Category: Film Analysis Blog

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms Film Review

The Nutcracker Review

1.5 out of 4 stars (1.5 / 4)

Disney’s attempt at expanding on the mythology of the classic “Nutcracker” story is needlessly convoluted, with an overly familiar story that feels more like a big-budget holiday cash-grab than a creative re-imagination. Unlike the toy solider at the center of the story, The Nutcracker and the Four Realms never comes to life.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms follows in the footsteps of other edgy attempts from Disney to reinterpret beloved classics into original live-action versions. In an article I wrote earlier this week, I stated that Disney live-adaptations can fall into one of two categories – a straight retelling of a classic story or a creative expansion of the original. Apparently, I was wrong, as The Nutcracker manages not to fit into either category. It is essentially 2010’s Alice in Wonderland, repackaged with a blanket of fake snow and a Santa cap thrown on top for the holidays.

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Halloween (2018) Review

Halloween 2018 Review 4

3 out of 4 stars (3 / 4)

After a string of misguided sequels, Halloween’s refocus on Laurie Strode combined with nostalgia fueled moments proves that the boogeyman is still very much alive.

After more than a decade’s worth of sequels, reboots, and retcons, the Halloween series has been left with the unenviable task of figuring out where to go next with the iconic masked serial killer. Rather than completely reboot the series yet again, writer and director David Gordon Green has concocted the simple solution of merely continuing from where the beloved 1978 classic left off and ignoring every entry that has followed. Despite being a drastic maneuver, the film wisely focuses on original material and avoids throwing out the baby with the bathwater, as this is arguably the first sequel that feels remotely up to par with original.

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Are Live-Action Disney Films a Safe Bet?

Are Live Action Disney Films a Safe Bet

Why The Nutcracker’s release could impact the future of Disney films.

The Nutcracker and the Four Realms is the latest Disney live-action film that attempts to adapt a classic fairytale with cutting-edge CGI aimed at modern audiences. On paper, this release appears to be a safe venture for the House of Mouse. The Christmas-themed movie has the ideal release date at the official start of the holiday movie season. The film boasts high budget CGI spectacle as well as A-list actors in the form of Keira Knightley, Morgan Freeman, and Helen Mirren. Not to mention the film is based upon the legendary classic short story by E.T.A. Hoffmann. However, despite all of these factors, looking back over the past few years, it becomes clear that The Nutcracker is far from a safe bet at the box office.

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6 Types of Films Most Immune to Rotten Tomatoes

6 Types of Films Most Immune to Rotten Tomatoes

Why certain genres are more review-proof than others.

In recent years Rotten Tomatoes has become the ultimate judge regarding a film’s quality. This growth reached new heights during the Summer of 2017 when battle lines were officially drawn between studios and the review aggregate site. When the creative forces behind aspiring blockbusters The Mummy and Baywatch publicly stated that Rotten Tomatoes was responsible for killing their films at the box office, the power of the site was solidified. Studies from entertainment research firm National Research Group have validated this claim, as it has been reported that almost all moviegoers are consistently reliant on Rotten Tomatoes scores when forming a movie purchase decision.

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A Star is Born (2018) Review

A Star is Born Review

2.5 out of 4 stars (2.5 / 4)

A Star is Born is a triumph for first-time director Bradley Cooper. However, once  the novelty of the first-time successes of Cooper and Gaga wears off, it is apparent that the story is lacking in substance and doesn’t quite live up to the premise’s promise.

A Star is Born is one of those rare productions where the real-life circumstances going into the film’s creation perfectly mirror the story that is being told. The film is full of first-time achievements making it the sort of tale you are inclined to root for. Despite being the fourth remake of the story and being cautioned by Pearl Jam’s lead vocalist Eddie Vedder that this was a bad idea, Bradley Cooper has made his directorial debut to more fanfare than could possibly be expected.

