Brimming with cinematic and family-themed amusement and timeless with the effectiveness of that lead lesson no matter the audience, Paddington 2 is an genuine delight on multiple levels. With the origin story out of the way, the sequel expands and improves on the cheeky magic of its 2014 predecessor to dive into greater merriment, adventure, and emotional satisfaction. Add this on the short list of sequels that are better than their predecessors.
Read MoreScoot Cooper’s grizzled western Hostiles opens with a quote from novelist D.H. Lawrence that reads: "The essential American soul is hard, isolate, stoic, and a killer. It has never yet melted.” Those four adjectives and labels assigned by the English writer ring true for the late 19th century historical era he observed and also for the film itself you will watch. Each of those traits are embedded within Cooper’s difficult and impressive film.
Read MoreFor anyone who thinks Suicide Squad star and The Wolf of Wall Street vamp Margot Robbie is just a hot bod and a pretty face, watch I, Tonya. The 27-year-old Aussie’s ferocious and zealous performance riding the peaks and valleys of disgraced former champion figure skater Tonya Harding will erase those old notions centered solely on attractiveness. Brimming with depravity and teaming with talent, I, Tonya may be the brashest film you will see seen this year
Read MoreNo matter the charm and beauty, what can be questioned is the connection. Circle all of the emotionality back to the opening essential questions. Your tolerance is the key to connecting to Call Me By Your Name. Your comfort level for the homoerotic summer romance being woven and your acceptance of the controversial age difference within this narrative are everything. Either of those two qualities could be easily ignored obstacles for some or a no-go hang-ups for others
Read MorePhantom Thread is a exquisite film of elevated aesthetics that drape over a scintillating story of tumultuous potential discord. There is infinite richness within the despair, spun by Daniel Day-Lewis re-teaming with his There Will Be Blood director Paul Thomas Anderson, as the fictional 1950s tailor of status. Mundane in some moments and mysterious in others, the sum of the literal and figurative details within the stitches and seams of this film make it one of the year’s best.
Read MoreThe pairing of Matt Damon and writer/director Alexander Payne should have been a match made in heaven on paper to bring out the comedy side of Damon we seem to only see in snippets anymore or late night comedy bits. Crumble up that paper, dip it in gasoline, and light it on fire. By golly, if Matt Damon wasn’t Matt Damon Downsizing would be bad enough to sink a lesser star’s career. It is the worst film of his disastrous 2017 trio.
Read MoreDirector Ridley Scott borrowed a torn recipe page from headline history with the intention of presenting a five-course narrative meal. The executive chef had to change out a key dish at the last minute before plating only to arrive at an even better cinematic dining experience than one thought possible. All the Money in the World delivers on the promise of scintillating and satisfying tension in every bite and one of the most delicious portions of big-screen villainy this year.
Read MoreThough the day job work was no longer in the way, good times with family and friends was the better thing to do than lock myself in a room on a laptop and write. Three of these films are cracking my Top 20 of 2017 and possibly even my final “10 Best” list. A year-end bang like that deserves to be talked about, and I couldn’t keep sitting on them without getting something out to you. To get the good word out there, here are some quick hot take capsules of the films with full reviews in the works.
Read MoreThe Post feels like Spielberg painting by numbers, continuing a bit of a downward trend for the filmmaker. This was accomplished because it was easy, didn’t require a rush, and still cost a sizable $50 million, not because a director was shedding trappings to do a rough and raw film. The Post is a highly polished quality story gift-wrapped to Spielberg and completed with a precision that is pleasing and purposeful. It is effective, but not affecting or truly but not truly demanding for a director, ensemble, and creative team of this caliber.
Read MoreThrow out all of the Star Wars fan theories you’ve read or heard in the last two years. Ignore all of the online noise and irresponsible think piece editorials that have piled up on the web since Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Most importantly, relinquish whatever warped and selfish expectations that have been formulated by the blitz of marketing buzz. Star Wars: The Last Jedi takes its mountain of hype and shoves it away to make something nonconformist and wholly compelling in quite possibly the richest and most expressive entry of the storied franchise.
Read MoreDarkest Hour and Gary Oldman exhibit tremendous fight to match the vigor of the era. The film builds its mounting prospects of calamity and clashes of dissension with polish and gumption, avoiding many of the dull notes normally saddling most other behind-the-war-room yak-fest. The screenplay shrewdly skips laborious biographical notes and tautly fixates primarily on the two weeks of debate leading up to Operation Dynamo
Read MoreSoaringly endearing elements of romance enrapture with a heading spoonful of the perverse for good measure. Fantastical triumphs of mortal spirit over evil forces are applied to inhuman oddities with jarringly violent consequences. This is a film of stark peculiarity that challenges your safe zones and clashes with your sense of normalcy for the themes at play. It asks you to relish in an abnormal spectacle that dazzles with vintage style and extraordinary boldness.
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