Monthly Archives: November 2024

Movie Reviews

Maria Review

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Maria

  • Director: Pablo Larraín
  • Writers: Steven Knight
  • Starring: Angelina Jolie, Alba Rohrwacher, Pierfrancesco Favino, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Haluk Bilginer

Grade: B-

During his introduction of his latest film Maria, director Pablo Larraín espoused a childhood fondness for the opera, and a hope that the art form could return to its more welcoming, populous roots. With this in mind, it’s clear that Larraín’s film has great reverence not just for the opera itself, but for its subject, Maria Callas. It’s a thread that has connected a number of his films, especially his unofficial trilogy exploring the inner lives of the 20th century’s most misunderstood women, but there’s something missing from his latest entry, and part of it may be because of her unfamiliarity.

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Movie Reviews

Gladiator II Review

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Gladiator II

  • Director: Ridley Scott
  • Writer: Chris Morgan, Hiram Garcia
  • Starring: Paul Mescal, Denzel Washington, Pedro Pascal, Connie Nielson, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger

Grade: B

Ridley Scott is one of our more interesting filmmakers working today. Like many of his era, he’s directed many films that have been hailed as all-time classics, like Alien, Blade Runner, and of course, the original Gladiator. However, over the past two decades, Scott’s track record has gotten much shakier with misfires such as The Counselor and Robin Hood. It really wasn’t until The Martian in 2015 that Scott felt like he was fully back in form. At least for a little bit.

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Movie Reviews

Wicked Review

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Wicked

  • Director: Jon M. Chu
  • Writer: Winnie Holzman
  • Starring: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Bailey, Marissa Bode, Bowen Yang, Jeff Goldblum

Grade: A-

The movie musical is back in a big way with the long-simmering adaptation of Wicked thanks to director Jon M. Chu and the undeniable chemistry of its leads. Since its premiere on Broadway, Hollywood has tied itself in knots trying to figure out exactly how to film its version of Gregory Maguire’s novel, and while it may not be perfect, Chu’s vision does right by the material – a more difficult feat to accomplish than expected. Yes, technically, Wicked is only half of the story (part two is currently scheduled to be released in one year), but it’s one of the breeziest, most enjoyable moviegoing experiences of the year.

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Movie Reviews

Red One Review

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Red One

  • Director: Jake Kasdan
  • Writer: Chris Morgan, Hiram Garcia
  • Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans, Lucy Liu, JK Simmons, Kiernan Shipka, Nick Kroll

Grade: C-

Red One has built up an interesting reputation ahead of its release. Starting production in October of 2022, the film was meant to release during Christmas of 2023, but many problems started to grow. The film delayed production for a multitude of reasons, including rumors of Dwayne Johnson’s constant tardiness and set days missed. Then, the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike delayed the film’s release a whole year, with Amazon MGM choosing to stick with the holiday season release.

After all this time, is Red One able to overcome the controversies and obstacles that came their way? Not really.

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TV Reviews

Disclaimer Episode 7 Review

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“VII”

  • Creator: Alfonso Cuarón
  • Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, HoYeon Jung, Louis Partridge, Leslie Manville, Leila George

Grade: B

Warning: This review of episode 7 of Disclaimer will contain spoilers.

After last week’s reveal of Catherine’s version of the events in Italy, a number of questions remained. But the biggest question for Disclaimer lies in how much of her retelling is actually the truth. The show has dealt with a number of ideas throughout its run, especially in the second half, but it’s primarily concerned with the unreliable nature of storytelling. What one person recalls could be totally accurate, or it could be only half true. As the season finale, “VII”, begins, we see more and more of Catherine (Cate Blanchett in present day, Leila George in the past) retelling her truth to Steven (Kevin Kline), and the result is a powerful piece of storytelling and direction from Alfonso Cuarón.

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Movie Reviews

Here Review

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Here

  • Director: Robert Zemeckis
  • Writer: Eric Roth
  • Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Dannie McCallum, Joel Oulette, Daniel Betts, Kelly Reilly

Grade: B-

Robert Zemeckis was once one of the top filmmakers in Hollywood. And for good reason. He had delivered hit film after hit film on a consistent basis, ranging from blockbusters like Back to the Future and Oscar-winners such as Forrest Gump.

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TV Reviews

Disclaimer Episode 6 Review

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“VI”

  • Creator: Alfonso Cuarón
  • Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Sacha Baron Cohen, Kodi Smit-McPhee, HoYeon Jung, Louis Partridge, Leslie Manville, Leila George

Grade: B+

Warning: This review of episode 6 of Disclaimer will contain spoilers.

I have an embarrassing confession to make when it comes to Disclaimer: For whatever reason, I hadn’t realized until recently that the flashback segments, which were so prominent in episodes 1-4, were gleaned from the fictionalized novel, which was originally written by Nancy (Lesley Manville) after Jonathan (Louis Partridge) died. Therefore, what we saw wasn’t necessarily the gods-honest truth; rather, it was whatever Nancy had gleaned from her knowledge of Jonathan, and his photographs. This extra layer of fictionalization calls into question not only what happened in Italy between him and Catherine (Cate Blanchett present day, Leila George in the past), but how much we can trust Nancy and Steven (Kevin Kline).

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