Soggy ‘AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER’ A Gateway Drug for the Return of 3D

December 13, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Amanda Silver, Avatar: The Way of Water, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Rick Jaffa, Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Stephen Lang, Trinity Jo-Li Bliss, Zoe Saldana 1 Comment

After thirteen years, countless production delays, and allegedly tectonic technological leaps forward, Avatar: The Way of Water is finally here. And it’s… fine. This long-awaited but not-that-anticipated sequel to the highest grossing movie of all time reintroduces audiences to the world of Pandora and the Na’vi people who occupy its lands and oceans. The second film in a planned total of five films, The Way of Water features some groundbreaking tech advances but for a three-plus hour movie, the plotting is notably sparse, the characters are weak, and it feels very much like a middle chapter. Read More

Brendan Fraser Offers the Performance of His Career in Devastating ‘THE WHALE’

December 12, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Brendan Fraser, Darren Aronofsky, Hong Chau, Movie Reviews, Reviews, Sadie Sink, Samuel D. Hunter, The Whale, Ty Simpkins 1 Comment

Darren Aronofsky makes movies about people killing themselves. Sometimes unwittingly (Requiem for a Dream). Sometimes intentionally (The Wrestler). Sometimes in a fit of obsession (Black Swan). Sometimes as an act of salvation (π). In his heartbreaking weepy, The Whale, a show-stopping Brendan Fraser plays a morbidly obese man actively killing himself with calories. Aronofsky is no stranger to the slo-mo suicide drama and The Whale counts amongst his most heart-wrenching tragedies yet. Be prepared to ugly cry.

‘THE INSPECTION’ An Understated Reckoning With Militant Homophobia

December 5, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged A24, Elegance Bratton, Gabrielle Union, Jeremy Pope, Review, The Inspection 1 Comment

Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell

Back in the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” era of the US military (1993-2011), any LGBTQA+ service member was mandated to keep their sexuality to themselves. This blatantly homophobic legislation of the Clinton administration prohibited otherwise qualified gay Americans from serving, unless they kept their sexual preference under lock and key. Elegance Bratton’s understated tell-all, The Inspection, tells the story of a young, gay black man who turns to the military with the intent of challenging the very premise that sexuality can be made secret and the fallout that comes with systemic oppression of “the other.” Read More

A Bit Naughty, A Bit Nice, ‘VIOLENT NIGHT’ Lives Up to Its Aggressive Holiday Title

November 29, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Beverly D’Angelo, David Harbour, John Leguizamo, Leah Brady, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tommy Wirkola, Violent Night Leave a comment

There is perhaps no man in Hollywood who more perfectly exemplifies the idyllic dad bod than David Harbour. There’s something inimitable about his physique – not quite towering at 6’3” but still imposing; a man of considerable mass. From his turn in the mega-hit Netflix series Stranger Things to roles in Black Widow and as the titular figure in Neil Marshall’s ill-fated Hellboy reboot, Harbour leans into the physicality of his characters. It informs his intimating demeanor – or is just cheaply poked at for “fat jokes” (for shame Marvel, for shame.) Even when playing a gritty version of Oscar the Grouch on an SNL digital skit, Harbour imposes. Read More

Cannibals Need Companionship Too In Rangy ‘BONES AND ALL’

November 23, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged André Holland, Arseni Khachaturan, Bones and All, Chloë Sevigny, David Gordon Green, Luca Guadagnino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Taylor Russell 1 Comment

Sympathy for The Devil

Luca Guadagnino has made a career of sucking every last ounce of fat from the narrative bones of his projects. From his arthouse critical darling Call Me By Your Name, a sweeping pedophilic queer romance, to his celebrated – though gaudy and overwrought – remake of Suspiria, Guadagnino suckles on the teat of indulgence. This viewer has found Guadagnino’s style overtly lugubrious, feigning depth by overstaying his welcome, applying a Terrence Malick aesthetic template to otherwise intriguing conceptual pitches. This is no different in his latest adaptation, Bones and All, a cannibal love story that 100% should be my jam but wasn’t entirely. Read More

Weinstein Investigative Procedural ‘SHE SAID’ Puts the Whole System on Trial

November 18, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Carey Mulligan, Maria Schrader, Out in Theaters, Patricia Clarkson, Rebecca Lenkiewicz, Reviews, She Said, Zoe Kazan Leave a comment

