Out in Theaters: SOUTHPAW

July 23, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Antoine Fuqua, Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, Forest Whitaker, Jake Gyllenhaal, James Horner, Kurt Sutter, Oona Laurence, Out in Theaters, Rachel McAdams, Reviews, Southpaw Leave a comment

It’s been since 2001’s Training Day that Antoine Fuqua has delivered a true knockout. Southpaw is no exception. The Pittsburg-born director has faced no challenges scraping together talent; amassing casts and crews that regularly featured A-listers at the top of their game, screenwriters on the fast track to success, composers in highest demand. He also hasn’t been treated to a movie falling on the fresh side of the spectrum since 2001. Sure, The Equalizer eeked by on Denzel Washington’s cool, collected killing spree antics but critics (and audiences) knew that Fuqua’s product was less than perfect. And this gets us to Southpaw, a film that’s definitively less than perfect. Read More

Bond Returns in Style for SPECTRE Trailer

July 22, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged 007, Daniel Craig, James Bond, Sam Mendes, Spectre, Trailers Leave a comment

Sam Mendes turned heads with 2012’s Skyfall, crafting a new fan favorite while resetting the clock on some of 007’s most iconic characters. After experiencing some production drama under the auspices of Sony’s indelicate hand – reportedly going over-budget and taking a cut from the Mexican film commission to shoot the film’s iconic opening set piece – Spectre looks to take the man in the tux back to his roots, pitting him against the shadow organization SPECTRE. This is the first time since 1971’s Diamonds are Forever that SPECTRE has played a part in the film’s plotting. Read More

Out in Theaters: PIXELS

July 22, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Sandler, Brian Cox, Chris Columbus, Josh Gad, Kevin James, Michelle Monaghan, Out in Theaters, Peter Dinklage, Pixels, Reviews Leave a comment

Adam Sandler has been candid about his lack of effort in projects of late. Last year on Jimmy Kimmel Live, he admitted that he chooses projects based primarily on location. Meaning, he takes his paycheck and his vacation and all he’s gotta do is tug on the lever that makes the Happy Madison assembly line run. A nerd joke here, a woman joke there. A dash of silly voices. Fat man slamming into something. Voilà! You’ve got yourself a Sandler movie. Read More

NETFIX: 5 Hysterical Black Comedies You Won’t See Coming

July 20, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Lists, Netfix Tagged Four Lions, Netfix, Netflix, Sightseers, The Trip to Italy, Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Wetlands Leave a comment

The great thing about Netflix is that it gives you a lot of TV and movie watching options. The bad thing about Netflix is that it gives you…a lot of TV and movie watching options. To cut down on your Netflix search and discover time, Netfix aims to ease the process of parsing the good from the bad. The great from the not so great. From action films to foreign dramas, we’re raked the catalogs to offer only the finest that the preeminent streaming service has to offer. So settle in, get your remotes ready and prepare for the red wave of Netfix to wash over you.
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Amy Schumer and Judd Apatow Talk TRAINWRECK

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Amy Schumer, Interviews, Judd Apatow, SXSW 2015, Trainwreck 2 Comments

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW coverage.

2015 is shaping up to be the year of the great rom-com as Judd Apatow‘s Trainwreck is the third great romantic comedy or romantic comedy drama (or romantic dramedy) that I’ve seen this year – the other two being Adult Beginners and Sleeping With Other People. A portion of our SXSW review states: Read More

Out in Theaters: TRAINWRECK

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Collin Quinn, Dave Attell, Evan Brinkman, Ezra Miller, John Cena, LeBron James, Noman Lloyd, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tilda Swinton, Trainwreck 2 Comments

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW review

Take it from the effervescently crass mouth of Amy Schumer, “The title was always Trainwreck. Trainwreck or Cum Dumpster.” Oh Amy, you are such just so…you. From talk radio appearances to gross-out Twitter posts, the Schum has crafted her image on being unapologetically, oh-so-adorably crude and in the context of Trainwreck, it’s miraculous to take in. At last night’s premiere, when an audience member inundated her with compliments, she barked, “Stop trying to fuck me.” She has swiftly become the epitome of 21st century feminism-as-middle finger; the crème de la crème of vagina jokes and reverse slut shaming that will melt the lipstick off housewives and zap the calories off your finger sandwiches with her gloriously nasty one-liners and hysterically sexual non-sequiturs. Read More

Out in Theaters: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Billy Crudup, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Tim Talbott, Tye Sheridan Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 Sundance review.

Things came in twos at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with a pair of Cobie Smulders’ features competing against one another for the Dramatic Competition prize, a set of unexpected pregnancy comedy/dramas, Tye Sheridans (who actually was showcased in three films: Last Days in the Desert, Entertainment and this film we’re in the midst of reviewing) and, most notably, a duo of 1960-70s social psychology experiment films. One of which, The Experimenter told the story of Stanley Milgram, administer of increasing electrical shocks and student of peer pressure. The feature starred Peter Sarsgaard and was met with middling reviews. Read More

Talking with Matthew Heineman of CARTEL LAND

July 16, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Cartel Lands, Interviews, Matthew Heineman, Seattle International Film Festival 1 Comment

With unprecedented access to an evolving cartel v. vigilante situation on the US-Mexican border, director Matthew Heineman found himself on the front lines of a war that’s been brewing for decades in Cartel Lands. Told through the lens of two vigilante group leaders, Dr. José Manuel Mireles of the Mexican Autodefensas and Tim “Nailer” Foley of the US Cartel Resistance force. Both men arm themselves and work outside the confines of the state and Heineman finds himself in close quarters with these outlaws, probing their victories and defeat. His ultimate victory is in leaving the door open for his audience to assess for themselves what is right and what is wrong. Read More

Documentary Dossier: THE LOOK OF SILENCE

July 16, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Adi Rukun, Best of 2015, Documentaries, Joshua Oppenheimer, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW review.

In psychology class, you learn about the concept of diffusion of responsibility, a sociopathic event that explains that when more people are present or complicit in an unfavorable event, the less personally responsible that group will feel for its outcome. The public murder of Kitty Genovese – in which a woman was stabbed to death in NYC but not one neighbor alerted the police – is a tragic true-to-life example of this but no piece of fiction or nonfiction has better captured the ghastly phenomenon than Joshua Oppenheimer‘s The Look of Silence. Read More

Out in Theaters: MR. HOLMES

July 15, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bill Condon, Conan Doyle, Ian McKellan, Laura Linner, Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes, Out in Theaters, Reviews, SIFF 2015 Leave a comment

Film originally seen at Seattle International Film Festival ’15.

Sir Ian McKellan extends a touch of majesty to just about any role he sinks his teeth into, whether that be a Middle Earth wizard or a Brotherhood metal mutant. Lending his commanding British timbre to Conan Doyle’s most esteemed literary creation, super sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Sir McKellan is extended an opportunity to tap into an established icon at an unprecedented juncture: Mr. Holmes as an aged, forgetful retiree. Read More