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In: 2018, Hot Take

Hot Take: One of the most tension-filled films in recent memory. By far, the best movie of 2018 to date. It’s also one of the best “Go to the Movies” movies in quite some time.

While Titanic isn’t my favorite film (although it’s in my Top 5), it is easily the movie I enjoy seeing the most in theaters. Every time it is re-released, I go as far as I need to go to see it. I’ve seen it 8 times in theaters. It’s one of those theatrical experiences that you don’t get from most movies. A Quiet Place, a suspense/thriller/horror where making a sound can get you killed from John Krasinski (Jim from The Office), is the latest film to qualify as one of the top “Go to the Movies” movies of the 2000s. That doesn’t necessarily make it one of the best movies, though it’s an excellent movie, also, but if it’s on your list to see and you’re thinking about waiting to see it at home (or you’re one of those people with the ability to illegally download movies currently in theaters… Shame on you, by the way!), you should clear your schedule and make time to see it where it was meant to be seen. A Quiet Place is one of those films that I can guarantee loses something outside of the cinema. Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: If Gone Girl had a less fun, more manipulative sister she’d be The Girl on the Train. Next stop: Boredom.

Poor Emily Blunt. Blunt portrays the titular character in The Girl on the Train and does a heckuva job as a blackout drunk divorcee suffering from depression and delusions. Her performance as Rachel might be the only reason to watch the movie. The rest is a schlocky thriller with a predictable arc and what might be the world’s worst detective in cinematic history. Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: More Jessica Chastain. More queens battling. Less everything else. (This is a wish list, not a description of the movie.)

The Huntsman: Winter’s War was entertaining. It also wasn’t very good. Surely, these are contradictory statements but true, too. Watching The Huntsman, it was hard to pin down who the audience was for it. If it was for fans of the first installment — Snow White and the Huntsman — then why remove Snow White from the tale? If it was aimed at a younger audience then why have sexual overtones, violence and crude language? If it is aimed at an older audience then why not make an attempt at giving maybe just one character a little bit of depth? If it is aimed at fans won over by the trailer then why not give the audience more of the queens than we actually get?Read More →

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In: 2015, Hot Take

Hot Take: At the onset, Sicario is unnerving. Throughout, it is tense and brutal. At completion, it is unsettling and thought provoking. One of the must-see films of the year.

There are few movies that establish tension so quickly and manage to maintain the feeling throughout as Sicario does. It’s no surprise the film is directed by Denis Villeneuve who accomplishes similar in 2013’s Prisoners. However, the way it is done in Sicario is much different as it relies on some powerful scenes that catapult the viewer into the losing battle that is the war on drugs. There are four scenes in Sicario that all could vie for “Scene of the Year” if there were such an award.Read More →

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In: 2014, Hot Take

Hot Take: Watch. Enjoy. Repeat.

I’ve been intrigued by the concept of living the same day over and over until you get it right ever since seeing Groundhog Day. Somehow Edge of Tomorrow escaped me last year when it was in theaters. Accidentally, this morning, I caught it on HBO and now I wish I wouldn’t have missed it at theaters. Read More →