A Review of “Stillwater” It’s hard not to be swayed by the controversy. Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater purports to be loosely based on Amanda Knox, a student imprisoned in Italy for four years after being accused of the 2007 murder of … Continue reading The Downside of “Loosely Based”
A Review of A24’s The Green Knight. Sir Gawain is an underrated Knight. He’s not as popular as the queen-snatching Lancelot or the grail-spotting Galahad, but he was always closest to King Arthur in both affinity and blood. In that … Continue reading How to Twist an Arthurian Epic
A Review of Disney’s Jungle Cruise. It’s futile to nitpick the prevalence of CGI in this movie, given how the ride relies greatly on fake fauna. In the first place, it’s what makes the attraction so popular. It’s the illusion … Continue reading Cruising in Circles
A Review of Disney’s Cruella D: Craig GillespieS: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry, Paul Walter Hauser, Kayvan Novak, Kirby Howell Baptiste, Mark Strong, John McCrea Of course, this isn’t the first time a Disney villain headlined a live action … Continue reading Spotty But Worthwhile
Much as it bodes well to see Amanda Seyfried in a new movie soon after her Oscar run, herein lies the gamble. Anything that follows her career-defining turn in Mank is bound to pale in comparison. And that’s exactly what … Continue reading “Things Heard and Seen” in a Tepid Horror
It’s only natural for fans of Stranger Things to wonder what the kids have been up to, especially with Season Four still languishing in the Upside Down. Well, obviously, they’re no longer kids. So, it remains to be seen how … Continue reading “Concrete Cowboy” is Compelling Counterculture Yarn
PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN, PERSONIFIED. Regina King nailed her description of newbie feature director Emerald Fennell as a “Promising Young Woman”. That, of course, is the title of Fennell’s film, which would win Best Original Screenplay minutes later. And in a … Continue reading Highlights from the 93rd Oscars
BEST SOUNDGreyhoundMankNews of the WorldSoulSound of Metal In case you missed it, the Sound categories are merged again this year. Last time that happened was 1981, with The Empire Strikes Back winning the award. 40 years later, it’s interesting to … Continue reading My Oscars 2021 Wish List, Part Two
After a two-month delay, which resulted to the eligibility period being stretched up to February, the Oscars is finally pushing through. This year’s ceremony promises to feel different for reasons we all know by now, especially with Steven Soderbergh (himself … Continue reading My Oscars 2021 Wish List, Part One
There’s a reason Florian Zeller wanted only Anthony Hopkins for the part. Had it gone another way, this film wouldn’t even exist. And it goes beyond the protagonist also being named Anthony and also being born one day shy of … Continue reading “The Father” Thrives in Disjointed Nuance
The word “moxie” is synonymous to spunk, courage, and strength of character. It is for that reason it became the title of a 2015 chick-lit novel by Jennifer Mathieu. That book was only a moderate hit. But that was enough … Continue reading “Moxie”: Muddled Woke-ness
It’s not that the workaround can still be considered novel, since many studios have followed suit. But just the same, it warrants the distinction. Malcolm & Marie is among the first American films to be conceptualized, produced, and completed entirely … Continue reading “Malcolm & Marie”: Defies Restrictions, Goes Overboard
ICE CREAM AND THE SOUND OF RAINDROPS (Feature/Tokyo International Film Festival). When their staging of Simon Stephens’ “Morning” gets shelved, a young theater troupe continues with rehearsals and starts internalizing their characters in real life. This one-take wonder feels like … Continue reading FilmFest Log: We Are One, Days 7 -10
TICKET OF NO RETURN (Feature/Berlin International Film Festival). Anyone who’s seen, or has attempted to see, Holy Motors might be inclined to check out this underrated 1979 classic, the first of German director Ulrike Ottinger‘s Berlin Trilogy. It follows a lonely and enigmatic woman, known only … Continue reading FilmFest Log: We Are One, Days 4-6
With the world still on hold, many industries are still struggling to regain their footing. Among the hardest hit sectors is the film industry, with cinemas closing worldwide and slews of freelancers losing projects, if not their jobs entirely. Inevitably, … Continue reading FilmFest Log: We Are One, Days 1-3
The idea was to bring back the Universal Classic Monsters. To be exact: reintroduce the landmark horror series to a contemporary audience by creating an updated cinematic universe. Think MCU or DCEU, but with spooks. And, why not? The original … Continue reading “The Invisible Man”: A potent feminist update
Sonic the Hedgehog D: Jeff Fowler S: Ben Schwartz (voice), James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Tika Sumpter Even when Sega’s flagship series was in its heyday, a movie adaptation was already in the pipeline. But when the teaser for Sonic the … Continue reading Sonic Outruns Initial Backlash
D: Stephen Gaghan S: Robert Downey Jr., Antonio Banderas, Jessie Buckley If animals could talk to producers, they’d probably gripe. Why even give Hugh Lofting’s beloved vet the big screen treatment again? None of the previous outings ever worked. There’s … Continue reading “Dullittle” is more like it.
D: Jon Favreau S: Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Chiwitel Efiojor, Alfre Woodard, Billy Eichner, Seth Rogen It’s not that the story was ever unworthy of retelling. After all, the musical amassed legions of new fans and is now the third … Continue reading “The Lion King” Remake: Zoological Accuracy at the Expense of Wonder
OKJA
D: Bong Joon-Ho
S: Ahn Seo-Hyun, Tilda Swinton, Paul Dano, Jake Gyllenhaal
121 minutes
RATING: 
South Korean director Bong Joon-Ho’s journey to this year’s Cannes Film Festival was anything but smooth. Just ask any audience member who booed his latest film when the Netflix logo appeared onscreen. Their main beef – or should I say pork (?) – is that it will never be released in French cinemas, or any cinema outside the US, UK, and Korea, for that matter. Instead, it will be largely available online, as part of Netflix’s original line-up.
Continue reading ““Okja”: Occasionally obnoxious, mostly provocative”
Planet Chuckie 