Author Archive
Film Review – CODA
Writer/director Sian Heder’s CODA (2021) comes dangerously close to schmaltzy melodrama and in certain instances crosses that line. All the sappy elements are there: a young person coming of age, a family trying to understand one another during financial hardship, etc. These are the ingredients of your…
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Film Review – The Suicide Squad
The Suicide Squad (2021) is an exuberant, violent, and hilariously goofy superhero romp. It acts as an excellent course correction from the abysmal Suicide Squad (2016) and demonstrates – once again – that Warner Brothers and DC are willing to give their filmmakers more wiggle room with these…
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Film Review – Nine Days
What does it mean to be alive? What does to mean to have a soul? Is there more beyond the time of being born and passing away? These are just a few of the questions that permeate writer/director Edson Oda’s impressive feature length debut, Nine Days (2021).…
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Film Review – Annette
Director Leos Carax’s Annette (2021) is frustrating, surreal, and beautiful – and in certain flashes maybe even brilliant. It has all the facets of a romantic musical fantasy, but in a strange way works in opposition to the genre. There are themes of love and…
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Film Review – Jungle Cruise
There is an action scene in Disney’s Jungle Cruise (2021) set in a port town deep along the Amazon River. During the sequence, our heroes run and jump through wooden shacks and bustling marketplaces as bad guys chase them down. The scene then transitions into the river…
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Film Review – Old
A family travels together on a tropical vacation complete with a fancy resort, sandy beaches, and blue waters. On the surface, this would seem like the perfect time to relax, enjoy the sun, and escape one’s troubles for a few days. But in the hands…
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Film Review – Space Jam: A New Legacy
The cringe runs deep throughout Space Jam: A New Legacy (2021). Not only for the non-stop nostalgia factor, but for how Warner Brothers shamelessly pats itself on the back. The film constantly references its parent studio, inserting characters and scenes from a vast array of titles. We…
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Film Review – Fear Street Part 3: 1666
Fear Street Part 3: 1666 (2021), the finale of the Fear Street trilogy, is a solid closing act. It capitalizes on the potential of Fear Street Part 1: 1994 while correcting some of the mistakes of Fear Street Part 2: 1978. Its biggest achievement is how director Leigh Janiak (who co-writes…
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