Tag Archives: featured

Movie Reviews

The Monkey Review

Leave a comment

The Monkey

  • Director: Osgood Perkins
  • Writer: Osgood Perkins
  • Starring: Theo James, Elijah Wood, Tatiana Maslany, Rohan Campbell, Christian Convery, Sarah Levy

Grade: B

Last year, Osgood Perkins broke into the mainstream with the box-office hit Longlegs. Not only did the film find success at the theater, but critics praised it for its atmospheric tension and gorgeous visuals. Less than a year later, Perkins teams with James Wan to adapt Stephen King’s short story “The Monkey.” Unlike his last film, The Monkey has a drastically different tone, delving deep into satire and absurdist humor, making this a riot from start to finish.

Continue reading The Monkey Review →
TV Reviews

Severance Season 2 Episode 4 Review

3 Comments

“Woe’s Hollow”

  • Creator: Dan Erickson
  • Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman

Grade: A

Warning: This review of Severance season 2 episode 4 will contain spoilers.

There’s a number of reasons I’m glad that Severance isn’t streaming on a binge streamer like Netflix, but episode 4 is further proof that the weekly drop is the perfect model for the show. It’s not that dropping the entire season all at once entirely prevents showrunners from making the kind of left-field episodes like “Woe’s Hollow”, but they’re typically more inclined to push the narrative in continuous ways. The episode comes essentially out of left field based on where the show ended last week, but it’s one of the best episodes of the series so far.

Continue reading Severance Season 2 Episode 4 Review →
TV Reviews

Severance Season 2 Episode 3 Review

1 Comment

“Who is Alive?”

  • Creator: Dan Erickson
  • Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman

Grade: B+

Warning: This review of Severance season 2 episode 3 will contain spoilers.

Of all of the juggled storylines in Severance, I never expected the romance between Mark S. (Adam Scott) and Helly R. (Britt Lower) to be so prominent, but season 2 episode 3 brings it closer to the center, and I can’t say I’m upset about it. It’s a fascinating subversion of the love triangle trope: Mark is torn between someone he has genuinely fallen for, and someone who he knows, but another version of himself already loves. The show has already raised a number of intriguing questions because of its unique world-building, but this finds a way to take both the characters and their circumstances in interesting, new directions.

Continue reading Severance Season 2 Episode 3 Review →
Movie Reviews

You’re Cordially Invited Review

Leave a comment

You’re Cordially Invited

  • Director: Nicholas Stoller
  • Writer: Nicholas Stoller
  • Starring: Will Ferrell, Reese Witherspoon, Geraldine Viswanathan, Jack McBrayer, Bobby Moynihan, Meredith Hagner, Jimmy Tatro

Grade: C-

Will Ferrell is an actor I enjoy in any project, no matter how good or bad it ends up. Whether it’s iconic comedies like Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy or critically panned films like Get Hard, Ferrell brings an energy that elevates even the worst dialogue. With the pairing of Reese Witherspoon and writer-director Nicholas Stoller, I had high expectations that You’re Cordially Invited could be another Will Ferrell staple. Sadly, the film falls victim to most recent direct-to-streaming comedies; an unimaginative screenplay and a misunderstanding of Gen-Z culture. 

Continue reading You’re Cordially Invited Review →
TV Reviews

Severance Season 2 Episode 2 Review

1 Comment

“Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig”

  • Creator: Dan Erickson
  • Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman

Grade: B+

Warning: This review of Severance season 2 episode 2 will contain spoilers.

After last week’s season premiere focused mostly on the plight of the innies following the events of the season 1 finale, it seems fitting that Severance season 2 episode 2 would focus mostly on the outies. In fact, “Goodbye, Mrs. Selvig” picks up immediately after Mark’s (Adam Scott) innie blurts out the truth about Gemma. The episode doesn’t advance the plot of the season significantly, but it fills in some necessary gaps, while highlighting some of the show’s best secondary characters.

