Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category
March 17th, 2017 by Jason Coleman
With a slight divine diversion last week, we’re back to the past picture prowess of all things 80’s – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Today we’re heading down the road in one good-looking car from hell guaranteed to get your cinematic wheels turning. It’s a tasty terror tale ala one of the movie masters of suspense John Carpenter (we’re gonna be paying tribute to his work the next few weeks – deal with it!) that features an unusual relationship between a man and his…Plymouth Fury? Obsession, jealousy and plenty of car carnage awaits when you ride shotgun inside…Christine!
Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Christine”’
March 17th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
When a person watches 23 films over 9 days, it can be difficult to find the time to write enough about all of them. Also, with over 150 different films to choose from, it is nearly impossible to pick all winners. I have tried to cover the bigger films of the festival this year and getting those reviews out has been a priority. However, I have seen a bunch that kinda fall into this middle ground that when I sit down to write about them, I can’t really find a lot to say… and then I have to rush out to catch another film back in downtown Austin. So, I have encapsulated (if I might borrow a term from my colleague on this site) some thoughts on the more average or somewhat bad films I have seen here in this post just to put the thoughts somewhere. Continue reading ‘The Good, The Meh, and The Messy Films of SXSW (SXSW Review)’
March 17th, 2017 by Jason Coleman
Indie films stretch vastly over high and low dog ratings this week – not to mention covering the full spectrum of genres to boot! Unlikely superheroes, ex-boyfriend and father bonding, sci-fi wackos, elder basketball star docs, horrific curses, deadly office games and damaged gals seeking revenge fill out the seven films that make up the Encapsulated Movie Reviews this week. Check out the cinematic skinny on They Call Me Jeeg, All Nighter, Atomica, Coming Back To The Hoop, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, The Belko Experiment and Psychos below!
Continue reading ‘Encapsulated Movie Reviews – Seven New Indie Titles’
March 17th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
The Big Sick is an uproariously funny comedy that had to tread a very difficult line since a major portion of the film takes place in a hospital and has one of the major characters in a coma. A film written by and starring Kumail Nanjiani (“Silicon Valley”), directed by Michael Showalter (Wet Hot American Summer), and produced by Judd Apatow (Trainwreck) should, on those names alone, have enough buy-in to get lovers of comedy into the theater. Once in the theater, though, this movie will surprise audiences with its tenderness and heart and then leave them straining to hear lines as laughter fills the auditorium. A tone-perfect, Apatow-style rom-COM, The Big Sick will be the summer date movie that has everyone falling out of their seats.
Continue reading ‘The Big Sick (SXSW Review)’
March 17th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
Where Straight Outta Compton showed the hard-edge, down and dirty, fighting-for-justice story of NWA, G-Funk, in a way that somewhat mirrors the musical sound itself, documents the smoother and sweeter turn that Warren G, Snoop Dogg, and Nate Dogg brought to West Coast hip-hop music in the early 90s. First time director Karam Gill and producer Warren G assembled some big musical names from the era to tell a number of entertaining stories or drop memorable lines that make the film highly entertaining and a must watch for any fan of music from that time period. The music in the background of these interviews and clips should be enough to get someone in the door, but the overall story is well crafted, with an infectiously optimistic undercurrent that stands on its own. Continue reading ‘G-Funk (SXSW Review)’
March 16th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
Say whatever you want about the reasoning, but director Danny Boyle has finally determined it was time to make his sequel to Trainspotting. While Shallow Grave was the debut for Boyle, Ewan McGregor and writer John Hodge, Trainspotting was their breakout hit from back in 1996. Now, over 20 years later, while not a direct adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s Porno, the sequel novel to his Trainspotting, we have what amounts to a mostly enjoyable check-in with the same characters. While T2 Trainspotting may not be willing enough to stick to capturing a sense of the moment like the first film, it does work best when it allows for perspective to settle in on this older crew of former junkies and criminals.
