These Marvel movies have always contained teasers for the next installments, but this is the first one that’s felt like a commercial more than its own storyline. The movie seems to be more about introducing characters and plotlines that will play bigger roles in the next Marvel properties, from the upcoming Black Panther to the Infinity War films, that it remains in a sort of narrative purgatory.
If nothing else, Adult Beginners proves that Nick Kroll can do more than play a smarmy asshole. He can play a smarmy asshole with a love of family.
Ex Machina is smart yet accessible, led by the powerhouse that is Oscar Isaac, with a sharp script that makes you question both the characters on display as well as what is self-awareness and the morality of playing God.
Child 44 is a plunge into mysticism as much as it is historical fiction. It’s a thrilling nightmare, one that scares us more than any recent Hollywood horror film has, and it’s a warning sign. “This, too, can come to pass if we’re not careful,” the movie tells us.”If we don’t pay attention to the encroachments on civil liberties by our well-meaning lawmakers, and if we don’t go the extra mile and build communal bonds with our neighbors, this nightmare can materialize.”
The only thing worse than the plot are the characters themselves. They're all just absolutely terrible people. If at least one of them were somehow likeable maybe I would have cared as they began to get killed off one by one. Yet all I could do was silently cheer, knowing that there was one less person on screen standing between me and the freedom of leaving the theater.
It Follows comes off feeling distinct, fun and scary due to an interesting new monster, strong realistic relationships, a unique soundscape, and an ever-present tension.
Captain Canada returns with reviews of Get Hard, The Omega Man, and Robert Altman's Popeye.
Join The Drunk Monkeys Film Department kicks of their discussion series of the landmark Star Wars franchise, which will lead all the way up to this December's Episode VII.
First up, the one that started it all, 1977's Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.
" ... likely to make more money than any Hollywood executive could possibly put up his nose."
Scott Waldyn kicks off our 2015 Star Wars series with a breakdown of the themes of hope and fear that run through 1977's Star Wars: A New Hope.
What was once a youthful farm boy is now the physical manifestation of his former dreams. He’s the epitome of courage. He’s the idealized hero Star Wars creates for us. And it’s our only choice the film presents for us to live by. Follow your dreams or die. Pursue the impossible or get roasted at home. Join the rebellion, and believe in yourself.