Tag: Studio Film Review
The Circle | Review
Like a Record Round: Ponsoldt Spins the Wheels with Silly Tech Thriller
James Ponsoldt launches uneasily into mainstream studio territory with the internet thriller The...
Unforgettable | Review
It Must Have Been Love: Di Novi Debuts with Classic Camp Tropes
For her directorial debut, Unforgettable, producer Denise Di Novi attempts to resurrect the...
The Fate of the Furious | Review
Fated Attraction: Gray Delivers the Expected in Mind Numbing Franchise Entry
Following the box office success of 2015’s Straight Outta Compton, his most relevant in...
Ghost in the Shell | Review
Dispirited Away: Sanders Succeeds with Somber Live-Action Remake of Cult Manga
The essence of Masamune Shirow’s 1989 cult manga Ghost in the Shell automatically lends...
Life | Review
In Space No One Can See You Steal: Espinosa Imitates another Celluloid Form
The vastness of space and the limitlessness of the universe are abstract,...
Beauty and the Beast | Review
The Beast Must Die: Condon’s Expensive Rehash is Fairy Tale Facsimile
For a film with a budget of three hundred million claiming to be the...
Kong: Skull Island | Review
Kong’s Crib: Vogt-Roberts Strains Weak Characters Through Special Effects Pageant
In the continuing tradition of flinging fledgling indie directors into studio tent pole franchise reboots,...
Get Out | Review
The Souls of Black Folk: Peele's Debut Subverts the Norm in Edgy, Timely Horror Film
Behold the power of genre film, a tradition of cinema...
John Wick: Chapter 2 | Review
Wick 2 Wick: Stahelski Forges Tenuous Franchise with Solemn Reeves Assassin
Director Chad Stahelski steps out on his own for John Wick: Chapter 2,...
A Cure for Wellness | Review
Do Capitalists Dream of Electric Eels?: Verbinski’s Visits Mountains of Madness in Paranoia Escapade
Not unlike his more renowned yet equally studio inveigled colleague Christopher...
The Bye Bye Man | Review
Baby Bye Bye Bye…Bye Bye: Title’s Derivative Boogeyman Can’t Quite Turn Up the Terror
“Don’t think it, don’t say it,” may be the ironic takeaway...
A Monster Calls | Review
Cover Up Love’s Alibi: Bayona Delivers Sensitively Portrait of Childhood Grief
Rounding out a loosely themed trilogy on traumatic motherhood, director J.A. Bayona, once protégé...
Passengers | Review
In Space, No One Can Hear You Snore: Tyldum Instills Insistently Dull Throb of Boredom in Sci-Fi Romance
Where are they going and where have...
Collateral Beauty | Review
Terms of Amusement: Frankel’s Sentimental Platitudes Ensconce Profoundly Foolish Melodrama
The folly of Will Smith is he’s a performer seemingly unable to differentiate between authentic...
Bad Santa 2 | Review
Regifted Goods: Waters Takes the Reigns for Unnecessary Sequel
There’s an art to vulgar comedy, requiring a sly talent for successfully presenting off color humor...
Allied | Review
Only Lovers Left Alive: Zemeckis Mounts Handsome Production atop Warbling Wartime Romance
Of all the gin joints in town, he had to walk into hers....
Arrival | Review
Future Perfect: Villeneuve Crafts a Poetic Close Encounter
Using language and communication as a fertile metaphor, Denis Villeneuve situates complex ideas into streamlined composition with...
Almost Christmas | Review
Do You Hear What I Hear?: Talbert’s Holiday Themed Dramedy Features Talented Cast in Contrived Scenario
One of several connotations with the popularized subgenre of...
Hacksaw Ridge | Review
Full Metal Hacksaw: Gibson Returns to the Director’s Seat for an Anti-War Film
Perhaps it was only inevitable to find actor-turned-director-turned-showbiz pariah Mel Gibson tackle...
Doctor Strange | Review
Time After Time: More Snark, Less Spark in Derrickson’s Entry into the Marvelverse
Marvel introduces their approximation of the mystical realm with their unleashing of...
The Girl on the Train | Review
Those Who Love Me Can Fake the Train: Taylor’s Silly Soap Opera Thriller
Actor turned director Tate Taylor proves to be even less adept crafting...
Miss Peregrine’s School for Peculiar Children | Review
Let’s Do the Time Loop Again: Burton’s Back with Another Belabored Children’s Fantasy
The time has long since passed when Tim Burton was able to...
The Light Between Oceans | Review
To the Lighthouse: Cianfrance Labors Through Melodrama in Handsome Period Piece
Director Derek Cianfrance manages a series of firsts with his fourth feature, including his first...
Don’t Breathe | Review
Secret in Their Eyes: Alvarez Conjures Tension in Home Invasion Thriller
After unveiling his grisly and rather well received directorial debut, the 2013 remake of...
