Archive for the 'Movie Reviews' Category
April 14th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
After mixing it up with bigger stars and budgets with Begin Again starring Kiera Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, writer/director John Carney has taken things back down a notch with the incredibly winning Sing Street. This film takes the sweetness found in Carney’s breakout film, Once, and enlivens the material with an attitude akin to Son of Rambow. As a result, Sing Street is a very charming coming-of-age story, with a number of successful ideas put into action and a killer soundtrack.
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Continue reading ‘‘Sing Street’ Rocks (Movie Review)’
April 14th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
When you have a premise that is as easy-going as watching characters interact in a barbershop, it’s not too much of a wonder to figure why it’s enjoyable. Coming in more than a decade after the last entry in this series, Barbershop: The Next Cut may have changed the setup a bit, but there is a real ease to which we accept the atmosphere of this film. Everyone seems so comfortable in their roles, which is important, as the film balances comedy, honest opinions and social agendas that have a real place in the world of today. This all ends up making The Next Cut the best entry yet in a series that has always been fairly likable.
Continue reading ‘‘Barbershop: The Next Cut’ Is The Best Trip To The Shop Yet (Movie Review)’
April 12th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
Seeing is truly believing when watching this live-action remake of The Jungle Book. Featuring one living actor on screen and a plethora of astonishing visuals created by Weta Digital surrounding him, there is plenty here to mesmerize a viewer as if they were staring into the eyes of Kaa. Further adding to the argument that CG visuals can easily invest a viewer if the film works overall, director Jon Favreau has made a fun and exciting all-ages adventure.
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April 6th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
It is great to be surprisingly entertained by something. I am never seeing a movie with hopes to not enjoy it, but I have been decidedly mixed on the films of Melissa McCarthy. This is why I am so happy to say that I not only enjoyed another movie featuring her in a starring role, but also happened to find her hysterical in it. Maybe I just wanted to laugh, but The Boss won me over like a boss.
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Continue reading ‘‘The Boss’ Gave Me A Raise In Spirit (Movie Review)’
April 5th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
At its very best, Hardcore Henry has a lot in common with 2006’s Crank, starring Jason Statham. Both films have the sort of logic you would find in a video game and rarely take their foot off the gas to deliver anything all that deep. The difference is getting a personality you enjoy from Statham, while Hardcore Henry plays as a first person shooter, where the hero has no discernible personality. It makes for a decent one-time watch in terms of visual ambition, but the action we see hardly qualifies the film for higher acclaim.
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March 30th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
I sometimes wonder how difficult it is to make something look easy. Writer/director Richard Linklater has largely specialized in putting together films that depict people acting natural enough, talking (sometimes philosophically) and occasionally involving themselves in some kind of activity. From his simpler efforts like Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight to his acclaimed epic, Boyhood, this filmmaker style has been permeating throughout his career. It applies once again to Everybody Wants Some!!, an incredibly enjoyable hangout movie, with some wonderful depth hidden just beneath the surface.
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Continue reading ‘‘Everybody Wants Some!!’ And You Should Want This Film Too (Movie Review)’
March 23rd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
A biopic like I Saw the Light feels like the result of a film that relies on a well-cast lead performance to make up for everything it lacks. With this film specifically, there is a lot that it lacks due to its unfocused nature and a misunderstanding of what it means to display the mystique of it subject. Tom Hiddleston puts his all into the role of Hank Williams, but this film has very little to offer.
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Continue reading ‘‘I Saw The Light’ And It Was Pretty Dull (Movie Review)’
March 23rd, 2016 by Brian White
It seems like forever since the mighty Aaron Neuwirth wrote of the manic news that broke at San Diego Comic-Con 2013 here, which surprised the six thousand plus fans in attendance with news that the direct follow-up to the very divided Man of Steel entry would not necessarily be a solo outing, but also would include the infamous Caped Crusader, Batman. Reports then quickly poured in that the film would also prominently feature Wonder Woman in a somewhat lead role and service as a launching pad springing viewers right into the fabled Justice League movie everyone has been asking for long before The Avengers became so wildly successful. You remember that George Miller incarnation, don’t you? So here we are some three years later. I thought this day would never come. While I was not the biggest fan of Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (review here), I wanted to come out of Tuesday’s press screening of Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice with a huge a$$ grin from ear-to-ear on my face. However, before we jump the gun and talk about what really went down, let’s kick this movie review off with the quote that gave both the boys and girls in attendance within Hall H at Comic-Con 2013 instant boners. Continue reading ‘Darkness, Camera, Action! ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’ (Movie Review)’
March 22nd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
At its very best, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice depicts sequences ripped straight out of an Alex Ross comic book. When at its worst, this is a cold, muscled-up film that has the feel of something written by Frank Miller, minus the irony. There is far too much on display for me to call one of the biggest superhero movie match-ups of all time bad or not worth your time, but the direction this film takes does see some of the biggest fears being realized. The story and characters fall flat in a gorgeously filmed world that, while mostly exciting, often misplaces the fun.
