Category: New Releases
Confess, Fletch: The mystery of reinventing the wheel
by Matt Ward
Sometimes it’s impossible to fully recapture the magic of what made a classic film great. This is especially true in comedy, where age might confuse, muddle, or downright destroy punchlines and characterizations that were likely hilarious decades prior but are out of touch with modern taste and sensibilities. It’s likely why there’s been such a gap in revitalizing the Fletch film series based on … Read More Confess, Fletch: The mystery of reinventing the wheel
Three Thousand Years of Longing: Pretty in pictures, not so in story
by Matt Ward
What does it mean to tell a story? What does it mean to be a storyteller? These are questions that have dated back as far as humans have interacted with one another trying to entertain, enlighten, make points, and create something greater than themselves. It’s an existential question that can never truly be answered, but one that director George Miller attempts to tackle with … Read More Three Thousand Years of Longing: Pretty in pictures, not so in story
Honk For Jesus: Ya got trouble in Atlanta City
by Matt Ward
The stage play and musical film “The Music Man” examines the world of the carnival charlatan Harold Hill, a larger-than-life character that transfixes and charms an entire town to his own financial gain. A product of the 1950s and early 1960s popular culture, it’s a relatively lighthearted cautionary tale meant to warn audiences away from being taken advantage of by con men posing as … Read More Honk For Jesus: Ya got trouble in Atlanta City
Breaking: Past the boiling point
by Matt Ward
A man walks into an Atlanta area bank. Honorably discharged from the Marine Corps, he’s soft and unassuming, calm and friendly to the teller. There’s one problem though. He slides a note across the counter with the words “I have a bomb” on it and sets off a chain reaction of events with unexpected consequences. Based on the true story of Brian Easley, the … Read More Breaking: Past the boiling point
Look Both Ways: One moment, multiple outcomes
by Matt Ward
How often are our lives inexplicably and permanently changed by a single moment with major impact on the future? One decision, one choice, one matter of happenstance could easy alter the course of individual history. It’s these questions of “what if” that dominate the romantic dramedy genre and for the first time since the 1998 feature Sliding Doors, a new movie confronts the duality … Read More Look Both Ways: One moment, multiple outcomes
Thirteen Lives: Rescue on an epic scale
by Matt Ward
Docudramas give audiences first-hand insight into intense, intimate moments of real people, disasters, and inspirational experiences. Usually tagged with the keyline “based on a true story,” these films bring viewers on a plane bound for the Hudson with Sully himself, on the deck of an exploding oil derrick in the middle of the sea in Deepwater Horizon or on a harrowing quest to free … Read More Thirteen Lives: Rescue on an epic scale
Bullet Train: No planes, no automobiles
by Matt Ward
Remember when summer blockbusters were fun? The plots rarely matter, the set pieces entertain, and the characters were memorable for their quirks regardless of how flimsy or one note they might seem. Bruce Willis climbs through an air vent and walks on broken glass; Arnold Schwarzenegger crashes through a window with a machine gun; Tom Cruise runs from explosions. What happens along the way … Read More Bullet Train: No planes, no automobiles
Vengeance: Far from the Big Apple
by Matt Ward
B.J. Novak’s debut feature film opens with the former star of “The Office” on a New York rooftop in vapid, existential conversation with musician John Mayer, playing a somewhat exaggerated version of himself. The pair pontificate about having everything in life figured out and the ease of mindless dating women saved in their phones like “Random House Girl.” Then Novak’s Ben – a journalist … Read More Vengeance: Far from the Big Apple
Nope: Terror in the California desert
by Matt Ward
Excelling at genre movies is a tricky thing to pull off consistently. When a filmmaker becomes known for creating original, inventive content in a similar space, it becomes easy or derivative to praise them unabashedly as the next Spielberg or Hitchcock; or to go too far the other way, suggesting that their work isn’t as good as prior films and dismissing it outright. Things … Read More Nope: Terror in the California desert
The Gray Man: Action for the sake of action
by Matt Ward
No one seems to mind when every romantic comedy follows the exact same plot. Boy meets girl, girl falls for boy, something outlandish happens to separate them, love brings them back together. Rinse. Dry. Repeat. Somewhere along the way, it seems that moviegoers have lost their appetite – or perhaps more aptly, critics have lost their taste – for by-the-numbers action films that focus … Read More The Gray Man: Action for the sake of action
Thor Love and Thunder: Thunderstruck
by Matt Ward
As has been the case for several films now, Marvel Studios finds themselves at a crossroads in a post-Avengers: Endgame era of their cinematic universe. Many of their most popular characters are gone from the franchise and the massive decade-long arc came to a head several years ago now, leaving fans clamoring for the breadcrumbs of what’s to come in every single new movie, … Read More Thor Love and Thunder: Thunderstruck
Minions The Rise of Gru: Tiny laughter
by Matt Ward
Studios often bank on the fact that younger audiences don’t really care about what they’re watching, as long as it’s entertaining in the moment. That’s probably a large part of the reason why Universal has crafted five films around yellow henchmen that ramble in an incoherent blend of languages indecipherable beyond an occasional word or generic phrase that helps kids figure out what’s happening. … Read More Minions The Rise of Gru: Tiny laughter
Cinematic Considerations 