Introduction The true story sports drama is a tried-and-true genre, with Disney being the most prolific. Starting with Cool Runnings (Jon Turteltaub, 1993), they have released them regularly as part of their theatrical slate. These films often make my top ten films of the year, mostly because of how inspiring they are. I think most [...]
Ti West completes his trilogy of fame and horror with "MaXXXine," a direct sequel to 2022's "X." In the first film, West perfectly mimicked the 70's slasher feel. The follow-up prequel, "Pearl," fused horror with the mise-en-scène of classic cinema. It should be no surprise that he once again delivers a genre perfect seedy 80's [...]
Romantic comedies are a tricky genre to pull off these days; they’re either honey-suckle-sweet or overly ambitious in the comedy department. In short, rom-com stories can be inconsistent in what they’re trying to say. On the other hand, audiences have become very fickle toward rom-coms. Fortunately for Fly Me to the Moon, director Greg Berlanti [...]
Introduction It’s been a wild ride for the Despicable Me franchise over the years. None of the films ever got to a Pixar level (although even some of their films have disappointed as of late). However, there’s no denying how ridiculously popular they are. They have all been profitable, with almost all of them making [...]
In recent years, a trend has emerged within filmmakers who seek to make a strong emotional point through their stories. Depending on the subject, these stories can either come at you all at once or slowly unfold in front of the audience. Intent exists within these two choices and if the creatives have done their [...]
Yorgos Lanthimos latest creation, "Kinds of Kindness," is an anthology described as a "triptych fable," which follows characters in three unique stories where each experiences different forms of kindness. Efthimis Filippou, who co-wrote "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," "The Lobster," and "Dogtooth," once again teams up with Yorgos to pen this surreal journey. Each [...]
Reflecting on writer-director Jeff Nichols’ filmography (Mud, Midnight Special, Loving), one can’t help but think about his tendency for stories that naturally and slowly build their tensions up with fully realized characterizations that lead their stories, rather than the stories leading the characters. Nichols’ latest, The Bikeriders exceptionally continues this trend. Inspired by a 1967 [...]
Intro An old alternative birthday song has the line, “One year older and wiser, too.” While it’s true that each year we age we (hopefully) gain wisdom, that wisdom is also only earned by each year or stage of life offering unique challenges. Writer/director Josh Margolin’s new film, Thelma, explores some of these challenges in [...]
Intro It's no secret that Pixar has been in a bit of a slump, both creatively and financially. They haven't had a financial "hit" since 2019 with Toy Story 4 (which I still dislike). It arguably hasn't had a genuinely great film since 2020's Onward (my favorite film of that year). There are lots of theories as [...]
Bluntly put, life on Earth ends for us all, whether we want it to or not. You can try to cheat it, you can deny it or for those who your existence has touched, you can cope with it. This is an unfortunate certainty. For those who remain behind, the “coping” part is often the [...]
