Roger Michell stiffens his upper lip from his Love, Actually and Notting Hill fare to tackle a costume drama with My Cousin Rachel. Oddly enough, this film can stake a serendipitous claim as the second Michell-directed film about “kissing cousins” after Hyde Park on the Hudson. Unfortunately, more than a little uncomfortable laughter of preposterousness pokes out of this film while trying to portray itself as flowing romantic drama. That’s not going to sweep anyone.
Read MoreI, Daniel Blake is unabashedly a “bleeding heart” film on literal and figurative levels. If this was a Hollywood film, it would be overrun with shouted speeches and orchestrational swells trying to manufacture emotional peaks. Fluff like that is unnecessary if you have the right poetic realism, For Loach, that’s second hand and he picks the right soapbox placement and thickness.
Read MoreEpisode 3 of the Reel Talker Podcast is all about Wonder Woman. I was invited again to join Jim Alexander, my fellow co-founder and co-director of the Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle. Jim brings up his frustrations with the early Wonder Woman critic reactions while I discuss my favorite moments of the film and why I think it can be an inspirational movie. We also debate where Wonder Woman ranks among DC movies. All that and more in the Reel Talker podcast!
Read MoreTake the title of the film whatever way you wish, be it literally with the lurking threats of nightfall in this landscape or figuratively with the visions and nightmares one has while alone with their thoughts before sleeping. It Comes at Night is tightly comprised of excruciating moral challenges that escalate with time.
Read MoreFellow Chicago Independent Film Critics Circle co-founder and co-director Jim Alexander of The Movie Blog and The Young Folks recently started his own personal website dubbed Reel Talker. He has fired up a weekly podcast where he reviews current theatrical films, new Blu-ray and home media releases, and the hot movie news and trends of the week. Jim invited me to guest on his second episode.
Read MoreI was invited to be a contributor on their weekly Super News Live program on Facebook. The page has a whopping 474,000+ likes! One of their new segments collects quick reviews and hot takes of current new film releases from site contributors like myself. Check out your boy batting second in this video talking Baywatch.
Read MoreBrian Cox one of the most underappreciated character actors in the business today. He has been an accomplished and terrifically versatile mainstay through all levels and genres of film for over thirty years since turning our heads as cinema’s first Hannibal Lecktor in Michael Mann’s Manhunter. Cox is a consummate performer, brimming with fervid screen presence. From Braveheart to Super Troopers, he is never the weak link to any picture. Churchill offers a rare lead performance from Cox and, like the chameleon he’s always been, he reminds us of his indomitable intensity.
Read MoreWonder Woman is a movie worth standing up and cheering for. Here is my interactive whiteboard "Movie Classroom" film review for the summer blockbuster. Please like and subscribe to my work on the Every Movie Has a Lesson YouTube channel. SIDENOTE APOLOGY: My mispronunciations are terrible. I'll be looking at myself in a mirror for a week saying Themyscira, Themyscira, Themyscira... hoping to summon Greek Beetlejuice...
Read MoreThe three-part noun definition of “wonder” can be summarized as “a cause of astonishment, the quality of excited admiration, or rapt attention at something awesomely mysterious or new to one’s experience.” Used as an adjective in a proper name, the word could not be more fitting of Princess Diana of Themyscira, better known as Wonder Woman. Whether it represents a cog in a larger universe, a historical watershed for women’s leadership, or the answered prayers of long-suffering fans and idolizing dreamers, Wonder Woman is a valiant, momentous, and satisfying first step fitting of the iconic heroine.
Read MoreWhen standup comedians come to the big screen, they tend to stay with what works, extending their personas and bits into feature-length material within their comfort zones. Most lack creativity to make something unique out of their individuality. That is not the case with Demetri Martin making his impressive feature writing and directing debut with Dean. In 87 breezy minutes pushing against the grief of its characters, his film squeezes earnest sweetness out of bleak material that would never play on his comedy club stages.
Read MoreToo busy heading to the beach over the holiday weekend to read a lengthy review? Listen and watch instead in under 8 minutes. Next up in my "Movie Classroom" video series on the Every Movie Has a Lesson YouTube channel is Baywatch where I heap praise on all things jiggle, sizzle, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Read MoreContrary to how well the Mythbusters pulled it off, you can't shine sh-t, not turds of the TV or film variety. Terrible TV shows make terrible movies. Asking for anything more is asking too much, and there's nothing wrong with that. All of the zing and jiggle audiences enjoyed in eleven seasons and 242 episodes of Baywatch get the amplified and gaudy movie treatment an entertaining guilty pleasure deserves. Enjoy what you enjoy and don't be ashamed of it.
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