Continue reading Severance Season 2 Episode 2 Review →
TV Reviews

Severance Season 2 Episode 1 Review

1 Comment

“Hello, Ms. Cobel”

  • Creator: Dan Erickson
  • Starring: Adam Scott, Britt Lower, John Turturro, Zach Cherry, Tramell Tillman, Patricia Arquette, Jen Tullock, Michael Chernus, Dichen Lachman

Grade: A-

Warning: The review of the season premiere of Severance will contain spoilers.

I often wonder if AppleTV+ knew it had such a massive hit on hits hands when they quietly dropped season 1 of Severance in early 2022. The show quickly became a word-of-mouth darling amongst critics and fans as the season went on – culminating in a number of Emmy nominations – and expectations have only grown in the 3 year wait for season 2. It can’t be overstated how rare it is in today’s TV landscape to have a truly original show that succeeds at being thrilling, insightful, and mysterious. Creator Dan Erickson rightfully earned comparisons to Lost with the sheer depth of his world, and it felt like season 1 had only scratched the surface.

Continue reading Severance Season 2 Episode 1 Review →
Movie Reviews

The Room Next Door Review

1 Comment

The Room Next Door

  • Director: Pedro Almodóvar
  • Writers: Pedro Almodóvar 
  • Starring: Tilda Swinton, Julianne Moore, John Turturro, Alessandro Nivola, Juan Diego Botto

Grade: B

Pedro Almodóvar’s films have always explored the very essence of humanity, filtered through his specific, melodramatic lens. His latest film, The Room Next Door, offers more of his sensibilities, and his ruminations on death and companionship, but something gets lost in translation. Throughout his career, Almodóvar has worked almost exclusively in his native Spanish – with the exception of his two most recent short films – but The Room Next Door is his first feature film in English. While it’s borderline reductive to attribute the film’s flaws to the change in language, it’s undoubtedly a lingering question that hangs over the final product.

Continue reading The Room Next Door Review →
Movie Reviews

Better Man Review

Leave a comment

Better Man

  • Director: Michael Gracey
  • Writers: Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey
  • Starring: Robbie Williams, Jonno Davies, Steve Pemberton, Damon Herriman, Raechelle Banno, Alison Steadman, Kate Mulvaney, Frazer Hadfield, Tom Budge, Anthony Hayes

Grade: B-

Robbie Williams was a name I had never heard before the announcement of Better Man. Despite having a good production team behind the film, I had zero interest in seeing another musical biopic, especially about someone whom I knew nothing about. Then, I heard that Robbie Williams would be portrayed by a motion-captured CGI ape, which not only caught my attention but reversed all expectations I had before. 

Is the film as weird as its premise sounds? Absolutely.

Continue reading Better Man Review →
Best of 2024, Special Features

Ben Sears’ Top 10 Movies of 2024

2 Comments

Was 2024 a bad year for movies? Not exactly. As you’ll see, I had no trouble picking my ten favorite films of the year. But for much of the year, that wasn’t the case, with many anticipated hits from celebrated filmmakers underwhelming. Call it a byproduct of last year’s strikes, or call it a simple ebb and flow after the boon of great films in 2023. Nevertheless, this is a list of films I could discuss endlessly, and which I’m excited to revisit down the road well past 2024.

Continue reading Ben Sears’ Top 10 Movies of 2024 →
TV Reviews

Squid Game 2 – TV Review

Leave a comment

Squid Game 2

  • Creator: Hwang Dong-hyuk
  • Starring: Lee Jung-jae, Wi Ha-joon, Lee Byung-hun, Im Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Lee Jin-wook
  • Seven episode season, seven episodes watched for review

Grade: B

When Squid Game first dropped on Netflix in 2021, its anti-capitalism and anti-establishment messaging hit the culture at just the right time (not that there’s ever really a bad time for those ideas). Fresh out of the pandemic and still reeling from the Trump administration and the January 6 insurrection, the show resonated outside of its South Korean origins to become an unexpected international critical and popular hit. Squid Game 2, the second season of Hwang Dong-hyuk’s show, was all but inevitable, especially given the first season’s cliffhanger ending. It can be difficult for a show to follow up on great success and elevate what came before, and while the show’s second season doesn’t always live up to its potential, it provides a number of exciting thrills and interesting characters.

Continue reading Squid Game 2 – TV Review →