Bird Box paints a bleak dystopian future but there’s something about Sandra Bullock’s performance that makes us care about what’s happening. Where A Quiet Place forced people into silence lest they die, Bird Box forces one to close their eyes while outside. Imagine a world in which you can’t even appreciate the sunlight while inside. This is the world that novelist Josh Malerman creates and screenwriter Eric Heisserer adapts for the big screen. Following Malorie’s (Sandra…
"Bird Box Has Quiet Place-esque vibe"Tag: Netflix
The sound design for Roma is so intricate that watching this film in anything other than a theater would not be doing proper justice to the film. Cleo (Yalitza Aparicio) is the film’s main focus. She’s working as a live-in maid for a middle-class family living in Mexico City’s Roma neighborhood. The family dynamics change when Señor Antonio (Fernando Grediaga) returns from a conference only to leave again. This means that Sofia (Marina De Tavira), a mother of…
"Roma: One of The Best Sound Designs Ever!"
Taking us back to the days of the Old West, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs is another classic from the minds of the Coen Brothers. The Western is one of the oldest genres in the book but it always makes for interesting material. Even when we think that every possible scenario has been exhausted, someone comes about with a fresh take. This is what the Coens do and they do it so well, I must…
"The Ballad of Buster Scruggs: Another Coen Classic"
Based on the book of the same name, The Land of Steady Habits is more comedy than drama in this newest film from Nicole Holofcener. When we first meet Anders Hill (Ben Mendelsohn), he has retired from working in finance and is sleeping with other women after divrcing his ex-wife, Helene (Edie Falco). Okay–so he’s a womanizer. At first, a totally unlikable character, we’re finding ourselves gravitated towards rooting for him. It makes so sense–I know–but this…
"TIFF 2018: The Land of Steady Habits"
Lauren Miller Rogen’s charming feature comedy, Like Father, is elevated by the chemistry between Kristen Bell and Kelsey Grammer. The workaholic that she is, Rachel Hamilton (Kristen Bell) was nowhere near ready to walk down the aisle for her wedding. I don’t mean that in getting cold feet. Her phone almost never leaves her hands or ear because there’s always work to be done! When her fiance, Owen (Jon Foster), leaves her at the altar,…
"Like Father: A Charming Father-Daughter Comedy"
Girl, since acquired by Netflix, has taken home not one but two awards at Cannes. It’s frustrating to see this film take home any award. The practice of Transface–casting cisgender people in transgender roles–is a practice that seriously needs to come to an end. It’s no different than the casting of white people and making them up to appear as people of color. If you wouldn’t cast someone in Blackface, don’t bother casting in Transface! …
"Girl: Cisgender Male wins award for Transgender Role at Cannes"
Bobby Kennedy for President is a stark reminder of what the world lost when Senator Robert Kennedy was killed in June 1968. The documentary comes on the heels of the 50th anniversary of Kennedy’s presidential run. It was a presidential campaign that, while shy of 90 days, would change a nation for better or worse. With the ongoing Vietnam War, there was a lot of conflict within the Democratic Party. RFK was running a campaign…
"Tribeca 2018: Bobby Kennedy for President"
Despite taking the world by surprise when Netflix announced to the world that the film would be released immediately after the Super Bowl, The Cloverfield Paradox is not the event film that streaming provider thought they were getting. Instead, it was worse–way worse. It’s a bad sign for a film when it struggles to not only keep one awake but make them want to gouge their eyes out while watching. Directed by Julius Onah from…
"The Cloverfield Paradox Is Not The Event Film We Wanted"
One of Us is a heartbreaking and devastating documentary that takes a look at three people who made the decision to leave their Chasidic communities. Documentary filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady follow three ex-Chasidic Jews over the course of three years. With their access over that time span, they give us a glimpse at Chasidic Judaism that many communities are not going to be happy with. Not with the amount of abuse that’s been covered…
"One Of Us: Ex-Chasidic Documentary is Heartbreaking, Devastating"
Netflix’s The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected) is the dysfunctional Jewish family that This Is Where I Leave You wanted to be. Written and directed by Noah Baumbach, the film stars Adam Sandler, Ben Stiller, Elizabeth Marvel, Grace Van Patten, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson. Judd Hirsch, Rebecca Miller, Adam Driver, Matthew Shear, and Candice Bergen co-star. Baumbach has given us some very strong films before and The Meyerowitz Stories is no exception. It’s his…
"The Meyerowitz Stories: A Typical Dysfunctional Jewish Family"