movie reviews
My Highly Subjective List of the Best Movies of 2018
We can perhaps track my physical recovery by my attendance at entertainment events: In 2017, I saw 172 musical performances, while in 2018 that total jumped to 444. And while I only saw 22 new-release films in the theater in 2017, in 2018 I was back in the high life again with 39. It was […]
Movie Review: The Favourite
4 stars out of 5 As I’ve stated before, costume dramas aren’t really my thing. But in the past 2.5 years, Yorgos Lanthimos — with The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and Dogtooth (which I saw on home video) — has quickly become one of my fave filmmakers. Plus, we all know my […]
Movie Review: Holmes & Watson
1 star out of 5 Is movie comedy dead? What was the last really funny, wide-appeal film? In my lifetime, it seemed like mini-generations passed the torch, making each era’s silly but solid flicks: people from Python, SNL, SCTV, The State, Freaks & Geeks. But it truly feels like the torch has been extinguished. Will […]
Movie Review: Ben Is Back
4 stars out of 5 The movie takes place on December 24, and I watched it on December 24, so that was pretty cool. Quick review: Really good but it’s a bummer. Ben (actor of the moment Lucas Hedges) is a young addict in recovery who has come home for Christmas. And maybe he shouldn’t […]
Movie Review: Spider-Man — Into the Spider-Verse
4 stars out of 5 I was confused by the trailer: Was this a kiddie movie? Having seen all the other Spider-Man movies, was I obligated to see this one as well? I mean, it’s a cartoon, right? Although, comic books are cartoons by definition. So maybe this was the preferable way to see a […]
Movie Review: Creed II
4 stars out of 5 I was glad they made this sequel, because it’s pretty cool to have a film series within a film series: i.e. Creed II is Rocky VIII. Well, kudos to all involved, because — if not quite as artfully made as the first Creed — it more than gets the job […]
Movie Review: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs
4 stars out of 5 I generally only review movies that can be seen in a theater, but the Coen Brothers are maybe my all-time favorite filmmakers, and this was kind of in theaters for a few days, so… I’m reviewing it! My blog, my rules. I’ll end the suspense: I liked it a whole […]
Movie Review: Boy Erased
4 stars out of 5 I first noticed Joel Edgerton in the 2013 Leo version of The Great Gatsby, in which the Aussie struggled with an American accent. By 2015, he impressed me in Black Mass. But to be honest, I still confused him with Joel Kinnaman from The Killing. From now on, I promise […]
Movie Review: The Girl in the Spider’s Web
3 stars out of 5 As Meatloaf once said, Claire Foy: Don’t be sad, ’cause two out of three ain’t bad. Foy has had a real nice 2018, with Unsane and First Man, but her luck finally ran out. Not that The Girl in the Spider’s Web is bad — it’s certainly watchable — just […]
Movie Review: Bohemian Rhapsody
4 stars out of 5 It was late 1977. My family went to a record store, and my sister and I were each allowed to buy one album. She selected the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, and I chose News of the World by Queen. I listened to it over and over and over again, poring […]
Jack Silbert, curator