Licorice Pizza Movie Review
Experiencing life in Southern California in the seventies and actually visiting many Licorice Pizza record stores and also owning a waterbed, this film and Tarantino's Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood have been an interesting experience in nostalgia. While Q.T.'s take was more visual and grand, Anderson’s focus is more character-driven and less extravagant.
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The inhabitants of this world are not superheroes (well maybe Bradley Cooper’s take on Jon Peters might ...
Spider-Man: No Way Home Movie Review
It’s not the easiest film to review because there are so many moments of delightful surprise that to reveal even the slightest tidbit would do viewers a real disservice. Just suffice to say that there is an almost constant flow of elements that fill the theatre with loud and lusty cheers.
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Picking up where Spider-Man: Far from Home left off with Quentin Beck (Jake Gyllenhaal) telling the world the true identity of Spider-Man, Peter Parker now has his hands full ...
The French Dispatch Movie Review
Made up of several chapters all told under the guise of being included on the pages of a fictitious publication called The French Dispatch, Wes gets to satisfy his stated claim of always wanting to do a series of short stories. He also gets to include another of his favourite storytelling mediums, animation, this time a hilarious car chase scene.
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Not a single frame goes by without a look or feel of his unique art and it fills the screen with amusement even when ...
Dune Movie Review
Herbert’s 1965 tale was originally serialized in the American magazine Analog (the first issue was published in 1930) and more than paved the way for Star Wars. The similar plot points are abundant but where the original Star Wars movie played it cute and cuddly, Villeneuve’s vision is dark, foreboding, and quite monochromatic. Life is harsh on Arrakis even for the ruling class.
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Things play out in a slow burn fashion with tension never far below the surface. ...
Encanto Movie Review
The cast is filled with an interesting mix of voice actors from both North and South America. Northerners include Stephanie Beatriz Bischoff Alvizuri (Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine), John Leguizamo (John Wick), Diane Guerrero (Maritza Ramos in Orange Is the New Black) and Wilmer Eduardo Valderrama (Fez in That '70s Show). While Columbian actors María Cecilia Botero (La Bruja), Angie Cepeda (Pobre Diabla) and Carolina Gaitán (Narcos) also star. The cast’s comfort with both English and ...
The Card Counter Movie Review
As the film plays out you discover there is much more to the story than just gambling. The details about Tell’s past put his actions into a completely different context and the revelations are not pleasant ones. Tell served time in the military and in prison for crimes committed while wearing the uniform.
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Schrader’s pace is measured but he jolts you out of complacency with shocking scenes and increased aural dynamics. The volume and actions displayed leave ...
Venom: Let There Be Carnage Movie Review
Picking up where the first chapter left off, Venom: Let There Be Carnage highlights the difficulty of experiencing life with a foreign body fighting for control for your body and mind. The forced partnership is played mostly for laughs as this modern day odd couple get drawn into the twisted world of serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson).
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Harrelson has not been this over the top since playing Mickey Knox in Natural Born Killers. His partner in crime ...
Last Night in Soho Movie Review
The story while set in the present uses a clever plot device to go back in time to London (specifically Soho) in the swinging sixties. The dress code of the period is also brought to full colour as are the rocking hairstyles. The overall effect is quite intoxicating and it highlights how bland and limiting the current sense of fashion can be.
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Eloise "Ellie" Turner (Thomasin McKenzie) is a countryside girl who follows her muse for fashion by moving to the West End ...
British Film Festival – The Duke Movie Review
The film starts when his protest against the TV levee that the Poms inflicted back in the sixties lands him in jail where he does time. Broadbent is perfectly cast as the heart of gold Bunton as is the always impeccable Helen Mirren as his long-suffering wife Dorothy. His activities escalate until he is accused of stealing a portrait of the Duke of Wellington by the Spanish painter Goya.
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Getting the components correct for a true feel-good experience is not an easy ...
British Film Festival – The War Below Movie Review
The story is built around the actions of William Hawkin (Sam Hazeldine) a family man and miner rejected for active duty due to the early onset of miner’s lung. His shame at not being able to serve drives him and his men to extraordinary lengths in the undertaking. There is also a critical look at the military’s penchant for staid and possessive thought in disregarding these non enlisted men's heroics.
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Lacking the budget for big set pieces and special effects ...
