Excerpt: Honeydew digs into serious subject matter like the horrifying effects of religious patriarchy, as well as the existential and bodily terror of heteronormativity.
Excerpt: Old farm people are supposedly scary as sin in Devereux Milburn’s hostage-horror film ‘Honeydew’, a debut handicapped by lacking performances and an unjustifiably elongated runtime that fails to offer much novelty to the subgenre of young city folk kidnapped by malevolent bumpkins.
Excerpt: The Oscar nominated short animations comprise the most diverse program of the three featuring the obligatory Disney selection, a charming lesson for kids, to an experimental rumination of city life from France, off-beat humor from Iceland, a damning expression of grief and a mind-blowing history of the entire world told in nine minutes.
Excerpt: The nominated short Live Action films all find a unique perspective to explore their themes. It is of note that the only two films not from the U.S. happen to be from Israel and Palestine.
Excerpt: I don’t see how the astonishing “Opera,” by Erick Oh, doesn’t win the Oscar for Best Animated Short. This is a stupendous achievement, a cartoon clockwork depicting life, the universe, and everything.
Excerpt: A teenaged crew of astronauts grows up on a mission to a new Earth in ‘Voyagers’ but the journey can be a rocky one. There’s philosophical intrigue about the ethics of control but it’s left by the wayside to focus on middling teenage angst and murderous power struggles. As a purely commercial vehicle though, ‘Voyagers’ remains a competent vessel for flighty entertainment.
Excerpt: Someone ought to inform the three credited for this story that it takes more than two special fx sequences to create a satisfying movie experience. “Godzilla vs. Kong” is chock full of illogical nonsense…
Excerpt: Godzilla Vs. Kong is obviously not the most demanding film, but it isn’t without its wonderful touches. As pure spectacle goes, there’s a lot of detail, personality, and imagination to be found.
Excerpt: It’s when Kong meets Godzilla in the neon-lit streets of Hong Kong that this people-centric drama redeems itself into the movie you came to see.
Excerpt: Everything a monster movie needs: Monsters, natch. Cute kids who Know Things. Nerdy-hot scientists. Spectacular sci-fi visions. Humor but no cheese. Warmth but no schmaltz. And a superb green message.
Excerpt: It’s the battle we’ve all been waiting for, and for the most part, it delivers on the promise of some good old-fashioned smash and grab entertainment. Yet while Godzilla vs. Kong is by far the best installment of this rebooted franchise, the MonsterVerse could still learn a few lessons from some of its Showa era forerunners: mainly, how to write human characters that we don’t resent every moment they’re on screen.
Excerpt: Despite being saddled with a plot that’s sometimes laughably absurd, this new movie manages to get things back on course, delivering on the promise of its title.
Excerpt: There’s nothing wrong with enjoying a movie that feels like a rollercoaster, which is what I want out of a Theme Park Movie. If I’m seeing that kind of movie, give me half-a-dozen or so gargantuan set pieces that roll seamlessly, one right into the next, with a few precious moments here and there to let me catch my breath. Godzilla vs. Kong doesn’t pass the test.
Excerpt: The road trip scenario really works here, that old Fiat Autotrail Cheyenne giving the film an intimate, character-defining space while the Lake District and the stars Tusker knows so well provide the film a larger-than-life grandeur.
Excerpt: A slow-roll, country drive of a film with brief pot holes of drama. Macqueen offers a flat structure, a sort of calm before the storm atmosphere, but it keeps his film from leaving a lasting impression.
Excerpt: It helps too when you have actors of Firth’s and Tucci’s caliber bringing these heartbroken and defiant men to life in ways that expose their circumstance’s vulnerability.
Excerpt: The problem is not that Snyder has brought this in at four hours, it is that he cannot pace his run time or resist indulging himself. Why have one hero shot per scene when five will do?
Excerpt: Zack Snyder’s Justice League is not a perfect film, but it’s the kind of ambitious, bold, weird, and indulgent piece of filmmaking we rarely get in modern blockbusters.
Excerpt: A breathless ode to the frighteningly almighty power of fandom, ‘Zack Snyder’s Justice League’ has finally seen the light of day and, against all odds, it’s a fairly riveting four-hour super-packed, superhero affair. It’s en vogue to go with extremes on this one but the “best ever”/”worst garbage” dichotomy just doesn’t fit here: this is an undeniable labor of love that eclipses the theatrical cut in all sorts of ways while still suffering a litany of problems inherent with Snyder’s faulty architecting of the franchise.
Excerpt: With its meaty back story and Junkie XL’s fantastic original score, this movie appears more coherent than Joss Whedon’s messy theatrical cut that was released in 2017.
Excerpt: With its excessive length, better-developed heroes, and easier-to-follow story, it’s an epic, thrilling, bloated, and self-indulgent blockbuster.
Excerpt: While Kirby’s performance is notable, “Pieces of a Woman” is unsatisfactory cinema, its character motivations muddled, its use of Norway as a stand-in for Boston unconvincing, its resolution a head scratching letdown.
Excerpt: Kirby’s transcendent performance [is rendered] inert [as the film] positions her as a trump card waiting to do the right thing and end what’s become a melodramatic charade.
Excerpt: As emotionally devastating a film as you are likely to find in 2020, ‘Pieces of a Woman’ starts with an emotional flash-bang that so burns viewers receptor sites for tragedy that it’s hard to feel much for the remainder of the film though a soaring pair of performances from Vanessa Kirby and Shia LaBeouf keep viewers glued to the woe.
Excerpt: If, like me, you found the assault of “Hardcore Henry” quickly became boringly repetitive despite a number of ingenious set-ups, but admire Odenkirk’s work as Jimmy McGill, it won’t be a surprise to learn that it is Odenkirk who carries this film
Excerpt: This middle-aged, tired, khaki-wearing nothing of a man looks at the young punks and says, “I’m gonna f*** you up.” This line is going to be 2021’s “Are you talking to me?” or “Do you feel lucky punk?”
Excerpt: Watching Odenkirk get in touch with his inner Charles Bronson is more fun than it should be. It’s still a shame that Kolstad can’t utilize Odenkirk’s formidable talents as well as Vince Gilligan has.
Excerpt: Casting [Odenkirk] allows us to wrestle with preconceptions and enjoy the idea that you don’t have to be as big as Daniel Bernhardt’s “Bus Goon” to wreak havoc.
Excerpt: ‘Nobody’ delivers exactly what it promises to with Bob Odenkirk proving himself a beefy blood-addicted badass when the time calls for it. Gratuitously violent, with clean action choreography and expertly blocked set pieces, the amusing actioner from Ilya Naishuller reinvigorates our love for addictive on-screen violence.
Excerpt: The situation [senior abuse] is so distressing, we wonder just how writer/director J Blakeson is going to turn this into comedy gold. The disappointing thing is that he hits that jackpot early, only to blow his fortune.
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