Category: New Releases
Elvis: All shook up
by Matt Ward
When a film is titled after one of its characters, 99 times out of 100, that movie is almost entirely about that person. (Save for Private Ryan, of course.) This is even more true when it comes to biopics, especially when the titular character happens to be one of the most iconic musicians of all time, the King of Rock and Roll himself. But … Read More Elvis: All shook up
Cha Cha Real Smooth: All the right moves
by Matt Ward
The best movie characters, ones audiences take to and see themselves in, aren’t always idyllic. Filmmakers find genuine beauty in flaws and imperfections in their personalities and psyches that allows viewers to naturally respond and become more fully transported into another world. Cooper Raiff’s second feature film – an audience award winner earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival – screened this past … Read More Cha Cha Real Smooth: All the right moves
Hustle: Hoopin’ with heart
by Matt Ward
Adam Sandler’s prolific career on Saturday Night Live and a plethora of mid-1990s comedies haven’t kept the funnyman from large swings and misses during the past seven years as his Happy Madison Productions has partnered exclusively with streaming service Netflix to create content. The laughs haven’t quite landed for the comedian in quite some time, though Sandler has proven to be exceptional playing against … Read More Hustle: Hoopin’ with heart
Fire Island: Summer nights
by Matt Ward
Nearly 30 years ago, director Amy Heckering transported audiences into the world of Jane Austen’s classic novel Emma through the lens of 1990s Beverly Hills high school with Clueless.The bright, quirky satire provided a clever twist on what might be viewed as stuffy literature and made Austen more accessible for younger audiences. Comedian Joel Kim Booster found inspiration in another Austen classic, Pride and … Read More Fire Island: Summer nights
Top Gun Maverick: Cruising at higher altitudes
by Matt Ward
There’s a moment early in Tom Cruise’s first film in four years where his character must lay everything on the line and push himself beyond all the limits to save his team. It’s a constant theme in the nearly 60-year-old actor’s latter career as Cruise constantly strives to top himself for the sake of blockbuster cinema, attempting to save theatrical releases by dangling from … Read More Top Gun Maverick: Cruising at higher altitudes
Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers: A children’s movie for big, old kids
by Matt Ward
Most children’s movies have special references or hidden jokes for parents to enjoy that will sail over the heads of younger audiences. It’s a general kindness afforded to adults whose theater going experience may be limited to family friendly films for several years and many of these movies are downright entertaining for older audiences as much, if not more so, than the kids that … Read More Chip ‘N Dale Rescue Rangers: A children’s movie for big, old kids
Senior Year: High school do-over
by Matt Ward
Movie fans haven’t seen Australian comedienne Rebel Wilson on the big screen for a couple years now after her last comedy The Hustle, a subpar remake of the 1980’s classic Dirty Rotten Scoundrels opposite Anne Hathaway, bombed at the box office just prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. With Wilson, originality is key as parts where she’s inventing something new allow her humor to pop … Read More Senior Year: High school do-over
Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness: Strange magic
by Matt Ward
Marvel Studios, the comic book film division of Disney, has pushed audiences for more than a decade that a bigger plan is always in the offing. It took three phases and over 20 movies for producer Kevin Feige to complete his Infinity Gauntlet saga culminating in Avengers: Endgame and along the way there were times in which things didn’t make a whole lot of … Read More Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness: Strange magic
Everything Everywhere All At Once: Cinematic beauty in weirdness
by Matt Ward
The directing duo of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, collectively known as Daniels, have created a brand of cinema flavored with creative ingenuity blended with the bizarre and outlandish that have seen them mystify viewers with flatulent corpses and dark humor with films like 2016’s Swiss Army Man and 2019’s The Death of Dick Long. Their third feature together, Everything Everywhere All At Once, … Read More Everything Everywhere All At Once: Cinematic beauty in weirdness
The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent: Not that he ever left
by Matt Ward
What does it truly mean to be a celebrity on a global level? What does that recognizability, especially for those with boisterous personalities, do to an actor’s psyche as the shine starts to fade? It’s a nuanced examination that comes from the most unlikely of places, a zany surreal action dramedy where former A-list actor Nicolas Cage takes on perhaps his most challenging role: … Read More The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent: Not that he ever left
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore: Losing the magic touch
by Matt Ward
It’s been two decades since teenage wizard Harry Potter and his friends made their cinematic last stand in the eighth film based off the novels by J.K. Rowling. For a variety of reasons, attempts to keep the magic alive today have lost their spark with the third installment in a prequel franchise based on one of Potter’s school textbooks arriving with a whimper both … Read More Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets Of Dumbledore: Losing the magic touch
All The Old Knives: Secrets can kill
by Matt Ward
Former lovers meet up for dinner, talking about the old days over wine and probing each other for information. Over the course of a meal, the two fall in and out of love while harboring a weariness that keeps them questioning the other’s intentions and just how honest they are being with one another. This conversation carries much of the weight in director Janus … Read More All The Old Knives: Secrets can kill
Cinematic Considerations 