One of this award season’s biggest shockers took place Sunday night during the Writers Guild of America award ceremony.
At the annual event, “Eighth Grade,” written (and directed) by Bo Burnham, won the prize for Best Original Screenplay from the WGA. The win was a major upset, beating out the likes of “Green Book” and “Roma.”
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Writers Guild winners”
“Happy Death Day 2U,” a follow-up to a 2017 thriller, is the kind of sequel that seems to be in search of a reason to exist. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad to watch.
The movie picks up right where the first movie left off. Theresa (Jessica Rothe), who casually goes by Tree, put an end to a time-loop where she was living the same day over and over and in doing so, made several changes to improve her life.
However, she soon finds out that her issues aren’t completely over. In the first act she learns that her boyfriend’s roommate Ryan (Phi Vu) is actually one of three students working at her university’s science lab. There, the students have created a device that can cause disturbances in space and time. As a result, Tree, and this time her new friends, are put into a position of having to make fixes to the space time continuum, while also dealing with a murderer on the loose.
Continue reading “REVIEW: While not as fresh as original, ‘Death Day 2’ will entertain”
A Supreme Court justice now has a superhero origin story.
“On the Basis of Sex” tells the story of how Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Felicity Jones) entered the world of law and began a career focused on equal rights. That career, of course, would lead to her becoming a justice on the United States Supreme Court.
“Basis” begins with Ginsburg attending Harvard University’s law school and follows this up with her time as a professor at Rutgers University. The latter is where she would take on a case where the nation’s tax code discriminated on the basis of sex.
Continue reading “REVIEW: While cliched, ‘Basis of Sex’ is still inspiring”
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”
I’ll admit, when I hear the title, I think of the song at the end of the Disney “Hercules” movie.
In all seriousness, “A Star is Born” is actually a remake of a 1937 film with the same name. In fact, along with this most recent adaptation, that 1937 movie has been remade two other times in 1954 and 1976. This newest version was directed and co-written by Bradley Cooper, who also stars in the film as the lead character Jack.
Jack is a successful musician with plenty of hits, but also faces problems. Not only does one of his ears have a medical issue, but he’s also suffering from alcoholism. Despite, this, though, he meets a talented singer named Ally (Lady Gaga) who’s been overlooked her whole life. Not only do the two strike up a relationship, but Jack also helps Ally get her talent noticed. A strain remains, though, because of Jack’s health.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘A Star is Born’ will hook you in with passionate musical scenes”
Two biopics about legendary singers are taking shape in Hollywood. One of them will follow the life of Marvin Gaye while the other is about Sammy Davis, Jr.
According to Deadline, the latter is coming together under the leadership of Paramount Pictures and Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Deadline reports that plans are in place to hire a writer and director soon to push the project into production.
Continue reading “Monday Movie Report: Biopics of Sammy Davis Jr., Marvin Gaye in the works”
I’m not usually a stickler for 100 percent historical accuracy, but even I have to admit that “The Greatest Showman” takes a battle axe to P.T. Barnum’s true story.
The film tells the story of how Barnum (Hugh Jackman) went from a poor boy coming from nothing to a well-known showman who creates entertainment via circus acts. It doesn’t just do this in any ordinary manner, though. Instead, the film goes into full musical mode right off the bat and never lets up.
As the movie goes on, it explores Barnum trying to balance his family life with his wife Charity (Michelle Williams) and his business, which he runs with help from his partner Phillip (Zac Efron).
Continue reading “REVIEW: Catchy Songs Don’t Save Rushed Story In ‘Greatest Showman’”
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, who’ve co-starred before, reunite on screen for “La La Land,” which is arguably the best movie of their careers.
A true love letter to old Hollywood, “La La Land” kicks off by telling the story of Mia (Stone), an aspiring actress in Los Angeles. The key word is aspiring, as Mia is unable to catch attention in her auditions. Gosling, meanwhile, plays Sebastian who’s also a hopeful artist.
Sebastian is a pianist who’s all about jazz music and has a goal of opening a jazz club. Eventually, the two characters meet, a relationship develops and the film explores the effect it has on their dreams.
Continue reading “REVIEW: A True Delight, ‘La La Land’ Is 2016’s Most Charming Film”
The makers of “Minions” took a different direction in their latest animated film, “Sing.”
The picture tells the story of numerous characters living in a big city, all having dreams of being a performer. However, the film especially shines a spotlight on Buster Moon (Matthew McConaughey), the owner of a theater that’s fallen on hard times.
In order to save the theater and turn around his entire business model, Moon decides to have a signing competition. As a result, many different people from unique backgrounds come out to compete.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Sing’ Largely Forgettable Besides Fun Musical Numbers”
Director/Writer Warren Beatty took audiences to 1950s Hollywood in this period piece with a focus on billionaire Howard Hughes.
The film tells the story of two young residents of Los Angeles, Frank Forbes (Alden Ehrenreich) who works as a driver for Hughes and Maria Mabrey (Lily Collins), who the billionaire has hired as an actress in Hollywood.
As the film develops, both characters meet Hughes (played by Beatty) and the movie displays how the billionaire influences the directions of their lives and their relationship.
Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘Rules Don’t Apply’ Falls Apart Because Of Scattered Story, Lack Of Focus”
Matthew Liedke on Film 