Devotion is Cursed In A24’s Latest Great Horror ‘SAINT MAUD’

January 28, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged A24, Jennifer Ehle, Morfydd Clark, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Rose Glass, Saint Maud 3 Comments

“Never waste your pain” Maud (Morfydd Clark) advises, her voice rarely rising above a whisper, even in voiceover. A devout palliative nurse with quite a bit of emotional baggage, Maud searches desperately for meaning. More often than not, she finds that meaning in her own pain; pain suffered in the name of God. With Amanda (Jennifer Ehle), an ex-dancer knocking on the doorstep of the afterlife, she just might have found her purpose on this earth: to redeem and purify. Saving a soul proves nasty business, especially as intimate personal relationships blossom, but Maud will stop short of nothing to do just that, consequences be damned. Read More

Brutal ‘WRONG TURN’ A Hugely Enjoyable Franchise Detour into Wild Backwoods Schlock

January 25, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adian Bradley, Alan B. McElroy, Bill Sage, Charlotte Vega, Dylan McTee, Horror, Matthew Modine, Mike P. Nelson, Movies, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Wrong Turn 2 Comments

A spin-off in name only, Wrong Turn (2021), from relative newcomer director Mike P. Nelson, takes the cult inbred-cannibal horror franchise in a totally new direction, pivoting away from the signature cornerstones of the slasher series towards something just as unflinching, addictive, and brutal but one that’s meant to be taken more seriously. And with no apparent cannibalism. Read More

‘THE FATHER’ Strands Audiences in the Cruel Grasp of Dementia

January 5, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Anthony Hopkins, Florian Zeller, Imogen Poots, Olivia Colman, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Father 1 Comment

A formal experiment in the mental unraveling genre that boasts a tour de force Anthony Hopkins performance, The Father explores the existential horror of memories gone to soup. Begging audiences to step into the shoes of those experiencing Alzheimer’s, the debut film from writer-director Florian Zeller is an experiment in witnessing first-hand the cruelty of a disease that strips one’s mental facilities down to the nub. Read More

The Sundance 2021 Movies We Can’t Wait to See

January 4, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews, Lists Tagged A Glitch in the Matrix, Censor, CODA, Coming Home in the Dark, In the Earth, In The Same Breath, John and the Hole, Land, Mass, On the Count of Three, Passing, Prisoners of the Ghostland, Sundance, Sundance 2021, sundance 2021 movies to see, Sundance 2021 Movies We Can't Wait to See, The Pink Cloud, Violation, Wild Indian 1 Comment

Each and every year, figuring out what to watch at the Sundance International Film Festival is a journey in and of itself. Last year, I saw a good smattering of my favorite films of the year in Park City, including Brandon Cronenberg’s Possessor and others that played the fest, like Dinner in America, later made its way onto that same list. This year, things are different. For the first time in its celebrated history, the entire festival will be conducted online. While this means no late-night parties, no skiing on those powdery Utah slopes, no rubbing elbows with your favorite celebrities, and less standing in blisteringly chilly queues, it also means enjoying Sundance from the comfort of your own couch. Read More

Top Ten Films of 2020

December 31, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Lists, Most Popular Tagged Another Round, Best of the Year, Dinner in America, First Cow, Kajillionaire, New Order, Palm Springs, Possessor, Soul, The Invisible Man, The Painter and the Thief, Top Ten Leave a comment

Even though the theaters were closed for the vast majority of 2020 (at least where I live), I still managed to see nearly as many new releases this year as I did last year. In fact, I only saw five less, despite taking a six-month break from reviewing film. A small silver lining in all the nightmarishness of the year that would not end. Though it concluded rather…inconspicuously, 2020 started with a bang with my attending Sundance Film Festival (for the fifth time) and looking forward to an exciting year of personal and professional growth. Welp, that mostly ended in the gutter but here I am knocking out a Top Ten list because I know it is my sacred duty as a reviewer of film to produce such an annual list so produce I shall. Read More

