Category: Reviews

Overlord (2018) Review

Overlord Review

2.5 out of 4 stars (2.5 / 4)

Overlord is loaded with fun and gory B-movie thrills (with impressive cinematography and production design to boot), even if the film leaves little in the way of surprises.

Overlord, directed by Julius Avery, is an American War Horror film, and the mishmash of genres alone should clue the audience into what they can expect regarding the film’s audacious intentions. When the retro title card is displayed at the top of the film’s intro, it is clear that Overlord isn’t shy about its objective to evoke classic B-movie thrills, not unlike Eli Roth and Quentin Tarantino’s 2007 double feature team up, Grindhouse. Unlike the exploitative low budget B-movies that served as the film’s inspiration, Overlord is paradoxically filled with impressive cinematography and eye-catching production design (thanks to a healthy dependence on practical effects).

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The Girl in the Spider’s Web Review

The Girl in the Spider's Web Review

3 out of 4 stars (3 / 4)

Claire Foy’s vulnerably fierce performance and the film’s fast-paced action in a visually striking setting make for a worthwhile vehicle for the iconic Salander character, even if it doesn’t hold a candle to Fincher’s 2011 masterpiece.

The Girl in the Spider’s Web is (confusingly) the film adaptation of the fourth Millennium series novel as well a sequel to the 2011 U.S. version of the premiere novel, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. When the news first hit that Sony had decided to skip two of the books in the series and essentially wipe the board clean with a new director and a new cast, it was alarming for fans to say the least. Continue reading “The Girl in the Spider’s Web Review”

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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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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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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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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Bad Times at the El Royale Review

Bad Times at the El Royale Review

3 out of 4 stars (3 / 4)

The chaotic unpredictability of the premise combined with a perfectly cast all-star ensemble makes the El Royale well-worth checking into.

Bad Times at the El Royale is the latest mystery thriller from writer and director Drew Goddard (Cloverfield, The Cabin in the Woods) featuring a star-studded cast including the likes of Jeff Bridges, Jon Hamm, and Chris Hemsworth. The story is set sometime during the 1970s where we are presented with the “El Royale,” a dubious hotel that seems to operate as a safe haven for individuals of questionable morality.

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A Simple Favor Review

A Simple Favor Review

3 out of 4 stars (3 / 4)

A delightfully crazy cocktail of crime thriller elements and knowing winks makes A Simple Favor a wildly entertaining parody of past domestic mysteries Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train.

A Simple Favor is the latest mystery thriller adapted from a bestselling novel featuring the unreliable narrator storytelling technique and taking place in the false security of the suburbs. Watching the trailer and reading the synopsis, it would be easy to write off the story as a second-rate version of Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, as the influences from this smash hit are readily apparent. Interestingly enough, the 2017 Darcey Bell novel’s similarity to the 2014 smash hit was the very reason movie studios were clamoring to obtain the film rights prior to the book’s publication. With funnyman Paul Feig at the helm though it becomes clear that much like the central mystery of Emily’s disappearance, there is more to this tale than meets the eye.

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