Downtown Owl – Tribeca 2023

Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater adapt Chuck Klosterman’s Reagan-era 1980s dark comedy, Downtown Owl, for the screen. The film, like Klosterman’s novel, takes place in a fictional North Dakota town. Funny enough, the Minneapolis area stands in for North Dakota in the adaptation. Anyway, the film takes place in 1984 just as a blizzard is about to hit the area. English teacher Julia Rabia (Lily Rabe) is one of Owl’s newest residents, having moved from…

"Downtown Owl – Tribeca 2023"

Persuasion: The Jane Austen Adaptation Is Terrible

The Dakota Johnson-starring Persuasion makes its arrival on Netflix as the first big screen adaptation of the Jane Austen novel. While there have been previous film adaptations, they were made-for-TV and not for the big screen. In fairness, this film did get a brief theatrical release before going to its forever home on Netflix. Unfortunately, one should not go into this film with any high hopes. I mean, it’s very telling alone with Netflix not…

"Persuasion: The Jane Austen Adaptation Is Terrible"

Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Hits Home Video

After playing in theaters this summer and making an early arrival on digital, Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins is now available on home video. This film was seen as an opportunity to reboot the franchise. Unfortunately, it bombed at the box office, bringing in $37 million worldwide against an $88 million production budget. Throw in marketing and such and the film would have needed $160-175 million to break even. The film’s summer release also came…

"Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins Hits Home Video"

Last Christmas: Will The Film Give You Its Heart?

Last Christmas benefits from chemistry between Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding while taking inspiration from the George Michael song of the same name. Following the opening in Yugoslavia 1999, the film flash-forwards to London 2017.  Kate (Emilia Clarke) works as an elf for Santa (Michelle Yeoh) in a Christmas store open all year long.  This is what she does for work when she’s not trying to land gigs as a singer.  While cleaning the windows…

"Last Christmas: Will The Film Give You Its Heart?"

Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor hits Blu-ray/DVD

Starring Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, and Henry Golding, Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor arrives home on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD. Based on the book of the same name, Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor offers a charming fun comedic thriller with a side dish of mystery. Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is a vlogger who investigates the disappearance of her best friend, Emily Nelson (Blake Lively).  They met because of their children attending the…

"Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor hits Blu-ray/DVD"

A Simple Favor: A Fun Comedic Thriller

Based on the book of the same name, Paul Feig’s A Simple Favor offers a charming fun comedic thriller with a side dish of mystery. Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick) is a vlogger who investigates the disappearance of her best friend, Emily Nelson (Blake Lively).  They met because of their children attending the same elementary school in their small Connecticut town.  Quickly becoming friends, Stephanie helps Emily’s husband, Sean Townsend (Henry Golding), during this time of…

"A Simple Favor: A Fun Comedic Thriller"

Crazy Rich Asians Injects Life In Rom-Coms

Crazy Rich Asians is the big screen flick that injects some new life so desperately needed in the romantic comedy genre.  If Netflix had their way, you wouldn’t be seeing the film in theaters.  This means that my Netflix-free parents wouldn’t see it at all.  Thank G-d a studio wanted to release this film in theaters because it’s a lot of fun. NYU economics professor Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) had no clue what she was getting when…

"Crazy Rich Asians Injects Life In Rom-Coms"