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In: 2017, Hot Take

Hot Take: How can a film with such talent attached be this awful?

At first, I wanted to compare Suburbicon to Pleasantville. There’s something about the way the town of Suburbicon is presented that reminds me of Pleasantville. However, the two films are nothing alike. Actually, the most relevant aspect of the film is the way a bunch of white males (characters and creatives behind the film) minimize both the female and black characters of the film to the point where a second storyline completely marginalizes a black family in the ’50s white suburb being tormented by the citizens of Suburbicon while the other storyline — a man (Matt Damon) uses a break-in to stage the murder of his handicapped wife (Julianne Moore) for the insurance money — takes center stage. From the Coen Brothers and George Clooney, we’ve come to expect more… and better. Suburbicon accomplishes neither and devolves into a brutal watch that you seems to never want to reach its conclusion. While the film is only 105 minutes, it feels much longer and if you find a way to care about any of these characters, please let me know how you did it because damn if I could.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: Sometimes you have to suspend disbelief for a movie to work. With Money Monster, you have to hold disbelief at gunpoint, put a bomb vest on it and threaten to blow it up and disbelief still won’t stand down.

The late 90s and early 2000s brought us a lot of movies like Money Monster. Remember The Negotiator? Remember John Q? Remember 16 Blocks? Remember The Interpreter? Those all have a lot in common with Money Monster from a sense of tone, pace, tension and also suffer from being ridiculously unbelievable. It’s the downfall of Money Monster. It’s a movie that works if you watch it, enjoy the performances, get wrapped up in the drama and don’t think about the plot.Read More →

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In: 2016, Hot Take

Hot Take: What it’s like to watch a 105 minute inside joke. A film critics will love and audiences will shrug.

As Saturday Night Live has proven time and again, it’s a challenge to deliver 93 minutes without throwing in a dud of a bit here and there. Hail, Caesar! feels similar to a sketch comedy show, if that sketch comedy show took on 50s Hollywood. The skits of the Coen Brothers’ latest effort are so loosely intertwined (and at times seemingly forced together), it almost seems pointless to try and tell a coherent story amongst the haymakers taken at the golden age of Hollywood.
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In: 2016, Hot Take, Trailers

Anticipation (Before Trailer): 60/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 60/100

The cast — George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Dominic West, Giancarlo Esposito — has me more intrigued than anything. Thanks to Money Monster, we’ll get to see Clooney do his best Jim Cramer impression. The trailer feels a little bit too revealing as I feel as if I’ve seen most of the movie now but maybe there are a few twists and turns not revealed. Coming in May 2016.

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In: 2016, Hot Take, Trailers

Anticipation (Before Trailer): 50/100

Anticipation (After Trailer): 60/100

Love the cast! The trailer has some humorous moments. But there’s that pesky February release date. Even though it wasn’t a comedy, for some reason Hail, Caesar! is eerily reminiscent of 2014’s The Monuments Men. Movies with this kind of cache that release in February rarely hit. Let’s hope this one proves the tendencies wrong.

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In: 2013, Hot Take

Hot Take: Technically, Gravity is nearly flawless. Great! Once you strip away the stunning, beautiful visuals you have a good (not great) movie with respected actors playing themselves as astronauts. In summary: Great experience, good movie.

My first experience with Gravity was on a 20″ screen. Even on a 20″ tube television, the Alfonso Cuaron helmed film is spectacular to look at. The beautiful visuals and tight, meticulous camera work were both mesmerizing and frustrating but only the latter because I somehow missed this at theaters and will not be happy until I experience it.Read More →