Family has its moments, falls a bit flat

Family may have its moments but there’s no reason why this star-studded comedy doesn’t work any better than it absolutely should. Kate Stone (Taylor Schilling) is the career-oriented woman working for a hedge fund in New Jersey.  She’s firm in her beliefs.  One could say that this is how she climbed the corporate ladder to be senior vice president.  Kate goes as far as to tell new employee Erin (Jessie Ennis) to not make friends…

"Family has its moments, falls a bit flat"

If Beale Street Could Talk is Beautifully Directed

Beautifully directed, If Beale Street Could Talk is able to raise the bar on what we come to expect from writer-director Barry Jenkins. If you didn’t notice it with Moonlight, Barry Jenkins has a way with telling a story on camera.  If Beale Street Could Talk further enhances his work as a storyteller.  Jenkins puts so much care into the film even if it’s James Baldwin’s words that he adapts on screen.  We especially see…

"If Beale Street Could Talk is Beautifully Directed"

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse features many surprises and prevents the superhero genre from going stale by injecting a fresh bite. This is one of the biggest films of the year in which I suggest going in completely cold.  It means not reading reviews or watching trailers until after seeing the film.  I say this because we’re not without the typical surprises.  However, some of this comes by way of the voice roles not provided in…

"Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse"

TIFF 2018: White Boy Rick

Taking place during Detroit in the 1980s, White Boy Rick tells the story it wants but only to an extent. The biggest thing that I felt could have been explored better were the unjust treatments towards Rick Wershe, Jr. (Richie Merritt).  This is someone who became the youngest person to ever serve as an FBI informant.  The fact that the FBI turned their backs on a deal is wildly upsetting.  It isn’t unfair to say…

"TIFF 2018: White Boy Rick"

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"

Hotel Artemis: Check Out Any Time You Want

A film that mixes different genres, Hotel Artemis is a film that depicts a bleak future in Los Angeles. While 2028 doesn’t seem so long into the future, it appears to be very bleak for Los Angeles for a few days in June.  Thanks to the Clearwater Corporation shutting off water to the general public, the city is rioting in full force.  It’s been a full three days of rioting and the police are just…

"Hotel Artemis: Check Out Any Time You Want"