Category: Reviews

MARVEL’S RUNAWAYS Season 2: As Bingeable As Ever

Marvel's Runaways Season 2: As Bingeable As Ever

It would be an understatement to say that there are currently a lot of superhero themed shows available to viewers. From the CW, Netflix, ABC, and the recent DC Universe streaming service it is a crowded and competitive landscape. Hulu entered the ring in 2017 with Runaways, a teen drama best described as The OC meets the The Avengers based upon the successful Marvel comic book of the same name.

With its eclectically diverse cast of teammates and perfect blend of family drama with superhero stakes, Runaways managed to standout from its peers. Season two continues to capitalize on what makes the show so unique, making it a worthy successor that is as bingeable as ever.

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MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS: A Queen’s Place in a Man’s World

Mary Queen of Scots: A Queen's Place in a Man's World

2.5 out of 4 stars (2.5 / 4)

This historical drama is worth the price of admission alone for Margot Robbie’s transformative performance. However, plotting issues and overly imaginative historical inaccuracies get in the way and prevent Mary Queen of Scots from fully shining as a compelling character study.

Mary Queen of Scots, directed by Josie Rourke, is largely being marketed as a clash between two distinct queens who both believe themselves to be the rightful ruler of a divided country. With a screenplay from the former showrunner of House of Cards, Beau Willimon, it seems reasonable to expect a series of political maneuvers and machinations from each opposing monarch until a victor is ultimately crowned. The film, however, is largely not the story being advertised, as the film instead offers a feminist slant on historical events which cleverly plays with audience expectations of the ensuing conflict. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing as the film is suitably thought-provoking and  riveting at times, even if the story is not without its issues.

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THE CLOVEHITCH KILLER: A Twisted Coming of Age Story

The Clovehitch Killer Review

3 out of 4 stars (3 / 4)

Duncan Skiles’ creepy thriller works to simultaneously skewer the hypocrisy of religious extremists, while also contending that shying away from horrific realities can be just as terrifying as witnessing blood and gore. 

The Clovehitch Killer directed by Duncan Skiles, is a serial killer mystery thriller that details the horrors that can lurk beneath even the most affable of our surroundings. It also happens to be a coming-of-age tale, not unlike 2017’s Super Dark Times, wherein acts of extreme violence are used allegorically to evoke the terrors associated with leaving the safety of childhood behind. Unlike the former film which focused on outgrowing your childhood friends, The Clovehitch Killer explores this idea in the even more intimate context of family. The film poses questions related to challenging the beliefs that were imprinted onto you from an early age whilst also serving as a memorably chilling mystery that will hold you in mounting suspense throughout its runtime.

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‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ Review

If Beale Street Could Talk Film Review

3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

Barry Jenkins has followed up his 2016 masterpiece ‘Moonlight’ with the same artful poetry. Through its accomplished blend of moving musical score, striking cinematography, and impeccable ensemble acting, ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ captures all the sincerity of falling in love. It is impossible not to get swept away by this bittersweet poem about the power of optimism and community in an impossibly unjust environment.

Director Barry Jenkins returns to the big screen with his first film since his 2016 best-picture winning masterpiece Moonlight. While that coming of age drama revolving around the lifelong quest for identity was so powerful in part due to its exploration of sexuality in the context of the urban working class, its biggest strength was in the deeply personal poetic nature by which the film was told. In his follow up, Jenkins has adapted the 1970s novel If Beale Street Could Talk from influential social critic and novelist James Baldwin. It comes as no surprise to learn that the screenplay was written during the same time that Moonlight was written as Jenkins has created another mesmerizingly emotional tale of romance and sincerity.

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‘Aquaman’ (2018) Film Review

Aquaman (2018) Film Review

3 out of 4 stars (3 / 4)

Loud, shallow, and utterly entertaining. Aquaman is in capable hands with James Wan at the helm, as he has crafted a beautifully imaginative world that is a prime setting for the vibrant epic action spectacle. The film also serves as further evidence that the DCEU should stick to refreshing origin stories for now and put the collaborative team-up features on the back burner.

Despite being a legacy character within the DC comics ecosystem, Aquaman has long been the target of copious jokes in pop culture. This ridicule stems from the hero’s powers of communicating with aquatic life being viewed as useless when compared with his other super-powered peers. While his abilities are understandably not the most glamorous or awe inspiring, the character’s representation in the otherwise disappointing 2017 Justice League film capably demonstrated that the character can be a lot of fun thanks to Jason Momoa’s unique “surfer-bro” take on the character. This trend of being a distinctive character that audiences can rally behind continues in Aquaman, as the origin story offers a refreshing hero that is crowd-pleasingly entertaining.

