It’s an international line-up in the Best Documentary category at the Oscars this year, with all five films coming from across the globe.
As usual, the nominated documentaries cover a wide array of important topics and give audiences insight into issues they may not have known. Below, I give my full, honest thoughts on each documentary in the category.
Add one more to the bandwagon, “Dune: Part Two” has won another person over to the franchise.
“Part Two” picks up not too long after the conclusion of the first film. Paul (Timothée Chalamet), heir to the now destroyed House Atreides, along with his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), are seeking refuge with the local inhabitants of the sand planet Arrakis.
Those inhabitants, the Fremen, are split on the newcomer, some trusting Paul and seeing him as a potential savior and others who are leery. He begins earning their trust, though, as he helps them fight against the ruthless House Harkonnen for control of Arrakis.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Dune’ sequel is an exceptional sci-fi epic”
A person would think a film directed by one of the Coen brothers and featuring a talented cast would result in a good experience. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with “Drive-Away Dolls.”
Set in 1999, “Dolls” follows close friends Jamie (Margaret Qualley) and Marian (Viswanathan), who’re on a road trip from Philadelphia to Florida. The journey south was originally just supposed to be Marian’s trip, but Jamie decided to tag along after breaking up with her girlfriend Sukie (Beanie Feldstein).
What should be a simple road trip with a few pit stops, though, turns into something much more dangerous when it turns out the two women rented a car meant to be used by organized crime. Inside the car, the protagonists find a mysterious brief case and a big piece of criminal evidence.
Continue reading “REVIEW: Don’t take a ride with the ‘Drive-Away Dolls’”
Bob Marley was a cultural icon with a great influence on music, and he deserves a much better biopic.
“One Love” is set during the mid-to-late 70s during a time of upheaval in Jamaica as the 1976 election approaches. With tensions high in the nation, musician Bob Marley (Kingsley Ben-Adir) plans a concert to promote peace in the country. However, before he can do so, an assassination attempt is made on his life.
The film then follows Marley as he and his band relocate to England to record new albums, including the hit record “Exodus.” As he continues to create music, Marley is also eager to get his message out and desires to return to Jamaica for another concert attempt.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ is a lackluster biopic”
This film may be titled “Madame Web,” but the titular character barely gets to shine in her own movie.
Dakota Johnson stars as Cassie Webb in this new film set in 2003 with loose ties to the “Spider-Man” mythos. Webb is a paramedic in New York City in her 30s who grew up in foster care as her mom died in Peru studying a rare spider species.
The film picks up with Cassie as she begins to have visions of the future on a regular basis. Her most important vision comes when she sees three girls in danger of being attacked by a person with superhuman abilities. From there, she sets out to protect the girls who are destined to do heroic things in the future.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Madame Web’ is a woeful ‘Spider-Man’ spin-off”
There’s an old meme out there that would describe any trashy romance as “still being better than ‘Twilight.’” That can’t be said about “Lisa Frankenstein.”
As one might guess, this film centers on a character named Lisa. A teenager, Lisa (Kathryn Newton) is a goth girl who is trying to move on with her life after her mother’s murder. In the present, she lives with her father, insufferable stepmother and her kind stepsister.
With her annoying stepmother at home and a lack of enjoyment at school, Lisa’s only joy comes from spending time at a small cemetery. That cemetery happens to be the resting place of a Victorian era pianist, and, through a strike of magic lightning, that musician (Cole Sprouse) comes back to life, and seeks out Lisa.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Lisa Frankenstein’ is frankly not good at all”
“Argylle” is a film that could have spent more time on the drawing board, because on the big screen, it’s just wasting other peoples’ time.
In the film, Argylle is the titular character of a spy novel series written by the introverted Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard). The author is working on her latest book, but is running into a bit of writer’s block.
A bigger problem comes along in the form of a group of men trying to capture Elly, though, as the books she’s written have actually been rather prophetic when it comes to real world espionage. Her only protection is a secret agent, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who defends Elly and leads her to where she can uncover the truth about the real Argylle.
Continue reading “REVIEW: I met the real agent ‘Argylle,’ I wish I hadn’t”
Lester from the “Fargo” series meets Wednesday Addams. Hijinx ensue.
To go a bit more in depth, “Miller’s Girl” is a film set in a small Tennessee community that follows a literature teacher. Jonathan Miller (Martin Freeman), who’s also an author, though he hasn’t written in a few years, is just getting started on a new semester.
One of the first students he meets is Cairo (Jenna Ortega), a high schooler who lives alone as her wealthy parents are abroad. Cairo shows promise and it leads Miller to assign her a special writing project to help her with college admissions. The two end up growing closer, but the situation begins to take a dark turn.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Miller’s Girl’ is a trashy thriller that goes off the rails”
The entire script of “Bee Movie,” but it’s just a review of the 2024 action film “The Beekeeper.”
Jason Statham stars as Adam Clay in this new film from director David Ayer. A simple man leading a quiet life, Clay keeps bees and lives on a farm owned by retired schoolteacher and charity organizer Eloise. Things get kicked off in the film when Eloise’s computer is hacked and she’s lured into a scam.
She not only loses her life savings, but the $2 million her charity managed. The situation causes her to take her own life and in the aftermath, Clay, who turns out to be a retired agent of an elite organization, sets out for revenge. During his quest, he learns the scamming system is run by powerful people with government ties.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘The Beekeeper’ is a B-movie (in more ways than one) that delivers”
The International Space Station may bring astronauts to the final frontier, but as this film shows, they are still very much tied to what’s happening down on Earth.
“I.S.S.” centers on six characters aboard the station in Earth’s orbit. There are three American astronauts: Kira (Ariana DeBose), Gordon (Chris Messina) and Christian (John Gallagher Jr.), as well as three Russian cosmonauts: Weronika (Masha Mashkova), Nicholai (Costa Ronin) and Alexey (Pilou Asbæk).
Kiras is the newest to the station and is still adjusting, but she finds everything going smoothly on board as the crew gets along and stays busy. That is until they all witness massive explosions and find out that a major war has started. Each group then receives notice from their nations to take over the station.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘I.S.S.’ has some suspense but execution is clunky”
Matthew Liedke on Film 