Tag: Review

REVIEW: ‘Armageddon Time’ is moving, but storytelling has troubles

Despite what the title implies, this is not a Roland Emmerich disaster movie.

Instead, it’s a coming of age drama focused on the life and times of middle schooler Paul Graff (Banks Repeta) over the course of the 1980 Presidential Election. Paul, whose story was inspired by director James Gray’s own childhood, attends public school in New York City, which his parents aren’t entirely sold on.

His brother already attends a private school and, with financial support from his grandparents, Paul’s mom (Anne Hathaway) and dad (Jeremy Strong) think he should do the same. This is eventually set in motion when Paul and his black friend Johnny (Jaylin Webb) get in trouble at school.

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REVIEW: ‘TÁR’ is a terrific portrayal of a downfall

Just like the music featured in the film, “Tár” is beautiful, gripping and epic.

The film is about Lydia Tár (Cate Blanchett), a superstar composer and conductor who accomplished an EGOT and now leads the distinguished Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. The film opens with her on a tight schedule, conducting an interview in New York City, teaching a class at Juilliard School and then flying back to Berlin to prepare for a new concert.

Despite her busy lifestyle, Tár’s career seems well on track for continued success and she also appears to be in a loving relationship with her wife, Sharon (Nina Hoss). However, actions in her past and present begin to damage her life and legacy.

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REVIEW: ‘Black Adam’ is a botched attempt at an anti-hero

‘This isn’t a traditional superhero!’ The movie shouts at us as it takes the route of a generic superhero movie.

Dwayne Johnson stars as the titular character in this film taking place in DC’s cinematic universe. A being with tremendous power, Adam was sealed by magic within a tomb 5,000 years ago after defeating an evil tyrant in the kingdom of Kahndaq.

The film picks up in the present day with Adam being being summoned back in the midst of Kahndaq once again being in turmoil, with outside forces subjugating its people and exploiting the natural resources. Many in Kahndaq see Adam’s return as a good thing, as he has the power to liberate them, but others on Earth see him as a threat, and a special unit of super powered beings are sent to reign him in.

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REVIEW: ‘Halloween Ends,’ thankfully

A trilogy with a promising start, a messy middle and a head-scratching finale that makes you think they didn’t plan things through.

It applied to the new “Star Wars” films and it’s how this recent “Halloween” series went, too.

“Halloween Ends” picks up four years after the events of the first two films in the trilogy. After killing Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) daughter and many others on Halloween in 2018, Michael Myers has completely disappeared. Laurie is now living with her granddaughter Allyson (Andi Matichak) and is writing a book about her experiences.

Fate causes their paths to cross with Corey (Rohan Campbell), a young man who after was involved in a fatal incident which was blamed on him. While Laurie is first sympathetic to Corey, she soon learns that he might be a factor in Myers coming back.

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REVIEW: ‘Smile’ will have horror fans smiling

Here in Minnesota, we know all about misleading smiles. It’s called being passive aggressive. The smiles in this film, though, are much more devilish.

Parker Finn makes his feature directorial debut with this new horror film, with Sosie Bacon playing the protagonist Rose. A doctor in a psychiatric ward, Rose regularly works with patients and it’s what brings her into contact with a troubled woman at the movie’s start.

The woman, a PhD student, says she’s been seeing a sinister figure who takes the form of people with an evil grin, before taking her own life. At first, Rose deduces that the woman must have been suffering from a mental ilness, until the same evil force begins appearing before her, too.

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REVIEW: ‘Amsterdam’ collapses as plot becomes convoluted

Director David O. Russell’s latest film shows he still hasn’t managed to recapture the spark that he had with 2012’s “Silver Linings Playbook.”

In O. Russell’s new feature, which he also wrote, Christian Bale stars as Burt Berendsen. A veteran of World War I where he lost an eye, Burt is a doctor working in New York City, where he often crosses paths with friend and lawyer Harold Woodman (John David Washington).

The movie picks up with the two men being hired by a woman to investigate the mysterious death of her father. Things go wrong, though, when the woman dies and they are framed for her murder. To clear their name, they start an investigation into what’s going on, and get help from a woman named Valerie (Margot Robbie), who they met in Europe during WWI.

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REVIEW: ‘Bros’ is a winner thanks to sharp humor and genuine heart

Romantic comedies can often be predictable but if they make you care about the relationship and make people laugh, it’s a success.

“Bros” does just that, and more.

In the film, Bobby (Billy Eichner) is a successful podcast host and is on the leadership team working toward opening a museum dedicated to LGBTQ+ history. While his career is going well, though, his love life isn’t all that active, as he’s reluctant toward long term relationships.

That is until he meets Aaron (Luke Macfarlane), who he hits it off really well with. Aaron, another person with little luck in romance and hesitancy toward commitment, also really comes to like Bobby. The two begin dating, but they have to overcome some of their previous concepts on love to make their relationship work.

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REVIEW: ‘Barbarian’ successfully brings horror to the Airbnb scene

Ah, Detroit. Home of the Red Wings, thick square pizza and, according to this movie, cavernous, dungeon-like basements.

Tess (Georgina Campbell) is in Detroit for a job interview and, rather than rent a hotel room, she decided to stay at an Airbnb. She successfully arrives at the location, but, to her surprise, it’s already occupied by another individual, Keith (Bill Skarsgard).

As it turns out, both Tess and Keith managed to rent the same property through different websites. With a storm raging outside and few vacancies around, Keith suggests Tess stay at the house and they work things out the next day. Tess agrees, but right from the start, she notices strange things about the home.

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REVIEW: Toss this ‘Invitation,’ the event isn’t worth going

“The Invitation” is a film with a rather entertaining finale. It’s just a shame an audience has to sit through a whole lot of nothing to get there.

Nathalie Emmanuel stars as Evie in this supposed horror picture. The film picks up with the aspiring artist and catering server learning more about her ancestry, and, as it turns out, she is related to a wealthy family in England and decides to meet-up with her newly discovered cousin, Oliver (Hugh Skinner).

Oliver extends an invitation to Evie to meet more of her relatives at a wedding event being held at an estate belonging to Walter (Thomas Doherty), a longtime family friend. While a bit nervous about all the new developments, Evie decides to travel to England for the wedding. However, just as she starts to settle in, Evie begins noticing some creepy things.

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REVIEW: Elba and B-movie excitement salvage ‘Beast’

Some of Idris Elba’s characters in his career would probably stand a good chance beating a lion, such as the sword-wielder Heimdall from the “Thor” series or the sharpshooter Bloodsport from “Suicide Squad.”

Unfortunately for his character in “Beast,” Elba plays just a regular guy who has to protect his family from a big cat in Africa. He portrays Dr. Nate Samuels in the film, father of Norah (Leah Jeffries) and Meredith (Iyana Halley).

Nate is trying to rebuild his relationship with his daughters in “Beast,” after the two girls lost their mother and felt their dad wasn’t around enough. Nate’s plan is to bring the family on a tour of a wildlife reserve where his friend Martin (Sharlto Copley) works. Things are going well enough until they are attacked by a vicious lion and are placed in a battle for survival.

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