Tag: Review

REVIEW: The past looms large in quality Netflix entry ‘Lost Daughter’

Longtime actress Maggie Gyllenhaal has made her feature directorial debut with this new Netflix film, and it’s a solid starting point.

Leda, portrayed by Olivia Colman, is the star of the “The Lost Daughter.” A writer and a professor, Leda is on a vacation in Greece during the film for some time to herself.

As she’s settling in, she meets another family who’s on vacation. As Leda begins to interact with the family more, mostly with the matriarch who has a young daughter, it causes her to look back on her own past, and the decisions she made as a parent.

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REVIEW: Biopic ‘Being the Ricardos’ drops the Ball

It’s easy to love “I Love Lucy.” But that’s not the case with “Being the Ricardos.”

The film stars Nicole Kidman, who portrays Lucille Ball, the actress well known for the series “I Love Lucy.” The movie picks up during a week of filming the “I Love Lucy” show, where the production has been impacted by some recent news.

Rumors are swirling around Hollywood about Ball possibly being associated with communism during the height of the Red Scare. The film follows how this affects production, and Ball’s marriage to her husband, Desi Arnaz (Javier Bardem).

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REVIEW: Don’t look at the screen when ‘Don’t Look Up’ is on

So, this movie sure got people talking.

“Don’t Look Up” is the latest feature from director/writer Adam McKay, and centers on a scenario where there’s a comet headed toward Earth. The scientists who discover the comet, Randall (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate (Jennifer Lawrence) immediately inform the federal government after their discovery, with the hope that action is taken.

Unfortunately, they’re not exactly met with a warm welcome at the White House. The president, played by Meryl Streep, is much more concerned with optics and doesn’t particularly trust scientific evidence. As a result, Randall and Kate have to try to work with an ineffective head of state, while also trying to get air-time in a world where’s there’s apparently just one television show.

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REVIEW: Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ doesn’t sizzle like its 60s counterpart

Tonight… Tonight… I’m rather disappointed tonight.

Because I didn’t enjoy this “West Side Story” adaptation as much as I hoped I would.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, this marks the second time the 1957 musical was adapted for the screen, the first released in 1961. In the film, there are two gangs in New York City the film revolves around, the Jets and the Sharks, the latter made up of Puerto Rican immigrants. Tensions have already been high between the two, but their battles appear ready to reach an even higher level of violence.

Before that takes place, though, both gangs end up at a dance. There, a former member of the Jets, Tony (Ansel Elgort), meets Maria (Rachel Zegler), the younger sister of the Sharks leader. While the two fall in love, their relationship only complicates the situation between the two groups.

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REVIEW: ‘Mitchells Vs The Machines’ never rises above mediocre

This movie and the new “Matrix” in a few weeks is only reinforcing my concern about a robot uprising.

As the title implies, this movie is about a family, named the Mitchells, taking on evil bots. While the whole family is included, though, the main focus is on Katie (Abbi Jacobson), a teen who’s preparing to go to college in California to study film. Her academic path has put her at odds with her dad Rick (Danny McBride), though, who’s never been interested in technology and enjoys the outdoors much more.

Knowing that he has one last chance to connect with his daughter before she leaves for school, Rick decides to take Katie, as well as his son Aaron (Michael Rianda) and wife Linda (Maya Rudolph) on a college move-in road trip. Unfortunately, their journey is interrupted by the robots who’re in the midst of a global takeover because of an A.I. gone bad.

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REVIEW: Despite star power, Netflix’s ‘Red Notice’ is a dud

Film is an interesting medium. Movies can be both an amazing piece of art and a product to make profit.

Sometimes, though, a movie feels too much like it’s just a product, and that’s how “Red Notice” comes across.

In this new Netflix movie, Dwayne Johnson stars as John Hartley, an FBI agent who’s working with Interpol to arrest one of the best art thieves in the world, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds). Nolan’s latest target to steal is a rare Egyptian artifact, as only three of its kind exist in the world.

After a chase, both Nolan and John get set up by another art thief, who goes by The Bishop (Gal Gadot). Both are sent to prison, as John has been framed as an accomplice, and now must work together to take down Bishop and, potentially, get the Egyptian artifact in the process.

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REVIEW: ‘Power of the Dog’ is a well crafted character study that digs deep

The concept of masculinity is explored and deconstructed in this new Netflix feature, set where the prairies meet the Rocky Mountains.

“Power of the Dog,” directed by Jane Campion, takes place during the 1920s in Montana. Benedict Cumberbatch stars as Phil Burbank in the film, a tough cattle rancher with a rough personality.

While Phil seems mystified by the life of a rancher in the western side of the nation, his brother George (Jesse Plemons) is less fascinated by the cowboy career and has ambitions of settling down. He does just that when he meets and later marries a restaurant owner named Rose (Kirsten Dunst). The film then follows how Phil often finds himself at odds with the rest of his family.

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REVIEW: ‘Tick, Tick… Boom’ is an enjoyable, touching tribute

The legacy of late composer Jonathan Larson is honored in this new Netflix feature, based on his own autobiographical musical, “Tick, Tick… Boom.”

Andrew Garfield stars as Larson in the movie, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda. The film has a framing device of Larson of performing “Tick, Tick… Boom” as a one man show, where he tells the story of himself in 1990, struggling to get a new production off the ground.

That production is “Superbia,” and the story Larson tells includes details about how he worked at a small diner, his strained relationships because of his focus on his work and how he grieved for friends he lost to the AIDS epidemic.

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REVIEW: Disney’s ‘Encanto’ is mostly average

“Encanto” invites audiences to spend time at a home where residents have various super powers.

It’s like a less intense version of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters.

Mirabel (Stephanie Beatriz) is the main character in “Encanto,” and also happens to be the one member of her family without powers, making her the odd one out. For generations, her family has been gifted with powers, allowing them to create a safe, comfortable community in Columbia.

In most cases, Mirabel is overshadowed in her family, especially by her older sisters Luisa (Jessica Darrow) and Isabela (Diane Guerrero). However, she uncovers an issue with the source of her family’s magic and becomes the one person determined to set things right, even without powers.

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REVIEW: ‘House of Gucci’ grabs a viewers’ attention, despite flaws

Al Pacino hasn’t been in a family this intense since the Corleones.

“House of Gucci” follows the famous fashion family from the late 70s until the dynasty fell apart in the mid-90s. The movie’s main focus is on Patrizia (Lady Gaga), a woman who in 1978 met and married one of the Gucci heirs, Maurizio (Adam Driver).

From there, the movie follows how the two maneuvered to gain more power in the family. Their efforts to do so put them in conflict with other members of the family, and eventually, each other.

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