Life is not what it seems for a small-town California barber in the Coen brothers’ 2001 film noir, The Man Who Wasn’t There. Even this is a film noir, the Coens bring their own ideas into the genre. It’s not your typical film noir. The lead character does not intentionally set out to commit any crime. It just kind of happens. But if you read any of James M. Cain’s work, you’ll find characters behaving…
"The Man Who Wasn’t There: A Film Noir"Tag: Scarlett Johansson
The Oscar-winning Her remains a beautiful masterpiece as the film reached the tenth anniversary of its theatrical release. Her falls under sci-fi but just barely. It’s more of a romantic drama if you ask me, much in the same way that Star Wars is a Space Western. The only thing that’s sci-fi about it is if someone were to fall in love with their phone’s operating system. Siri, Alexa, are you listening?!? Regardless, filmmaker Spike…
"Her Is Still A Beautiful Masterpiece"
Hail, Caesar! isn’t just a love letter to the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age but a brilliant satire about the 1950s studio system. “Would that it were so simple?” – a line that Hobie Doyle struggles with in a sophisticated costume drama Hail, Caesar! had been some ten years in the making by the time of its release in 2016. Things reached a point where George Clooney messed with them by listing the film…
"Hail, Caesar! Is A Love Letter To The Hollywood Studio System"
The Prestige is a magical psychological thriller about a pair of feuding magicians with no shortage of edge-of-your-seat suspense. Christopher Nolan reteams with a number of his usual department heads as he reunites with his Batman Begins stars Christian Bale and Michael Caine for an adaptation of Christopher Priest’s (not to be confused with the comic book writer) 1995 novel. Nolan would adapt the script with his brother, Jonathan, for a number of years before…
"The Prestige: A Magical Psychological Thriller"
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"
In what may be one of the quickest theater-to-home releases for a studio tentpole, Black Widow is now available on home video to buy or rent. Before I dive into my thoughts on the film, we need to talk about the end credits. Because the film displays the credits during an opening montage, there is no mid-credit scene. Instead, the scene comes at the very end of the credits. If you’re watching at home, a…
"Black Widow Arrives on Home Video" It’s been a long time coming for Black Widow but the Marvel spy thriller is finally hitting theaters and Disney+ Premier Access. Before I dive into my thoughts on the film, we need to talk about the end credits. Because the film displays the credits during an opening montage, there is no mid-credit scene. Instead, the scene comes at the very end of the credits. If you’re watching at home, a lot of people worked…
"Black Widow: Marvel Does It Again With Spy Thriller"
Jojo Rabbit, Taika Waititi’s Oscar-winning anti-hate satire, is now available for audiences to relive at home and add to their home video collection. There’s a tricky way of addressing the Holocaust and/or World War 2 through satire and humor but Jojo Rabbit does so in a perfect way. Very few films are able to tackle the subject through humor and get it right. Or at least in way that isn’t tacky. Making fun of the…
"Jojo Rabbit: Oscar-Winning Satire Comes Home"
Marriage Story presents an authentic look into one family’s life as they breakup and raise their child together while living on opposite coasts. Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and Charlie (Adam Driver) are married. However, the two of them are going through a divorce. While they originally had no intention of bringing on lawyers, they eventually turn to legal cancel. Nobody said that divorce would be easy, right? What makes it so important for the two of…
"Toronto 2019: Marriage Story" There’s a tricky way of addressing the Holocaust and/or World War 2 through satire and humor but Jojo Rabbit does so in a perfect way. Jojo Betzler (Roman Griffin Davis) is a fanatical member of the Hitler Youth. This is where Captain Klenzendorf (Sam Rockwell, playing another racist) leads the youth in training. He’s bought into the Nazis so much that his invisible friend is none other than Adolf Hitler (Taika Waititi) himself. Only Taika…
"Toronto 2019: Jojo Rabbit"