REVIEW: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a bland band biopic

The pacing in this movie was so fast. Maybe that would work for, I dunno, a biopic about the band Rush, but not Queen.

“Bohemian Rhapsody” tells the tale of the band Queen, with a significant focus on the life of Freddie Mercury (Rami Malek). The picture follows Mercury during his time in college where he discovers the band, all the way to his performance during the Live Aid concert.

As it goes on, the film covers Mercury’s sexual orientation, his creation of the song that shares the same name of the movie, his struggle with drugs and disagreements he had with other members of Queen.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ is a bland band biopic”

Monday Movie Report: Hollywood Film Award results

The season of gold statues got underway Sunday night with the Hollywood Film Awards ceremony, where numerous 2018 movies were honored for a wide array of aspects.

Hosted by actress and comedian Awkwafina, the HFA took place in Beverly Hills and marks the first major event of award season, with the Gotham Independent Film Awards coming next on Nov. 26. While not the most prestigious ceremony of the award season bunch, the HFA still provide an opportunity to gain some notoriety and get the word out about some contenders.

Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Hollywood Film Award results”

REVIEW: ‘Hate U Give,’ while not perfect, still has impact

A novel with subject matter quite relevant to what’s happened in the United States over the past several years was adapted to the big screen in fairly convincing fashion.

The Hate U Give,” originally a book, is a film telling the story of Starr Carter (Amandla Stenberg), who lives in a mostly African American neighborhood, but attends a predominantly white private institution. The film picks up with Starr heading into a weekend, where she eventually attends a house party. There, she meets a childhood friend named Khalil (Algee Smith), who offers to drive her home.

Along the drive back home, Khalil is pulled over by a white police officer and, while leaning in the car to check on Starr, is shot and killed. What follows is a situation where Starr has to deal with speaking about the incident with law enforcement, the press, and her friends and relatives. As a result, the situation creates a lot of stress for the high schooler.

Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Hate U Give,’ while not perfect, still has impact”

10 Years of Horror: Looking back at 2015-2017

It’s the final day for the month of spook, Halloween has finally arrived.

As previously stated in the past few pieces I’ve written, I’m looking back at some of my favorite horror movies from the past 10 years, as I’ve been reviewing for about a decade. Here are the picks from 2015-2017.

Continue reading “10 Years of Horror: Looking back at 2015-2017”

10 years of horror: Looking back at 2013-2014

Since I’ve been reviewing movies for a decade, I decided this year to take a look back at some of my favorite horror movies since 2008. So far, I’ve already taken a look at movies through 2012, so here’s the next few through 2014.

Continue reading “10 years of horror: Looking back at 2013-2014”

Monday Movie Report: Boba Fett spin-off movie cancelled

The “Star Wars” spin off movie based on the character Boba Fett has been shelved according to Entertainment Weekly.

The magazine reports that the film, which had long been rumored but not yet officially announced, will not be put into production. EW confirmed that a Boba Fett film was in development with Director James Mangold at the helm, but it never got off the ground.

Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Boba Fett spin-off movie cancelled”

REVIEW: New ‘Halloween’ doesn’t surpass original, but is arguably the best one since

This is a “Halloween” film that is a direct sequel to the original picture from the 1970s, meaning that it forgets about all of the other movies in the franchise. So fortunately, it’s as if that whole ordeal with Busta Rhymes no longer exists.

Because it’s a direct sequel, the film revolves around a now adult Laurie Strode  (Jamie Lee Curtis). Since the events of the original ordeal, S has retreated to an extremely secure home to prepare for a day where Michael Myers escapes. Her constant fear of Myers breaking out, though, has led to an alienation with her daughter, Karen (Judy Greer), and her granddaughter, Allyson (Andi Matichak).

Her fears are realized, though, as something goes wrong during a transportation of Myers from one security facility to another. As a result, Myers is out for blood again, meaning S, and Sheriff Hawkins (Will Patton) who was there to apprehend Michael that night so long ago, have to prevent a murder spree.

Continue reading “REVIEW: New ‘Halloween’ doesn’t surpass original, but is arguably the best one since”

Monday Movie Report: ‘Shape of Water’ earns another award, Huppert receives lifetime achievement honor in Rome

“The Shape of Water,” which won the Oscar for Best Picture at the most recent Academy Awards, isn’t finished collecting hardware just yet.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, the film earned Best Production Design Saturday evening from the Directors Guild of Canada in Toronto. Paul Austerberry, responsible for the production design work on the film, also took home the Oscar for the same category at the Academy Awards.

Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: ‘Shape of Water’ earns another award, Huppert receives lifetime achievement honor in Rome”

REVIEW: It’s really ‘Meh’ times at the ‘El Royale’

“Bad Times at the El Royale” is a film that juggles a lot of ideas, and some of them are good. However, director Drew Goddard and company weren’t able to bring everything together, and this feature suffers for it.

The picture takes place at a unique setting. The El Royale is a hotel located with two sections, one half is in California and the other is in Nevada. The film features a group of characters, including a priest named Daniel (Jeff Bridges), a singer named Darlene (Cynthia Erivo), a salesman by the name of Laramie (Jon Hamm) and a young woman who keeps to herself in Emily (Dakota Johnson), who all check into the El Royale on the same afternoon.

Continue reading “REVIEW: It’s really ‘Meh’ times at the ‘El Royale’”

10 years of horror: Looking back at 2010-2012

Here’s part two of my retrospective on horror movies from the past 10 years. I started reviewing films back in 2008, and since Halloween is close, I figured I’d take a look back at some of the best in horror.

These are the scary pictures that stood out in 2010, 2011 and 2012. For my look back at 2008-2009, click here.

Continue reading “10 years of horror: Looking back at 2010-2012”