Heartbreaking ‘PIECES OF A WOMAN’ Kicks the Dead Horse

December 31, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Benny Safdie, Ellen Burstyn, Kata Wéber, Kornél Mundruczó, Molly Parker, Out in Theaters, Pieces of a Woman, Reviews, Sarah Snook, Shia LaBeouf, Vanessa Kirby 1 Comment

Emotional devastation is something everyone living through 2020 is too well acquainted with but Kornél Mundruczó’s tearjerking Pieces of a Woman suggests that things can always be worse. The Hungarian White God writer and director paints a tumultuous portrait of a husband and wife undergoing an incredible loss with unflinching precision, using a voyeuristic approach to nestle into their most personal, private moments and translating it to the screen in a novel, wholly disturbing manner. Read More

Uninspired ’WONDER WOMAN 1984’ A Careless Sequel I Wish Didn’t Exist

December 23, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chris Pine, Gal Gadot, Kristen Wiig, Out in Theaters, Patty Jenkins, Pedro Pascal, Reviews, Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984 1 Comment

An aimless, uninteresting, and frankly deeply disappointing follow-up to 2017’s critically beloved and widely-adored Wonder Woman, Wonder Woman 1984 is a top-down failure of a sequel. Losing nearly all the magic of what made the Diana Prince character work so well in her first solo venture and throughout her tenure in the DCEU, this unintelligible next chapter is a total overstuffed mess that somehow manages to be both too heavy and too thin on plot, one that shambles around for a two-and-a-half-hour runtime without ever truly convincing us that it has much of a story to tell in the first place. Folks, it’s a damn mess. Read More

Anarchy Rips the World Apart Before Comets in Thrilling ‘GREENLAND’

December 22, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chris Sparling, David Denman, Gerald Butler, Greenland, Morena Baccarin, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ric Roman Waugh, Scott Glenn 1 Comment

A disaster movie channeling the apocalyptic vibes of a zombie movie, where the greatest threat is not in fact the people-eating monsters but the desperation of your fellow man, Greenland is a surprisingly thrilling blockbuster about the world coming to an end. Shelved in June due to boarded-up theaters and that whole virus on the loose and finally released to at-home video-on-demand, the Ric Roman Waugh-directed Greenland re-teams the Angel Has Fallen franchise writer-director and frequent collaborator Gerald Butler to rousing effect. Read More

The 25 Best TV Shows of 2020

December 21, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Lists, Most Popular Tagged 2020, Best TV, Better Call Saul, Bojack Horseman, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dark, Dave, I Hate Suzie, I Know This Much is True, I May Destroy You, Mythic Quest, Normal People, Ozark, Pen15, Ramy, Schitt’s Creek, Servant, Ted Lasso, The Boys, The Flight Attendant, The Great, The Haunting of Bly Manor, The Mandolorian, The Outsider, The Queen’s Gambit, The Umbrella Academy, What We Do in the Shadows 2 Comments

What can be said about 2020 that hasn’t already been said? It has been a nightmare year where routines were upended, social outings curbed, vacations put on indefinite hold. And with movie theaters around the country shuttered to slow the spread of COVID-19, the only sense of adventure for many was on the small screen. At home. On the couch. And thank god that the year in television was as good as it was. Read More

Mulligan Shines in ‘PROMISING YOUNG WOMAN’, a Bruising Saga of XX Vengeance

December 14, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Brody, Alison Brie, Bo Burnham, Carey Mulligan, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Connie Britton, Emerald Fennell, Jennifer Coolidge, Laverne Cox, Max Greenfield, Molly Shannon, Out in Theaters, Promising Young Woman, Reviews, Sam Richardson 1 Comment

Cassie Thomas (Carey Mulligan), much like Emerald Fennell’s splashy debut Promising Young Woman, is out to ruffle feathers. That is the point after all. A scintillating first feature, Promising Young Woman, which earned high critical marks and largely enthusiastic response during its Sundance bow, is a #MeToo revenge thriller that confronts date rape and sexual assault with a fearless, take-no-prisoners approach. Read More