Greetings programs, and welcome to episode five of the Awesome Friday Movie Podcast!
Continue reading “Awesome Friday Movie Podcast: ‘Nine Days’ & ‘Marvel’s What If…’”Awesome Friday Movie Podcast: ‘Nine Days’ & ‘Marvel’s What If…’
The Films of the DC Extended Universe Ranked, The Suicide Squad Edition
The Suicide Squad has been out for about two weeks now, and since this is the kind of thing the internet loves, here is how the various DC Extended Universe movies stack up for me. There are 11 films in the franchise so far, which in case it’s not clear, means I am only looking at films in the current, interconnected universe that started with Man of Steel. If I’m honest, this list didn’t turn out exactly how I thought it might when I decided to do it, which is interesting to me at least!
If you agree or disagree, feel free to reach out to me on social media, I’d love to hear from you. And now, on to the list:
Continue reading “The Films of the DC Extended Universe Ranked, The Suicide Squad Edition”Fantasia ’21 Review: ‘Raging Fire’ is a throwback to 90s action in the best way possible
Action movies were different in the 90s. They were more bombastic, more melodramatic, and the plots were often paper-thin –even when they seemed complicated. Of course, we’ve come a long way since then, but let’s get one thing clear: 90s action movies kick butt.
Raging Fire, the latest Donnie Yen film out of Hong Kong, is a throwback to this type of filmmaking, and I mean that in the best way possible. This movie kicks butt.
Continue reading “Fantasia ’21 Review: ‘Raging Fire’ is a throwback to 90s action in the best way possible”Review: ‘Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched’ is a fascinating look at the history of folk horror
Folk Horror has a storied history in cinema, creating some of the most unsettling imagery and tapping into some of our most visceral latent fears. Whether you’re watching a classic like The Wicker Man or The Blood on Satan’s Claw or something more modern like Midsommar to The Witch, the stories harken back to times gone by and often posit that perhaps they aren’t as “gone by” as we think –or hope– they are.
Such an important history has to have an important telling, and that’s exactly what director Kier-La Janisse has created with Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched’ is a fascinating look at the history of folk horror”Review: ‘Nine Days’ is a beautiful achievement
This year, it’s a common theme that the films I truly love have been ones I expected to like but –for whatever reason– did not expect to love. Films with high concepts that I did not expect to leave me with tears in my eyes or with a renewed urge to look inward and assess my life and being. Nine Days is the third such film this year. A beautiful achievement from director Edson Oda (in his debut feature, no less), Nine Days treads a unique path to an emotional catharsis that will leave you with a renewed sense of hope.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Nine Days’ is a beautiful achievement”Fantasia ’21 Review: ‘King Knight’ is a bore
I don’t even know where to begin, so let’s start at the beginning. King Knight is the latest film by Richard Bates Jr. It follows Thorn (Matthew Gray Gubler), the leader of a coven of witches, and he goes on a journey to his high school reunion. Thorn has a secret, though, and that secret is that he was popular in high school and not bullied or put upon like the rest of his cohort.
It sounds on paper, but the resulting film is boring and unfunny, which sucks.
Continue reading “Fantasia ’21 Review: ‘King Knight’ is a bore”Review: ‘Beckett’ is a paranoid thriller that works despite itself
An interesting thing that happens –or perhaps more accurately doesn’t happen– in Beckett is that when it comes time to be an action star, the title character simply isn’t one. Neither superhuman nor particularly competent, Beckett, played by John David Washington in a role that asks him to carry an entire movie, is just a guy on the run and doesn’t have any dark past, specialized training, or even a penchant for 80s action movies. That, in and of itself, is a little refreshing.
The film itself, though –a stylistic throwback to the paranoid thrillers of the 1970s– only works despite itself. Gorgeously shot, decently acted, but overlong and simple to a fault, this is one on which your mileage will definitely vary.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Beckett’ is a paranoid thriller that works despite itself”Awesome Friday Movie Podcast Episode 4: ‘Vivo’ & ‘The Suicide Squad’
Greetings programs, it’s Awesome Friday on a Sunday, which means we’re back with another episode of the Awesome Friday Movie Podcast!
Join us this week as we discuss two new movies. First up is the new Sony Pictures Animation film Vivo, which features the voice, and songs, of Lin-Manuel Miranda and was released to Netflix this week. Second up is James Gunn’s triumphant return to superhero movies; the Warner Brothers and DC released The Suicide Squad, now in theatres (and on HBO Max in the United States).