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Critical Divide: Why First Man isn’t Landing with All Viewers

Critical Divide First Man

The 5 Biggest Reasons Critics and Audiences are Split on the Film

Despite soaring in terms of critical accolades, First Man seems to be crashing below box office expectations. The Neil Armstrong biopic landed in third place behind last week’s reigning champs, Venom and A Star is Born, with a $16.5 million domestic gross at the box office. Unlike director Damien Chazelle’s past films, First Man was made with a reported $70 million budget, meaning box office receipts of $20 million on opening weekend, while not disastrous, are probably less than studios were anticipating. Critical darlings such as this typically have long legs at the box office thanks to potential award buzz, but it’s troubling that the film, while not bombing, isn’t burning as brightly with audiences. While the consensus from audiences isn’t that they disliked the space drama, the film’s B+ CinemaScore and 65% from Rotten Tomatoes are light when compared to the near perfect scores critics have been awarding it.

Here are the 5 reasons why First Man isn’t landing perfectly with audiences.

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First Man (2018) Review

First Man Review

3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

First Man’s refusal to stray from hyper-focusing on the psyche of Neil Armstrong may be divisive for some viewers. However, director Damien Chazelle has created another captivating portrait of the pursuit of greatness and the nuances of what can drive us.

Biopics can be remarkably challenging to create, as there is often implicit pressure to respectfully portray a monumental event or individual without becoming overly hung up on historical details. The key to their effectiveness is to present the historical figure in a relatable human manner that will hopefully provide a new and compelling perspective. Director Damien Chazelle, coming off of his last two award winning films (Whiplash and La La Land) which explored the pursuit of personal ambitions, proves to be the perfect match to flesh out astronaut Neil Armstrong’s path to accomplishing the extraordinary feat of being the first man to walk on the Moon.

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The Neon Demon Revisited

The Neon Demon Revisited

In light of the soon to be released remake of giallo horror classic Suspiria, it seems as good a time as ever to reexamine a film that heavily nodded to the themes and aesthetic of that particular story. The Neon Demon had its wide release in the Summer of 2016 after receiving a medley of cheers and jeers during its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Despite possessing the name recognition from being helmed by Nicolas Winding Refn, the director responsible for every thinking man’s favourite action flick, Drive, the film barely made a dent at the box office and quickly fell into obscurity aside from a small cult following.

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Venom (2018) Review

Venom Movie Review

1.5 out of 4 stars (1.5 / 4)

Tonally jumbled, an abundance of plot contrivances, and a strange lead performance make ‘Venom’ far from a symbiotic experience. Especially for today’s viewer’s accustomed to the consistently top-quality superhero stories from the MCU.

The long-gestating Venom standalone film finally sees the light of day this weekend, and considering the extent to which superhero films have evolved over the last decade, the film is in a very crowded and competitive landscape. With the Marvel Cinematic Universe churning out endless high quality stories, the bar has never been higher for fledgling origin stories that are not explicitly connected to the MCU world. For Venom to thrive, it is essential that the story find a new angle to explore, and the idea of a protagonist with villainous tendencies could have fit the bill. Although the film does admittedly run with this approach, Venom is ultimately a failure due to how poorly constructed the film is, leaving one with the question “Why was this made?”

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Hell Fest Review

Hell Fest Review 2

1.5 out of 4 stars (1.5 / 4)

Hell Fest’s refusal to stray from the tired slasher formula and failure to adequately build suspense keeps a promising premise from being anything more than mildly forgettable Halloween-themed fun.

With October just around the corner, what better way to get ready than with a high-concept slasher set during Halloween. After The Nun proved to not quite scratch that horror itch, I was hoping that Hell Fest might bring horror fans some adequate scares. Despite the bad omens of Hell Fest’s director Gregory Plotkin being behind the lacklustre finale to The Paranormal Activity series and the lack of reviews covering the film, I was still holding out hope that the premise might be able to shake up the notoriously formulaic slasher genre. Unfortunately, the film’s tagline of “It’s fun going in. It’s hell getting out” proves to be prophetic, as this tale succumbs to almost every horror cliché in the book, resulting in a forgettable experience.

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