Cody R. Source: Netflix When ‘Hubie Halloween’ hit Netflix it was assumed that all the buzz would center around Adam Sandler and his particular brand of nonsense. We’ve seen it over and over again with films like ‘Big Daddy,’ ‘Waterboy’ and ‘Billy Madison.’ Whether you enjoy this type of comedy or not is irrelevant, the only things that matter are June Squibb’s t-shirts. These novelty shirts warranted an additional half a star rating to some from reviews I have seen on Letterboxd. To show my appreciation I have decided to personally rank them from worst to best:
Evan D. First it was James Bond. Peter Rabbit and Mulan soon followed. These films were the some of the very earliest to flee their theatrical release dates as it became clear that the novel coronavirus would force theaters closed for an extended time. That emptying of the 2020 release calendar only accelerated, forcing studios to weigh the costs of full year delays against premium VOD drops. Although no film escaped the reality imposed by a global pandemic, one film has consistently led the charge to reopen theaters: Tenet. Cody R.There is an old phrase that states, “If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” The problem here is not the kitchen. The problem, if one even exists, is the warm hug. And it is here, by the creation of snow magic, does the chilling discussion over Olaf’s greatness begin. Let’s see if I can sum it up as quickly as he did in Frozen 2 over the plot synopsis of Frozen 1. There was a time when the idea of Olaf was no more than a mere fabrication from one’s own imagination. And as children we all had our own interpretation of what Olaf was to us. But it was here, through Elsa and Anna, that we were blessed with the reality of a new friend who possessed the ability to showcase compassion, empathy, foolishness, and of course without fail, a little bit of annoyance.
Evan D.For film buffs, Oscar nomination day can be a bit of a roller coaster. Coming on the heels of the frequently wacky Golden Globes there is always a flicker of hope that the Academy will make good choices. Far more often than that though, the nominees are exactly what everyone pessimistically predicted plus a few surprises that are also usually bad.
2020 was no exception as beloved films such as ‘Knives Out’ and ‘Little Women’ underperformed while ‘The Farewell’ and ‘Uncut Gems’ were excluded entirely. Conversely the film that led all others in total nominations was the highly divisive ‘Joker.’ It wasn’t all bad news though, the Documentary branch nominated 4 women and 4 foreign language films in their category and ‘I Lost My Body’ found its way into the animated feature nominees after being snubbed by the Golden Globes. Just like last year, I’m breaking down the nominations in the major categories. If you’re interested in how I did last year, check it out here. Without further ado, the nominees are: Evan D. Towards the end of Summer, the year in film was looking pretty bleak. Endgame had smashed box office records, but moviegoers had precious few truly great films to choose from. Fast forward to December and to consider 2019 anything less that great year in film would seem crazy.
Like most years, the best movies in 2019 were reflections of the world around us. Some of the most resonant films put a microscope on the global inequality we see today. We were treated to films that thoughtfully explored economic hardship, the uphill battle faced by women in male dominated worlds and the zero sum nature of late capitalism. It’s truly been a spectacular year for movies and here are my 10 favorites from 2019. Evan D. With the launch of Disney+ last week and the massive box office haul in progress for Walt Disney Studios, the Mouse House is really having a moment. Indeed after just one day Disney plus reported over 10 million subscribers to its streaming platform. If that seems like a lot, it is. Disney+ already boasts a subscriber count higher than that of any other streaming platform except Netflix and Hulu (which Disney also owns.) Couple that with the company’s staggering box office numbers in the first 10 months of 2019 and you’re left with, pretty inarguably, the most powerful media company in the world right now.
Evan D.The Oscar nominees were announced this morning marking the beginning of a month of lobbying and speculation about who will win what. With everything fresh in mind let’s take a look at the big categories (Best Picture, Director and the four acting categories) to see who has the inside track, who surprised with their nomination and who inevitably was left out.
Evan DI know its been a while since I last posted a review, life happens. Instead of writing a full fledged deep dive into something that came out a couple months ago, I thought I could give a quick rundown of movies you can still see in theaters. There are plenty of great movies out right now from mega blockbusters to limited release indies. In order of their release (oldest to newest) here is what’s still playing and if you should check it out:
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