Tag: Review

REVIEW: ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ is mostly engaging, but also overlong

The title “Anatomy of a Fall” may imply this movie is all about a person’s death, but this foreign film analyzes much more.

Taking place in southeast France, “Anatomy of a Fall” opens with the death of Samuel Maleski (Samuel Theis), who appears to have been killed by a fall from one of  his home’s top floors. An autopsy, though, finds he suffered an injury before he hit the ground.

This puts suspicion on Samuels’s wife Sandra (Sandra Huller), and after some investigation, she is arrested and brought to trial. The film then explores the cause of the death through the trail, as well as a marriage that was fracturing long before the inciting incident.

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REVIEW: Excessive depravity doesn’t salvage ‘Saltburn’

“Saltburn” is an appropriate title for this flick, because things get really salty, and then some.

Set in 2006, “Saltburn” opens at Oxford University where young student Oliver Quick (Barry Keoghan) is just beginning to attend on a scholarship. He initially struggles to fit in among many wealthier peers, but manages to eventually befriend another student, Felix (Jacob Elordi).

After forming a friendship, Felix invites Oliver to spend the summer at his family’s mansion, titled Saltburn. There, Oliver experiences parties, sex, drugs and all of the other things available to the rich. However, the setting becomes tense as Oliver begins showing darker tendencies.

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REVIEW: Disney drops the ball with forgettable ‘Wish’

And I thought “Strange World” was underwhelming.

“Wish” is the latest animated feature from Disney and centers on Asha (Ariana DeBose), a young woman who lives in the kingdom Rosas, which is ruled by king and sorcerer Magnifico (Chris Pine). The land’s ruler has garnered a lot of support by taking wishes from his subjects and keeping them safe until he can later grant them.

Asha’s main goal is to become Magnifico’s apprentice, but during her interview process, she finds out Magnifico has rather nefarious motives with the wishes. Disillusioned, she makes her own wish on a star, and it actually works as a magical star does come down to help. With the aid of the star, Asha sets out to set things right in the kingdom.

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REVIEW: ‘May December’ is a successful dramatization of a dark story

You know that meme with the dog who’s sitting in a burning building, drinking coffee and saying “this is fine,” even though everything clearly isn’t? The characters in this movie seem to have that mentality.

“May December,” the latest film from director Todd Haynes, takes inspiration from the case of Mary Kay Letourneau, a teacher who raped her 12-year-old, sixth grade student, Vili Fualaau, and later gave birth to his child. The two were eventually married after her prison sentence.

Those individuals were the basis for Julianne Moore’s Gracie and Charles Melton’s Joe. The film takes place many years after the affair between the married couple began, and centers on an actress, Elizabeth (Natalie Portman), who is visiting Gracie and Joe to prepare for her portrayal of the former in an independent film. Continue reading “REVIEW: ‘May December’ is a successful dramatization of a dark story”

REVIEW: ‘Napoleon’ is a considerable, but incomplete portrait of French ruler

Ambition is something leaders of nations should have. However, when that ambition is only self-serving, it can end in disaster, as Ridley Scott’s “Napoleon” shows.

The film picks up right in the midst of the French Revolution, with Napoleon Bonaparte (Joaquin Phoenix), then an army officer, in attendance for the beheading of Queen Marie Antoinette. From there, the film follows how he built popularity with military accomplishments and used political maneuvers to gain power in France.

The film then explores his military campaigns as Emperor of France while also dramatizing his relationship with his wife Josephine (Vanessa Kirby).

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REVIEW: ‘The Killer’ is a brisk, finely crafted thriller

Director David Fincher has made another solid film on Netflix. Now here’s hoping he makes a third season of “Mindhunter” for the streaming service.

Let’s stick with his latest film, though. With “The Killer,” Fincher returns to the thriller genre, and gives audiences insight into the mind of an expert assassin. Playing the main character, who is only referred to as the Killer, is Michael Fassbender.

The film follows the character returning home from a job only to find someone close to him has been attacked. Knowing the perpetrators are still out there and could potentially strike again, the Killer sets out to eliminate the threats.

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REVIEW: ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s’ squanders fun concept

It’s a tale as old as time, or at least as old as the early 90s. A concept works quite well as a video game, but doesn’t quite translate well to film.

The latest example is “Five Nights at Freddy’s,” a horror game franchise with a lot of popularity that has been made into a movie. The film stars Josh Hutcherson as Mike, who has to spend his nights at Freddy’s, a defunct brand similar to Chuck E Cheese, known for its animatronic mascots.

His stay there is out of desperation, as the security guard role at the dilapidated family restaurant is the only job he can get, and he needs it to continue being a guardian to his sister Abby (Piper Rubio). As Mike soon learns, working at the property can be rather creepy, as it has a dark history that lives on through the seemingly shut down animatronic animals.

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REVIEW: Poor narrative breaks ‘Exorcist: Believer’

Keep those tubular bells ringin’, “The Exorcist” series is back. However, unfortunately, the quality of the original film is not.

In this entry to the franchise, Leslie Odom Jr. plays Victor, a single father whose wife died during child birth due to the 2010 Haiti Earthquake. In the ensuing years, Victor loses his faith, but appears to be doing alright as a dad to his daughter Angela (Lidya Jewett).

His world gets turned upside down, though, when Angela and her friend Katherine (Olivia O’Neill) go missing. They’re eventually found, much to their parents’ relief. As time goes on though, it appears something sinister has latched on to the two girls. Continue reading “REVIEW: Poor narrative breaks ‘Exorcist: Believer’”

REVIEW: Fourth ‘Expendables’ is an empty experience

The Expendables are back… Well, a few of them are. A lot of the cast from previous movies didn’t come back for this one, probably with good reason.

Still helmed by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), the elite group of expendable mercenaries  are still taking on dangerous missions, but their latest adventure might have the highest stakes yet. The team is informed by the CIA that several nuclear weapons have fallen into the wrong hands.

To prevent any bombs from going off, the Expendables are hired to recover them and take out those behind the scheme. As part of the mission, they’re joined by some new mercenaries who offer additional combat skills.

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REVIEW: Latest ‘Equalizer’ offers adequate entertainment

Antoine Fuqua made the “Equalizer” trilogy. I watched the “Equalizer” trilogy. I guess the situation has been… equalized.

So sorry about that.

Denzel Washington returns as Robert McCall in “The Equalizer 3.” This time around, the semi-retired super agent finds himself wrapping up the takedown of a crime syndicate based in Sicily. While he’s successful in his bloody endeavor, he does get himself injured with a shot to the back. Eventually, as he’s leaving the area he falls unconscious.

Fortunately, he’s rescued by a passerby who takes McCall to a doctor in a small coastal village. The doctor cleans Robert’s wounds and helps him recover. During his time there, Robert finds peace in the charming town, but is troubled by the occasional presence of mafia members who harass local business owners.

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