Asteroid City Is A Classic Wes Anderson Film

Wes Anderson has done it again with his newest ensemble comedy, Asteroid City, releasing in theaters following its Cannes premiere. Anderson is one of those filmmakers that you either love or you don’t. I had an enjoyable enough time that I look forward to diving into the bonus features for the home release. Anyway, Anderson takes the audience to a fictional city in the American Southwest in 1955. To say that it is a small…

"Asteroid City Is A Classic Wes Anderson Film"

High Noon on the Waterfront Premieres On TCM

Following its world premiere at the 2022 Telluride Film Festival, High Noon on the Waterfront makes its broadcast premiere on TCM. This film is a tale of two different filmmakers as TCM observes the 75th anniversary of the Hollywood Blacklist during the month of October. This was one of the darkest times in both American and Hollywood history. If you’re not familiar, Hollywood filmmakers and actors were pressured to “name names” of communists because McCarthyism…

"High Noon on the Waterfront Premieres On TCM"

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Toronto 2022

Writer-director Rian Johnson has done it again as he takes Detective Benoit Blanc on a new adventure in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery. The one downside of this film being released by Netflix is that it’s theatrical release will probably be a brief one. That’s a shame. No matter how many times I’ve watched Knives Out since seeing it twice in theaters, watching at home just isn’t the same. You really need the audience…

"Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery – Toronto 2022"

The French Dispatch Is Short of Masterpiece Status

The French Dispatch, Wes Anderson’s love letter to journalism especially The New Yorker, is a mostly good film that’s well worth the wait. This film is a series of vignettes focusing on a travelogue, art, student protests, and a police kidnapping. The four stories come from the final issue of The French Dispatch, based in the fictional French city of Ennui-sur-Blasé. Outside of the city, nothing ties them together. Together, the vignettes do feature an…

"The French Dispatch Is Short of Masterpiece Status"

Birdman: Oscar Winner Benefits From Unique Style

When it comes to filmmaking, the Michael Keaton-starring Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) is a unique achievement in cinema. The film, featuring a star-studded cast, is Michael Keaton’s comeback so to speak.  Did he ever go away?  Well, probably not.  Regardless, Keaton turns in one of the greatest performances of his career. Riggan Thomson (Michael Keaton) used to portray the iconic Birdman.  While battling his alter-ego, the actor now mounts a Broadway play…

"Birdman: Oscar Winner Benefits From Unique Style"

Motherless Brooklyn Has Some Issues

Motherless Brooklyn has a bloated run time, which could prove to be a tortuous experience for film goers if there are projection issues. Lionel Essrog (Edward Norton) suffers from Tourette Syndrome despite working for Frank Minna (Bruce Willis).  Funny enough, Lionel’s condition has never stopped Frank from trusting him.  What aids Lionel is the fact that he has one of the best memories among anyone working for the L & L Agency.  When Frank gets…

"Motherless Brooklyn Has Some Issues"

Isle of Dogs: Wes Anderson Does It Again

With a film that pays homage to Japanese cinema, Wes Anderson has done it again with the crowd-pleasing stop-motion animated feature, Isle of Dogs. Isle of Dogs is as much the story of Chief (Bryan Cranston) and Spots (Liev Schreiber) as it is 12-year-old Atari Kobayashi (Koyu Rankin). Although it left him in a three-year coma, Atari had survived an accident while his parents perished.  He was left as a ward to his uncle, Mayor…

"Isle of Dogs: Wes Anderson Does It Again"

Collateral Beauty: It’s a Yawner

The last few years have not been kind to Will Smith and Collateral Beauty proves to be no exception. To be honest, this movie kept putting me to sleep repeatedly while I viewed it last night. If you want to see a movie that deals with loss and grief, please go watch Manchester by the Sea instead. David Frankel directs from a screenplay by Allan Loeb. The star-studded cast includes Smith, Edward Norton, Keira Knightley,…

"Collateral Beauty: It’s a Yawner"