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Continue reading ‘‘Batman v Superman’ Is Gorgeous And Grim, With Little Room For Fun (Movie Review)’
March 19th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
There’s something pretty cool about seeing an indie director with a knack for human drama take on a genre film. Okay, so that applies to almost any newbie director handed the keys to a franchise, but how about one who has developed the story himself and is allowed by a studio to make such a movie completely in his own voice? Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, Mud) has accomplished such a task with Midnight Special, a fantastic sci-fi chase movie that is undeniably a film he developed and put to screen.
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Continue reading ‘‘Midnight Special’ Provides A Stunning Close Encounter With Complete Filmmaker Freedom (Movie Review)’
March 17th, 2016 by Bron Anderson
Can we just give Don Cheadle all the awards right now? Miles Ahead, Cheadle’s directorial debut, which also showcases his talents as co-writer and lead actor, is a unique and moving biopic about a unique and moving individual, Miles Davis. Not satisfied to just check off the boxes of events in Davis’ life, Cheadle (Hotel Rwanda, Boogie Nights) has crafted a masterpiece of cinema, jarringly jumping around in time to show events that help the audience better understand the complexity of a troubled, but genius mind. This is a perfect blend of scenes that fold in on each other with quiet subtlety and simultaneously explode outward with grandiose vigor, mirroring the effect that the music of Miles Davis had a tendency to create. Combining all those elements with a virtuoso acting performance from Cheadle, a soundtrack that spans Davis’ long career as a musician, surprisingly adept comedy beats, tight, gripping editing, and stellar support from Ewan McGregor (Trainspotting, Big Fish) and Emayatzy Corinealdi (“Hand of God”) creates a triumphant, striking work of art. Continue reading ‘SXSW Review: Miles Ahead’
March 16th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
There is something to be said for the third film in a franchise (based on three books) that can essentially reboot itself with the same characters. While the Divergent series wasn’t over, Insurgent did leave things in a curious position. Now we are getting more answers, but while Allegiant may be an improvement over the previous entry, its ideas and concepts are bleeding together with other stories of similar ilk.
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March 10th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
Putting aside the marketing and whatever connections made to another monster movie, 10 Cloverfield Lane is a nifty little thriller that delivers on tension and performances. Shrouding a film like this in secrecy works as an interesting experiment, but what matters is how effective it is. As a result, regardless of where this flick came from, a fine job has been done in bringing a slick sense of discovery to a very simple setup.
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March 8th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
In an age where drone warfare has become a go-to topic for many action blockbusters dabbling in societal commentary, Eye in the Sky pauses everything to go over what it means to carry out one drone mission. With a fine cast in place, director Gavin Hood manages to build plenty of tension over the course of 90 minutes where characters debate whether or not to press a button. Working well to provide insight on the legalities of these matters, I found the level of engagement with this film to be quite high.
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March 5th, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
Adam McKay, the director of Anchorman and Step Brothers, has now won an Oscar for making a film that works tremendously well as a scathingly funny indictment of America’s most recent financial crisis. Here is a movie that eschews proper characters arcs in favor of being a terrifying lecture about how things went so wrong in the form of a greatly entertaining film. With an all-star cast and plenty to say, The Big Short is a big winner. Now learn how the Blu-ray stacks up.
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a Continue reading ‘The Big Short (Blu-ray Review)’
March 3rd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
It may be more worthwhile to examine the ‘what if’ scenario of what a superhero film directed by Terrence Malick would be like, rather than try to decipher his latest feature, Knight of Cups, but I’m going for it anyway. At the risk of repeating himself to the point of self-parody, one of the most elusive auteur directors has returned with an LA odyssey that could easily be rated ‘O’ for obscure. It almost defies reason to label the film as good or bad, but depending on one’s appreciation of Malick’s style as of late, there will be varying levels of tolerance for what this film has to offer.
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March 3rd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
It can be tricky watching a film about a small town versus a tsunami, as it means wanting to get enough involvement with certain characters, but not feeling too manipulated. It is this kind of fine line that makes certain disaster movies work and other stumble, no matter how good the effects are. Norway’s answer to Hollywood disaster films, The Wave, makes things incredibly simple, as the focus is confidently narrow and the premise is quite understandable.
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March 2nd, 2016 by Aaron Neuwirth
Pushing convention aside, it is great to get a comedy where smart characters actually do and say smart things. That should be simple enough, yet so many films fail to deliver. Time and time again, we watch supposedly smart characters commit the most idiotic of actions to drive a plot forward. Whiskey Tango Foxtrot is a war comedy that may not push any sort of agenda very hard, but does well by its characters.
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After mixing it up with bigger stars and budgets with Begin Again starring Kiera Knightley and Mark Ruffalo, writer/director John Carney has taken things back down a notch with the incredibly winning Sing Street. This film takes the sweetness found in Carney’s breakout film, Once, and enlivens the material with an attitude akin to Son of Rambow. As a result, Sing Street is a very charming coming-of-age story, with a number of successful ideas put into action and a killer soundtrack.
