surface.

“Bombshell” tells the story of Ailes’ (John Lithgow) final months at Fox News by taking the perspective of anchors Megyn Kelly (Charlize Theron) and Gretchen Carlson (Nicole Kidman). Additionally, brought into the middle of the situation is a reporter for Fox, Kayla (Margot Robbie) who’s representative of anonymous victims who worked at the company.

Aside from a few flashbacks, the film takes place over the course of the 2016 presidential election, with an emphasis on the Republican Primary. The focus on the primary comes as some at Fox News, such as Kelly, have issues with then candidate Donald Trump. The friction of the primary coincides with the building of a case against Ailes, who was accused by several women of sexual harassment and assault.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Bombshell’ has strong acting, but lacks extensive insight”

REVIEW: Final ‘Star Wars’ falls, rather than rises

A person can say a lot about the “Star Wars” prequels. They certainly had their fair share of flaws. However, at the very least, it was a trilogy that had a clear blueprint for where it was supposed to go.

That, unfortunately, didn’t seem to be the case with this sequel trilogy.

“Rise of Skywalker” is the ninth film in the main “Star Wars” story, and 11th overall when including the spin-off features. Right from the opening crawl, viewers learn that Emperor Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid) survived the second Death Star’s destruction, has actually been pulling all the strings with the First Order and has (somehow) built like 90 new Star Destroyers that have planet killing cannons.

In response, a rather depleted resistance force explore their options to fight back. They determine the best course of action is to find out where Palpatine’s fleet is and launch an attack with help from across the galaxy. To find out the location, the new Jedi Rey (Daisy Ridley), former storm trooper-turned resistance warrior Finn (John Boyega) and ace pilot Poe (Oscar Isaac) begin a search for a dark side Sith artifact.

Continue reading “REVIEW: Final ‘Star Wars’ falls, rather than rises”

Best of the Decade: Action

This is a series called “Best of the Decade.” It’s a list including 10 movies that I found to be the best in a specific genre from 2010-2019.

Whether battles were fought with giant robots or simply with fists, the past decade had some fantastic action films. Here’s my picks for the best.

Continue reading “Best of the Decade: Action”

Best of the Decade: Sci-Fi

This is a series called “Best of the Decade.” It’s a list including 10 movies that I found to be the best in a specific genre from 2010-2019.

Whether films were part of established franchises or simply stand alone features, this past decade was pretty darn good for sci-fi. Here are some of my favorites from the past 10 years.

Continue reading “Best of the Decade: Sci-Fi”

Best of the Decade: Comic Books

This is a series called “Best of the Decade.” It’s a list including 10 movies that I found to be the best in a specific genre from 2010-2019.

The 2000-2009 decade built the foundation, but the past 10 years is where the super hero/comic book genre established itself as a juggernaut in Hollywood. Today, in part because of these 10 films, the comic book/super hero genre is at a whole other level.

Continue reading “Best of the Decade: Comic Books”

Monday Movie Report: Finale to ‘Star Wars’ trilogy could make $200 million

Here we go.

We’re headed into the final opening weekend for a “Star Wars” movie for the immediate future, as the next picture in the franchise isn’t scheduled until 2022.

We’ll have more of an idea regarding quality on Wednesday, when the review embargo drops and critics can unleash their opinions. While the reviews are still a few days out, though, box office predictions are starting to roll in.

Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Finale to ‘Star Wars’ trilogy could make $200 million”