Wednesday, January 31, 2018

The Last Reviews of 2017.

And with that, these will be my last 2017 reviews bfore I finally call the year quits (or at least for now). It's been a very crazy experience the whole way through,and I hope you've enjoyed following my write-ups as much as I did forming them. Stay tuned for my picks for the best and worst films of the year very soon,but for now, thank you, and enjoy.

Sunday, January 21, 2018

Call Me By Your Name and Phantom Thread.

This will be my last set of double reviews for the year, with an abbreviated collection of my very last write-ups to follow very soon. So let's get right to it.

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

The Post and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.

Another double feature of reviews to put up today, and perhaps not the last as we inch ever so closer to finishing the year up. Today, we'll be taking a look at heated glimpses into the world of the printing press, and the complex politics of the police system, brought to us respectively by Steven Spielberg and Martin McDonagh, in two of the year's very best films. Enjoy!

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

Brief thoughts on Molly's Game.

Poker's not a game of chance, explains Molly Bloom. It's a game of skill, a back and forth production of players deceiving the others and exploiting their tells and body language, where keeping secrets to the chest is a necessity to thrive through the game. Secrets, skill, deception, perhaps that makes Bloom - dubbed the "Poker Princess" - the greatest poker player never to take part in the high stakes game, building a mini-empire out of the underground poker rings headlined by wealthy celebrities and business giants, and even when landing under the eye of the FBI, refused to let those close secrets and the names of the people within her rings be publicly known. It's a fascinating true story, and one that the film based on her book Molly's Game tackles with the same suitable wits as its signature game.

Monday, January 8, 2018

Brief thoughts on The Disaster Artist.

Few movies are as singularly bizarre as The Room, the brainchild of enigmatic filmmaker Tommy Wiseau, that premiered in one LA theater in 2003. Originally conceived to emulate a Tennessee Williams melodrama, those intentions backfired when the film left audiences rolling with unintended laughter. The film soon gained intense cult status, being hailed as the "Citizen Kane of bad movies", and intentional or not, has become a singular masterpiece utterly shattering the line between good art and bad art. The making of this movie sounds like a great movie in its own right, which certainly proves to be the case for The Disaster Artist from director and star James Franco, becoming one of the year's sweetest and funniest movies.

Belated year-end reviews.

And with the year finally come to a close, taking all of the bewildering insanity and infuriating bitterness with it, it's time once again to reflect on the cinematic year that has been, and what the future holds in store. That doesn't mean the coverage is over mind you, since Oscar season is now in full swing, and there are still plenty of high profile releases to be seen. I look forward to all of those coming out, but as always, it's time to turn my attention to some smaller or under the radar releases, both from recently, and from earlier in the year. Enjoy?

Thursday, January 4, 2018

All the Money in the World, Darkest Hour, and The Shape of Water.

All right! Time to play catch up. I'm always one of the last to unveil my picks for the best and worst movies of the year, as my local theater scene doesn't always make it convenient for me to play catch-up (and Heaven forbid those movies have subtitles), and 2017 has been a particularly brutal year personally. But now, I'm ready to see some of the year's most buzzed-about titles, which finally make their way to my side of town. Starting things off, are some thoughts on the latest big contenders, from seasoned veterans Joe Wright, Ridley Scott, and Guillermo del Toro.