Timely subtext + textbook filmmaking techniques + modern technology = an effective thriller.
Category: Film Review
The Rise of Skywalker Mortally Wounds the Star Wars Myth with Corporate Mediocrity
Mission Statement: The Rise of Skywalker is a poorly made film. Considering the level of resources involved and the level of polish present in previous Disney Star Wars’, this is a significant comedown in terms of filmmaking and craft and one of the worst in the mainline series. A product of the design by committee…
‘Joker’ Review: Clown Car Cabbie
Joker is Taxi Driver meets The King of Comedy set in the Batman universe. It is less violent, more expensive, modern and thus perhaps phoney, and equally intermittently dull. This is not a funfilm. It has narcissistic arthouse pretensions, but outside a few inspired moments; dark unexpected pratfalls (a Todd Phillips signature) and an inspired…
“Far From Home” is a solid if so-so Spider-Man film
Budget: $160 Million One of the earliest posts I made about Spider-Man on this website is that his introduction into the MCU would be the catalyst for its ruination. I was premature, but after viewing Spider-Man: Far From Home I’m still not entirely sure I was wrong. “[T]he most generous thing you can say about…
With ‘Dumbo’, Disney Gives and Gets the Film It Expected
Director: Tim Burton Writer: Ehren Kruger Music: Danny Elfman Production Design: Richard Heinrichs Dumbo may be remembered by film historians as the film that was released during the takeover of 21st Century Fox. Itself a movie about corporate buyers taking over a struggling enterprise, the beautifully romanticized film flopped at the box-office after costing a…
Lost Review Case 102:”Gravity”
A previous post I never finished.
Netflix Dishes out Another Boilerplate Romcom With ‘Always Be My Maybe’
What does Always Be My Maybe mean? To me it sounds like a side-chick or whatever the male equivalent is of somebody being the second choice in an otherwise solid relationship. For Sasha Tran (comedian Ali Wong) and Marcus Kim (Randall Park) there’s no maybe about it. After being raised as childhood friends they awkwardly…
Sightly Monsters, Unseemly Characters in “Godzilla King of the Monsters”
Plot: A bunch of ancient monsters awaken to fight Godzilla, who is already here, and humans pretend to matter. Cast: Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Charles Dance, Sally Hawkins, Thomas Middleditch, Bradley Whitford, O’Shea Jackson Jr. Director, Writer, Producer: (co-writer/ director) Michael Dougherty, (written by) Zach Shields, Max Borenstein (story by),…
Bruhl’s Rules: For Niki Lauda, a Review of the 2013 Ron Howard Film ‘Rush’
Note: This was the first unfinished draft on my website. In light of Niki Lauda’s passing this week, I thought I’d honor him by finishing it. What is winning? The concept means different things to different people. To Niki Lauda and James Hunt winning is a split interpretation about being alive. Is it enough to…
‘The Perfect Date’ How to Half-Ass a Film in 2019
Possibly the greatest movie of all-time?
‘Avengers: Endgame’ Review “Farewell Tour”
Avengers: Endgame is a movie of moments. Its predecessor Infinity War was a movie of minutes. The former felt a bit like Marvel homework as most seconds were spent placing pieces across a chess board for a game the audience didn’t get to play. Despite the interesting and dramatic choice of framing its villain as…
“A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms” Review: ‘Hell of a Night’
This was an unquestionably good episode of Game of Thrones, the best in years (qualified praise since there’s only been a handful of episodes), and this is what TV from a cultural standpoint is all about. Well received, good non-clunky fan service and payoffs. When a show can just film people talking in a dimly…