Continue reading ‘Boyle Cooked Up Another Solid Round With The ‘Trainspotting’ Crew (Movie Review)’
March 16th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
It can be mean, alienating and condescending to tell something they don’t “get” a movie. Terrence Malick, a filmmaker who has gone from reclusive and rarely making films to prolific, yet still reclusive as a person, seems to be making a conscious effort to challenge the notion of understanding cinema. His recent output has maintained a level of focus in terms of key characters, but still plays as challenging works of art that feel practically like what dreams could look like on a more grounded level. Song To Song falls right in line with Knight of Cups and To The Wonder, let alone a part of the fallout that came from his magnum opus, The Tree of Life. The results are once again oblique and bound to divide audiences, but that hasn’t stopped Malick from standing as one of the most original voices currently working.
Continue reading ‘The Full Modern Malick Effect Continues In ‘Song To Song’ (Movie Review)’
March 15th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
Becoming Bond is a funny and intriguing blend of documentary and reenactment based around the story of the one-time James Bond, George Lazenby. The story is told by Lazenby in interview and some parts are filled in with actors in the style of the television series “Drunk History” to add some visual comedy to these over-the-top tales. The film succeeds at both helping to clear up the rumors behind what led to Lazenby only playing the iconic role in a single film and being a kind of origin story of the man himself as he retells nearly his entire life in amazing detail and honesty. Being a Bond fan is not a prerequisite for having a blast with this film, which will be on Hulu later this year. Continue reading ‘Becoming Bond (SXSW Review)’
March 15th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
With Disney currently raking in enough piles of money to put Scrooge McDuck’s Money Bin to shame, it seemed like only a matter of time before audiences would get a live-action re-imagining of one of their modern classics. Beauty and the Beast is special for many and it represents a high water mark for the Disney Renaissance. Given how well the live-action remakes of The Jungle Book and Cinderella turned out, one could justify the existence of this latest film quite easily. However, the reverence for this relatively recent (1991) classic seems to have been part of its own undoing. While confidently made and enjoyable enough, this beast seems to have little going on underneath the surface.
Continue reading ‘‘Beauty And The Beast’ Has Humans Again, But Only Adds So Much (Movie Review)’
March 14th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
Having only seen one of director Ben Wheatley’s (Kill List) films before, I had a distinct skepticism about the idea of waiting in line for his next release, Free Fire. The premise of a gun deal gone wrong didn’t really promise much in the way of depth and I knew from his previous work that he had a talent for veering off in completely unnecessary directions in his films, leaving them a disappointment. This film is not a disappointment. It is a tightly directed, charming, funny, and playful action comedy with a great cast and superb sound mixing that remains completely entertaining all the way up to the end. Continue reading ‘Free Fire (SXSW Review)’
March 13th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
The Disaster Artist is a hilarious and lovable tribute to the enigmatic and oddly admirable figure who is Tommy Wiseau, director of The Room. This film is really for those who love The Room for its off-the-wall absurdity and incomprehensibility, but there is enough setup and care given to establishing just what kind of person Tommy Wiseau, played by James Franco (127 Hours), is and what The Room means to him and Greg Sestero, played by Dave Franco (Now You See Me 2), that in context one could easily pick up what makes Tommy so worthy of a story. While this film, based on the book “The Disaster Artist: My Life Inside The Room, The Greatest Bad Movie Ever Made,” could have easily jumped into a parody of Wiseau and his eccentricities, Franco, who also directed the film, creates a respectful and heartfelt depiction of a man who really just wants to have a friend and follow his passion. Though, he did also fill the movie with all his funny friends and his brother and made a comedy out of a story about a very earnest but very weird man’s passion, so it is difficult to tell where parody and authenticity begin and end. Continue reading ‘The Disaster Artist [Work-In-Progress] (SXSW Review)’
March 13th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
Where David Leitch’s first film, John Wick seemed to come out of nowhere, delight the senses, and spend time blending its style and substance into a heart-filled tale of revenge and bulletplay that continuously wows, his second film Atomic Blonde is highly anticipated, remains cool and distant, and heavily favors style to compensate for a generic spy action movie that alternates between being boring and being showy. While it remains a slightly-better-than-average film and, with some reserved expectations, it could be a fine summer flick, Atomic Blonde will likely only really be remembered for one very excellent 15 minute long action scene. That and Charlize Theron (Mad Max Fury Road) puts in a heck of a physical performance as the titular blonde that shows how great she will be in a better action movie. Continue reading ‘Atomic Blonde (SXSW Review)’
March 11th, 2017 by Bron Anderson
The opening film of the SXSW Conference Film Festival this year was the documentary Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, which comes to Netflix later this year. What is described as and initially shot as a look at the involvement of wealthy individuals on the trial against Gawker Media and the purchase of a newspaper in Las Vegas starts quite small with some scandalous, but not too worrisome looks at isolated interests but begins to pull back to show the terrifying effect that powerful individuals can have on the freedom of the press. This, by no coincidence at all, comes just at the right time in the United States of America. Continue reading ‘Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (SXSW Review)’
March 10th, 2017 by Jason Coleman
Since one of the titles in this weeks Encapsulated Movie Reviews dealt with one man’s relationship with the almighty, it brought to mind another past classic comedy with some funny faith of its own – welcome to Forgotten Friday Flick! Today we’re heading into heavenly hilarity for some holy humor via the big guy himself. A tale that finally answers the question of is there a God and if so what’s he got to say – some amusing stuff it seems. Ask and ye shall receive, it’s…Oh, God!
Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Oh, God!”’
March 9th, 2017 by Jason Coleman
Lots of fabulous four-star fare this week via the indie film world, so let’s step past that big hairy Kong guy and get to some savory smaller stuff. Humans suing the almighty, scientology deeply dissected, frontier tales with biblical connections, the glory of gardening, female psychopaths, the heavy hitters of hockey and love triangles during wartime all get their viewing due via this weeks seven Encapsulated Movie Reviews. Check out the critical skinny on Frank vs. God, My Scientology Movie, Brimstone, This Beautiful Fantastic, Capture Kill Release, Ice Guardians and The Ottoman Lieutenant all below!
Continue reading ‘Encapsulated Movie Reviews – Seven New Indie Titles’
March 8th, 2017 by Aaron Neuwirth
Deep in the jungles of blockbuster cinema is a beast, or hero if you will, but he doesn’t wear a cape or much of anything. No, this hero simply stands 100 feet tall to fight off other monsters and delivers the kind of joy you want in a rip-roaring adventure that doesn’t forget to have fun. Kong: Skull Island features the return of King Kong, 1933’s 8th Wonder of the World and a classic movie icon who has stood the test of time. This latest adventure finds Kong on his home turf, with a mix of wild new beasts, an ensemble team of talented actors in thankless roles, and plenty of visual effects to provide incredibly action thrills. I dug this movie a lot.
a Continue reading ‘Welcome To ‘Kong’s Jungle (Movie Review)’
March 3rd, 2017 by Jason Coleman
Last Sunday the brilliant Bill Paxton passed and the world lost one amazing actor who had made our movie hearts soar for decades. With such memorable and quirky character roles as the bully brother Chet in John Hughes Weird Science, blowhard Private Hudson in James Cameron’s flawless Aliens and the cocky killer vampire Severen in Kathryn Bigelow’s Near Dark, Paxton created some of the most iconic on-screen roles during one very long and lush career that I was so proud to be able to grow up with and witness. (Plus for stunning standout stuff check out Carl Franklin’s One False Move and Sam Raimi’s A Simple Plan – five-star Paxton work!) From Trespass (a Walter Hill hidden gem) to Tombstone, True Lies to Apollo 13 and Twister to Titanic (and a little Edge of Tomorrow too!), Paxton was a movie man whose contribution to the cinema will indeed be missed. So I’m dedicated this week’s column to a Hitchcockian horror hidden gem that the late, great Paxton not only starred in, but also impressively made his feature film directing debut. A five-star terror tale that sends chills up the spine known as…Frailty. Continue reading ‘Forgotten Friday Flick – “Frailty” (Bill Paxton Tribute)’
March 2nd, 2017 by Jason Coleman
This is quite a wonderful week for indie flicks indeed. Not only are there films across all genres, but there are TWO five-star films on the list that are also in full contention for my Top Ten Films of 2017. (Viva the lush The Lure and cool Catfight!) Mermaids with mayhem in mind, gals with a grudge, body hoping demons, odd homecomings, tales of the undressed, coming to terms with the past and being trapped in a sandy prison are the subjects dissected in the seven films that make up this weeks Encapsulated Movie Reviews. Check out the skinny on The Lure, Catfight, Don’t Kill It, Donald Cried, Burlesque: Heart of the Glitter Tribe, Lavender and Deserted below!
Continue reading ‘Encapsulated Movie Reviews – Seven New Indie Titles’