Suicide Squad | Review
Monsters, Inc.: Ayer’s DC Comic Mashup is All Bark and No Bite
Try as he might, director David Ayer’s valiant efforts to counter the onslaught...
Jason Bourne | Review
Bourne Again Again: Greengrass Returns to Action Franchise with Middling Results
Director Paul Greengrass returns to the Robert Ludlum action franchise he inherited from Doug...
Star Trek Beyond | Review
Back to Basics: Lin Takes Another Franchise Where It Has Bravely Gone Before
Director Justin Lin (Fast and Furious installments three, four, five, and six)...
Ghostbusters | Review
Dose of a Ghost: Feig Delivers Funny, Feminized Franchise Entry
Overshadowed by the ill will of an alarmingly misogynist fanboy culture since its initial inception,...
The Legend of Tarzan | Review
Monkey See, Monkey Do: Seditious Subtexts of the White Savior in Latest Tarzan Adaptation
Certain properties are best left alone, allowed to exist in the...
The Shallows | Review
The Shark Who Came in from the Deep: Collet-Serra’s Shark Attack Sticks to the Basics
There will likely never be a shark attack film as...
Finding Dory | Review
Sea Notes: Stanton Revisits Little Lost Fish in the Wide Blue Yonder
To many, 2003’s animated Pixar film Finding Nemo is considered an iconic title,...
Central Intelligence | Review
Little Big Man: Unlikely and Illogical Buddy Comedy Runs on Vestiges of Charm
The usual formula we’re used to seeing in the tireless buddy comedy...
The Conjuring 2 | Review
You Gotta Have Faith: Wan Advances another Franchise with Familiar Jolts
After leaving behind his Insidious franchise and lending his name to the Fast...
Keanu | Review
Kitty Foil: Key & Peele at the Movies
Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, the duo behind the sketch comedy television series “Key and Peele,” get...
The Huntsman: Winter’s War | Review
Sister, My Sister: Love is a Much Belabored Thing in Fairy Tale Pre/Sequel
While it certainly doesn’t reinvent the wheel (or, for that matter, capture...
Barbershop: The Next Cut | Review
Southside with You: Lee Instills Relevance to Third Franchise Chapter
Clearly, there are more pressing issues than the consistent lack of acknowledgement for black artists...
The Boss | Review
She’s a Hustla, Baby: Falcone and McCarthy Sew Themselves a Silly Badge
Melissa McCarthy arrives as a perpetually turtle-necked, foul mouthed CEO with abandonment issues...
Everybody Wants Some!! | Review
Second Helpings: Linklater Hits the Joie de Vivre Sweet Spot
Director Richard Linklater joyously returns to the nostalgia tipped obliviousness of youth with period piece...
The Divergent Series: Allegiant – Part 1| Review
Once More With(out) Feeling: Schwentke Barrels Along with Malingering Franchise
If we’ve reached uncomfortable saturation levels with super hero tent poles, the same conversations should...
Midnight Special | Review
The Power of One: Nichols’ Sci-Fi Studio Film a Wispy Homage
Indie director Jeff Nichols makes his first crossover to studio fare with Midnight Special,...
The Brothers Grimsby | Review
This is England: Leterrier Transports Raunchy, Nonsensical Comedy
If Adam Sandler was still interested in generating laughs, he might have eventually turned out something as...
10 Cloverfield Lane | Review
The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street: Trachtenberg’s Debut Promises a Franchise
Good things can come from found footage, at least evidenced by 10 Cloverfield...
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot | Review
Where They From: Ficarra & Requa and the Privileged Perspective
Cinematic depictions of the ongoing conflict(s) in the Middle East continue to be a touchy...
Triple 9 | Review
The Russians Are Coming: Hillcoat Juggles Strands in Sprawling Heist Thriller
About half way into John Hillcoat’s impressively staged heist thriller Triple 9, it becomes...
Hail, Caesar! | Review
Sign of the Cross: The Coen Bros. Revisit the Backlot Desires of Hollywood’s Golden Era
The Coen Bros., back with their first title since 2013’s...
The Forest | Review
For the Trees: Zada’s Moody Locale Squandered by Feeble Narrative
We’ve come to expect studios to unbosom their less desirable horror trinkets during the dawning...
Daddy’s Home | Review
That’s His Boy: Anders Brings Us Broken Homes for the Holidays with Flaccid Comedy
Chances are, you might not have been expecting much from Sean...
The Hateful Eight | Review
For a Few Hours More: Tarantino’s Flamboyant Style Stamped onto a Salami Western
Quentin Tarantino returns with his latest feature, The Hateful Eight, another retro...
The Revenant | Review
Essential Killing: Inarritu’s Remarkable New Thanksgiving Film
After winning a trio of Academy Awards last year for Birdman (which took home Best Picture, Director, and...
Concussion | Review
Head in the Game: Landesman Continues to Plumb the Headlines
Films based on notable or landmark pieces of newsprint tend to face an uphill battle...