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‘The Favourite’ (2018) Review

The Favourite Review
4 out of 4 stars (4 / 4)

Yorgos Lanthimos has brought to life another devilishly idiosyncratic story, this time tackling the audacious power plays of 18th century royalty. Between the talent behind the camera and the award worthy turns from the trio of actresses at the center, The Favourite is a wickedly original dark comedy and one of the best films of the year.

Around this timeframe each year, moviegoers are inundated with an endless barrage of films seemingly created with the sole intention of garnering awards and thereby bolstering the prestige of respective movie studios. For all their acclaim, these types of movies, coined as “Oscar bait,” often follow by the numbers stories that don’t dare to be original and are often still rewarded for their existence regardless. On the surface, a film such as The Favourite appears to be in this same vein with it being a historical period drama with the usual furnishing such as top-notch cinematography, a memorable soundtrack, as well as impeccable costume and production design. However, it is clear from the moment the characters begin to speak that this diabolically demented historical dramedy is anything but the usual fare up for awards consideration.

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‘Vox Lux’ Film Review

Vox Lux Review
3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

Through its intermixing of hot topic issues such as terrorism and school shootings with celebrity culture, Vox Lux is a darkly themed musical epic that is unlike anything you have ever seen. This examination of pop music featuring an award-worthy turn from Portman may prove too challenging for some viewers, but for those who found A Star is Born is Born too conventional this is definitely not to be missed.

After its world premiere at the 75th Venice International Film Festival, Vox Lux was quickly garnering attention with many touting it as the dark twin of A Star is Born due to the two’s similar themes. Vox Lux is a music-focused drama that attempts to explore every facet of fame; what ignites stardom, where it ultimately leads to, as well as the cost it will tax on the individual at the center of the popularity. It is an extraordinarily unique take on this timeless concept that the trailers don’t even begin to scratch the surface of.

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‘Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald’ Film Review

Fantastic Beasts 2 Review

1.5 out of 4 stars (1.5 / 4)

In an attempt to deepen the Potter mythology, The Crimes of Grindelwald forgot what made the first so remarkable. This results in a series that has lost its focus and is the first major misstep in the otherwise enchanting Wizarding World series.

When it was first announced that the Wizarding World of Harry Potter would live on through a spinoff series, it was understandable for fans to have their apprehensions as to whether this series would be anything more than a ploy to unnecessarily elongate the initial 8 film story. 2016’s Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them was however a strong entry that capably demonstrated there was still magic to be found in other corners of this enchanted world, and the presence of an orphaned boy with a lightning shaped scar was not required.

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Ralph Breaks the Internet Review

Ralph Breaks the Internet Review

3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

Ralph Breaks the Internet ups the complexity of its metaphors and tackles complicated, heartfelt themes of friendship, resulting in a superior sequel.

After travelling to the Disney fansite Oh My Disney!, there is a scene in Ralph Breaks the Internet in which Vanellope comes face to face with the entire roster of Disney Princesses from Cinderella to Elsa. At one point during this exchange, Merida, the lead princess from Pixar’s Brave, stumbles onto the screen with her thick Scottish accent being incoherent to all around her. When Vanellope asks her fellow princesses what Merida has said, she is offhandedly told that Merida is a Pixar Disney Princess whom they never can understand and they all proceed to smile and nod towards her. While in the grand scheme of Ralph Breaks the Internet, this exchange is nothing more than a throwaway gag, it cleverly underscores how the two Disney-owned animation studios have historically been divided.

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Widows (2018) Review

Widows Review

3.5 out of 4 stars (3.5 / 4)

A twisted labyrinth of a heist thriller that will hijack your notions of the genre and throttle you with surprise after surprise.

After directing 2014’s Academy Award Best Picture winner, 12 Years a Slave, acclaimed director Steve McQueen could have followed up with virtually any type of film he so desired. Despite focusing on quiet, historical dramas in the past, McQueen has taken a surprising left turn with his decision to adapt an acclaimed but somewhat obscure 1980s British TV show about a group of widows who inherit their criminal husbands’ problems. At a glance, a more adult version of Ocean’s 8 appears to be an odd choice. Perhaps this is why the director presents a short intro video before the film where he reveals that Widows has been a passion project of his for some time and he is overjoyed to finally present it to the world. Ultimately, this passion is evident in the finely crafted end product, as it becomes evident that the surprising choice of a project is the perfect precursor for a consistently unpredictable ride, as McQueen has created a heist film unlike any other.

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