Continue reading “Awesome Friday Movie Podcast Episode 4: ‘Vivo’ & ‘The Suicide Squad’”Fantasia ’21 Review: ‘Agnes’ isn’t the horror movie it claims to be, but is compelling nonetheless
Agnes beings in a convent, with a young nun standing up at a dinner table and proclaiming all of her sisters whores, among other things. Naturally, the assumption is that she is possessed, and the church dispatches a disillusioned older priest with a young, idealistic (almost) priest to keep an eye on him. If this sounds like the setup for a million other possessed nun stories, that’s because it is, right down to how fast it becomes clear that the priests are in over their heads. This isn’t a million other possessed nun stories, though.
Continue reading “Fantasia ’21 Review: ‘Agnes’ isn’t the horror movie it claims to be, but is compelling nonetheless”Review: ‘The Suicide Squad’ is wacky, juvenile, committed, fun, and familiar
James Gunn has a distinctive voice. It’s always been there, from his days at Troma through writing the Scooby-Doo films and the Dawn of the Dead remake, and from his early directorial efforts like Slither and Super all the way to the Guardians of the Galaxy and now, the Suicide Squad. That voice is juvenile, a little dark, and also –and this is most important– fun.
I say this because The Suicide Squad, the movie he signed on to make while briefly exiled from Marvel Studios, is a juvenile movie. And it’s a little dark. And it’s pretty fun. But while its R-rated excesses are probably the logical extension of his voice as a storyteller, it is also cobbled together from his greatest hits from other projects. Your mileage may vary on whether it feels repetitive or merely familiar, but it’s also enough fun that that probably doesn’t matter.
Continue reading “Review: ‘The Suicide Squad’ is wacky, juvenile, committed, fun, and familiar”Review: ‘Vivo’ starts strong, ends less strong, and lags in the middle
The basic premise of Vivo is both simple and heartfelt: A kinkajou goes on a quest to deliver a love letter from his father figure to his father figures long lost love. That’s it, that’s the whole pitch, and if you pack the cast with talented actors and singers and hire a nearly-EGOT-winning songwriter to turn the whole thing into a musical, that’s a recipe for something special. Most of the time, anyway.
That’s not to say that Vivo is bad; exactly, it’s just fine. It opens with a toe-tapping duet that will stick in your head for ages and closes with a reprise of the same, but there’s a long stretch in the middle where the film takes no exactly no chances and suffers for it.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Vivo’ starts strong, ends less strong, and lags in the middle”Review: ’12 Mighty Orphans’ is a perfectly suitable underdog sports drama
Think about a sports drama. You know the one: where the main team is somehow disadvantaged in life, but they have a coach who believes in them even when they don’t believe in themselves. Where through the sport and the self-confidence that comes with playing well and winning, the kids turn their lives around and inspire the community around them. 12 Mighty Orphans is not the first time this story has been told, and it won’t be the last, but it’s a pretty good version of that story.
Continue reading “Review: ’12 Mighty Orphans’ is a perfectly suitable underdog sports drama”Home Video: Every DC Extended Universe Film and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them
James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad will hit theatres this weekend, and it is one of the most highly anticipated DC films in ages. There are nine films in the DCEU so far, or ten depending on how you count the versions of Justice League, and here is where you can rent, buy, or stream each one.
Continue reading “Home Video: Every DC Extended Universe Film and Where to Buy, Rent, or Stream them”Review: ‘The Green Knight’ grapples with temptation and virtue, cowardice and courage, and ends up one of the best films of the year
There’s no one moment that will let you know that The Green Knight is going to be something special. It is apparent from the beginning that you are about to watch something excellent, both the production design and casting tell you that, but it’s not until nearly in the second half that you may realize you’re watching something truly great.
A knightly quest, and a chivalric romance, The Green Knight is a film that has so many questions and diversions that it could have been a mess, but instead is one of the most purposeful and human films of the year, and one of the best, too.
Continue reading “Review: ‘The Green Knight’ grapples with temptation and virtue, cowardice and courage, and ends up one of the best films of the year”Review: ‘Old’ highlights M. Night Shyamalan’s weaknesses, but also his strengths
I think a lot about M. Night Shyamalan. I don’t like all of his movies, but all of his movies are unmistakably his movies, and I love him for that. So what makes an M. Night Shyamalan movie? Janky dialogue delivered weirdly and a very straightforward understanding of human emotion and behaviour, but also a keen eye for visuals and a newly unparalleled ability to use the camera to tell a story. He is, in a word, a dichotomy. His latest film Old is no different.
Continue reading “Review: ‘Old’ highlights M. Night Shyamalan’s weaknesses, but also his strengths”
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