Doubt Features Powerhouse Performances

John Patrick Shanley adapts his 2004 play, Doubt, for the screen and gets a number of masterclass performances in the process. I’ve been meaning to watch the film for years. The 2008 recession was not kind to me so it meant picking and choosing what I saw in theaters. The further we get, the more films there are to focus on. Even with subscribing to Netflix back in the day, there were always other films…

"Doubt Features Powerhouse Performances"

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is the newest addition to The Hunger Games franchise and the film is dreadfully long. The film runs just over two and a half hours, which means sitting nearly three hours in a theater when one factors in trailers. Does such a film need to be this long? Hardly. By the time the film went beyond the 2 hour mark, I was beginning to feel my…

"The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes"

AIR: How Nike Won Over And Signed Michael Jordan

AIR shows how Sonny Vaccaro was instrumental in Nike beating Converse and Adidas in signing Michael Jordan to a shoe contract. I have to get this out of the way right now. Alex Convery’s script is mostly perfect. This goes not just for the screenwriter but director Ben Affleck, actor Matt Damon, and film editor William Goldenberg, too. There’s a scene in the film where they’re talking about athletes and signing them at Nike. I…

"AIR: How Nike Won Over And Signed Michael Jordan"

The Woman King – Toronto 2022

Viola Davis turns in an award-worthy performance in The Woman King, a new historical epic that just premiered in Toronto. I had to juggle my schedule a bit in order to attend one of the TIFF screenings. It isn’t unfair to say that Viola Davis should get an Oscar nomination for her role as General Nanisca. This is an epic true story set in the African Kingdom of Dahomey in 1823. Nanisca (Viola Davis) leads…

"The Woman King – Toronto 2022"

The Suicide Squad Arrives on Home Video

DC’s recent outing, The Suicide Squad, is now available for fans to bring home and watch on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital. Guardians of the Galaxy‘s James Gunn stops by the DC universe to helm The Suicide Squad and put his own hysterical spin on things. I should not have to warn you but I am: PLEASE STAY FOR THE END OF THE CREDITS. Belle Reve plays home to the highest mortality rate…

"The Suicide Squad Arrives on Home Video"

The Suicide Squad Is DC’s Funniest Film Yet

Guardians of the Galaxy‘s James Gunn stops by the DC universe to helm The Suicide Squad and put his own hysterical spin on things. I should not have to warn you but I am: PLEASE STAY FOR THE END OF THE CREDITS. Belle Reve plays home to the highest mortality rate of any American prison. When it’s home to the worst Super-Villains on Earth, Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) can always come walking in to recruit…

"The Suicide Squad Is DC’s Funniest Film Yet"

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: A Farewell To A Star

Chadwick Boseman graces the screen and bids fans farewell during an Oscar-worthy performance in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. It was never supposed to end this way.  Chadwick Boseman was our king.  He was never supposed to be taken away from us so soon.  I’ve watched this film twice–the first viewing came before the embargo lifted.  But it is a struggle to pen the words.  What do you say about an award-worthy performance when you’re watching…

"Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom: A Farewell To A Star"

Sundance 2019: Troop Zero

A young Georgia girl aims for the stars in the funny and poignant Troop Zero despite the odds being set against her every single step along the way. Christmas Flint (Mckenna Grace)–daughter of attorney Ramsey Flint (Jim Gaffigan)–has big dreams that lead to outer space.  We see this in the way that she looks up to the stars at night in 1977.  For now, she has to settle for just being a small town girl…

"Sundance 2019: Troop Zero"

TIFF 2018: Widows

A trio of recently widowed women in the city of Chicago follow in their husbands’ footsteps by coming together in Widows. The film has a few things going for it.  It’s not just tackling the women coming together and forming a heist of their own a la Ocean’s Eight but there’s also some political commentary.  The political commentary comes by way of how traditional Chicago politics are run.  We see this in how the Mulligan family…

"TIFF 2018: Widows"