I’m Your Woman, directed by Julia Hart and starring Rachel Brosnahan, owes its influence to the 1970s classic crime dramas. Here’s the thing about the classic crime dramas: they were told from a man’s point of view. What Julia Hart and Jordan Horowitz do with their script is change up the genre. Surburban housewife Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is front and center in this throwback thriller. You know it’s a throwback as soon as you see…
"AFI FEST 2020: I’m Your Woman"Category: Movie Reviews
Rebecca is the first major American adaptation of Dame Daphne du Maurier’s novel since the Alfred Hitchcock film in 1940. “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.” – the second Mrs. de Winter says as the film opens with Clint Mansell’s haunting score. It’s one of the most famous opening lines in text or cinema. Not including this line would be criminal. This is a contemporary update but in spite of that, the film…
"Rebecca: Netflix Adaptation Stays True To The Book"
Belushi is a heartbreaking must-watch documentary about late Saturday Night Live, Animal House, and Blues Brothers star John Belushi. This summer marked the 40th anniversary of The Blues Brothers hitting the big screen. Sadly, this year also marked the 38th anniversary of the comedian’s tragic death at 33 years old. And yet this film finds a way to capture what was going on in his head with newfound movie stardom. Mind you, this was during…
"Belushi: A Heartbreaking Must-Watch Documentary"
American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules arrives on DVD as the fifth installment in the American Pie Presents Direct-DVD spin-off series. One of the things that sets this film apart from the previous spin-offs is that it is the first film to not feature Eugene Levy in the cast. Levy first portrayed Jim’s dad, Noah Levenstein, in 1999 but of course, the actor has been busy with Schitt’s Creek. At the same time, an appearance by…
"American Pie Presents: Girls’ Rules Now on DVD"
The Coen brothers find a way to mix both political thriller and dark comedy in Burn After Reading to give us a beautiful piece of cinema. Osbourne Cox (John Malkovich) quits his job as a CIA analyst and uses this newfound time to write his memoir. His wife, Katie (Tilda Swinton), sees this and continues having an affair with U.S. Marshal Harry Pfarrer (George Clooney). It feels like everybody is having an affair as we…
"Burn After Reading: A Comedic Political Thriller"
French Exit, starring Michelle Pfeiffer and Lucas Hedges, follows a broke socialite and her son in the new film from Azazel Jacobs. Frances Price (Michelle Pfeiffer) had plans “to die before the money ran out.” Alas, this was not to be. Insolvent and widowed at the start of the film, the Manhattan socialite decides to move to Paris. The mere premise has all the makes of a comedy but instead, it’s a drama. Frances could…
"New York FF 2020: French Exit"
The War with Grandpa is a cringe-worthy comedy that doesn’t really break new ground on the genre nor offer anything we haven’t seen before. The antics in The War with Grandpa draw along similar lines to Home Alone. A key difference being that the two at war are family members. In spite of the cast, this film simply isn’t good. While Rob Riggle is a natural comedian, Robert De Niro has shown in both Meet…
"The War with Grandpa: Raise the White Flag"
Spontaneous is an explosive coming-of-age comedy where no day is even guaranteed for anyone attending Covington High School. Aaron Starmer’s novel gets the small screen treatment in Brian Duffield’s adaptation. While the novel was first published four years ago, the story being told is very much on brand for 2020. Imagine going to high school and witnessing your friends exploding to death with blood landing everywhere. The amount of clothing that needs to be washed…
"Spontaneous: An Explosive Coming-Of-Age Comedy"
Totally Under Control is yet another documentary arriving before Election Day and among the most damning for the Trump Administration. That the documentary takes its own title from Trump’s very words should not be a surprise. Don’t forget this is the same Donald Trump who downplayed the threat of Covid-19 in public while telling Bob Woodward differently. Secretly filmed during the pandemic, the film was not locked until October 1st. Hours later, Trump would test…
"Totally Under Control Condemns Donald Trump"
George Cukor teams up with Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart in the classic romantic comedy, The Philadelphia Story. Grant, Hepburn, and Stewart are three of the biggest screen legends of all time. In fact, Stewart won an Oscar for Best Actor. This is in part because of Stewart losing for Mr. Smith Goes to Washington one year earlier. Donald Ogden Stewart picked up an Oscar for his screenplay. In addition to the two…
"The Philadelphia Story: An All-Time Screwball Classic"