Month: March 2018
Love, Simon: An unconventional conventional love story
by Matt Ward
Teenage boys struggling to find their voice while dipping their toes into the world of romance isn’t exactly groundbreaking cinema. What separates director Greg Berlanti’s new film “Love, Simon” from the pack is its commitment to opening a dialogue about love, identity and self-discovery that will last long after audiences leave the theater. There will come a day when films like “Love, Simon” won’t … Read More Love, Simon: An unconventional conventional love story
Tomb Raider: Choose your own adventure
by Matt Ward
Seventeen years ago, a below-average action flick based on a video game took Hollywood by storm and turned Angelina Jolie into a movie star. Back then, it didn’t matter how outlandish the plot or unrealistic the characters seemed. “Lara Croft: Tomb Raider” was the film pretty much everyone saw and nearly everyone (critics aside) enjoyed. If you go back and watch the 2001 film … Read More Tomb Raider: Choose your own adventure
A Wrinkle in Time: A blockbuster for the younger crowd
by Matt Ward
Disney’s latest film cost 100 million dollars to make, and yet somehow, neither Marvel nor the Star Wars universe are attached. Rebooting the classic children’s novel by Madeline L’Engle after a poorly received 2003 television film, “A Wrinkle in Time” hits theaters as Disney seeks to capitalize off the success of “Black Panther,” another film from an up-and-coming African American director. Ava DuVernay approaches … Read More A Wrinkle in Time: A blockbuster for the younger crowd
Sign of the times: Artistic fantasy drama The Shape of Water wins Best Picture Oscar
by Matt Ward
It’s true. The reigning Academy Award winner for Best Picture and 13-time Oscar nominee features a scene of inter-species sex between a mute woman and a fish-man-god. That’s cinema in the modern era, a changing of the guard that began last year with the surprising upset win by gay coming-of-age story “Moonlight” that continues through genre films like “The Shape of Water,” “Get Out” … Read More Sign of the times: Artistic fantasy drama The Shape of Water wins Best Picture Oscar
Cinematic Considerations 