Category: New Releases
Chappaquiddick: Political uncertainty
by Matt Ward
Two life changing events happened on a seemingly innocuous weekend in July 1969. Everyone knows the latter, Neil Armstrong’s groundbreaking the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission soon to be depicted in Damien Chazelle’s biopic “First Man.” What happened late one night 18 hours earlier is less clear as a car crash into a pond along the Eastern seaboard killed the presidential … Read More Chappaquiddick: Political uncertainty
Paterno: Ignorance is bliss
by Matt Ward
On paper, it seems like a surefire winner to have an acting legend like Al Pacino take on the role of college football’s winningest coach. Pacino exudes gravitas for days and it doesn’t hurt at all that the Academy Award-winning actor bears a striking resemblance to the 84-year-old sports icon. But the execution leaves a little bit to be desired as Oscar-winning director Barry … Read More Paterno: Ignorance is bliss
Ready Player One: Life in virtual reality
by Matt Ward
Who’s ready for an Easter egg hunt? Director Steven Spielberg is back with his most ambitious film in close to a decade, giving the pop culture obsessed ample opportunity to ooh and aah an obvious and obscure references from movies, music and video games. Based on Ernest Cline’s novel of the same name, “Ready Player One” is a high-octane action adventure film that crams … Read More Ready Player One: Life in virtual reality
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
Phantom Thread: Daniel Day-Lewis heads into retirement with fashion drama
by Matt Ward
Daniel Day-Lewis deserves to go out better than this. Almost by default, Day-Lewis has been earmarked for a sixth Oscar nomination ever since the iconic English actor announced his retirement last year. If in fact “Phantom Thread” truly marks the last on-screen appearance of one of cinema’s most accomplished actors, what audiences will expect to see in theaters is a far cry from what … Read More Phantom Thread: Daniel Day-Lewis heads into retirement with fashion drama
Black Panther: Toeing the line between comic book film, cinematic essay on society
by Matt Ward
When is a movie just a movie, and when does it become something more? These are the questions posed by reviews and think-pieces about the latest comic book film from Marvel Studios, “Black Panther,” a film that stands out for its predominately African American cast from African American director Ryan Coogler. Viewed under the microscope of its place in the larger Marvel Cinematic Universe, … Read More Black Panther: Toeing the line between comic book film, cinematic essay on society
The 15:17 to Paris: Capturing true heroism
by Matt Ward
Ten minutes rarely make a feature as unforgettable as Clint Eastwood’s latest directorial effort, an ode to American servicemen who put their lives on the line for strangers they’ll never truly know. No feat of filmmaking can ever truly express the amount of heroism shown by Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler as well as three other European men on a seemingly random … Read More The 15:17 to Paris: Capturing true heroism
Call Me By Your Name: Love is love is love in Italian drama
by Matt Ward
“Call Me By Your Name”s Italian director Luca Guadagnino delivers one of the year’s most striking, eloquent films, a coming-of-age summer romance with a profound emotional impact. It just happens to be about a 17 year old boy who falls for a somewhat older man in his father’s employ. This shouldn’t be a relevant factor in 2018, but less progressive audiences will balk at … Read More Call Me By Your Name: Love is love is love in Italian drama
Hostiles: Frontier philosophy
by Matt Ward
Westerns just aren’t as simple as they used to be. No longer can a filmmaker simply declare that “this town ain’t big enough for the both of us” and set in motion a lively, usually gregarious sequence of events that typically ends with a duel at high noon. Complexity is key to a strong Western nowadays. Director Scott Cooper’s fourth feature film makes major … Read More Hostiles: Frontier philosophy
Cinematic Considerations 