Nasty Women Unite

An effective tribute to the institution of the free press, Maria Schrader’s She Said traces the roots of the #MeToo movement back to a high-stakes investigation into Miramax’s super-producer, the now-incarcerated Harvey Weinstein. Told through the lens of an old-school investigative procedural, Schrader’s film is an examination of individual injustices against specific women – both familiar high-profile actresses and lesser-known assistants who suffered Weinstein’s advances equally – and the structural hierarchy put in place to protect their violators. Read More

‘THE MENU’ Deliciously Satirizes the Cult of Kitchen

November 17, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Acturo Castro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, John Leguizamo, Mark Mylod, Mark St. Cyr, Nicolas Hoult, Out in Theaters, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Rob Yang, Seth Reiss, The Menu, Will Tracy 1 Comment

A Taste of Honey

Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) is not supposed to be dining out at Hawthorne. After all, a table at Hawthorne is amongst the most difficult reservations to land on the planet, held solely for the affluent, celebrities, and those with their own gravitational sphere of influence. From the moment she arrives at the esteemed remote island restaurant, Margot is out of place against the other diners. Esteemed critics, minor celebrities, finance bros – the usual suspects have gathered to taste the creations of Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). And then there’s Margot. The worst part? She doesn’t even really like the food. Read More

‘BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER’ Celebrates A Life Through the Largess of the Blockbuster

November 8, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Angela Bassett, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Chadwick Boseman, Letitia Wright, Lupita Nyong'o, Ryan Coogler, Tenoch Huerta 1 Comment

Long Live the King

Marvel Studios don’t really make movies so much as installments. Each new entry to their ever expanding stable of (increasingly disconnected) films feels like little more than a stepping stone towards more. The next sequel. The next phase. The next saga. There’s never a minute to rest. And even when there is a rare moment of quiet, that beat becomes just another opportunity for an incoming quip or a chance to tease the space with allusions to some eggy comic book lore (never forget Thor in the sauna). What a breathe of fresh air then Black Panther: Wakanda Forever is actually a real movie unto itself; an individual story about legacy and loss, complicated by real life grief and the guilt of carrying on. Read More

Wanna-Be Antihero ‘BLACK ADAM’ A Slave to Formula

October 20, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Sztykiel, Aldis Hodge, Black Adam, C. C. Beck, Dwayne Johnson, Jaume Collet-Serra, Mohammed Amer, Noah Centineo, Otto Binder, Pierce Brosnan, Rory Haines, Sarah Shahi, Sohrab Noshirvani, The Rock, Viola Davis 1 Comment

Between A Rock and a Hard Place

Heroes don’t kill. Or at least that’s what Black Adam tells us, seemingly having forgotten that arguably this same universe’s most famous hero, Batman, himself was beating criminals to a bloody corpse not five years prior. That Black Adam is predicated on the will-he-won’t-he of Dwayne Johnson choosing good or evil should speak to the level of surprises in store with the DCEU’s latest superhero wank. It is, after all, The Rock we’re talking about here. We know who this man is. Or rather who he always present himself as. We’re hardwired at this point to know what kind of characters he (almost exclusively) plays and which he does not. He’s groomed beyond the point of being hairless. Family-friendly to the point where he’s never had a sexual interest in any movie that I can remember. The man is a walking, talking PR creation. Threateningly non-threatening. Only the clueless or culturally-apathetic will be left to wonder which way this is going to turn out. Spoiler alert, it’s just a matter of time before this ostensible antihero becomes a slave to the reluctant hero formula. Read More

‘HALLOWEEN ENDS’ Simultaneously a Weird and Rote Send-Off to a Killer Icon

October 13, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Andi Matichak, Chris Bernier, Danny McBride, David Gordon Green, Halloween, Halloween Ends, Horror, Jaime Lee Curtis, Out in Theaters, Paul Brad Logan, Reviews, Rohan Campbell 14 Comments

Evil Goes Viral

Even if Halloween Ends is a messy, weird, convoluted, predictable, and only quasi-satisfying conclusion to the 40-plus year Michael Myers saga, you have to give it credit for actually trying something new. For much of director David Gordon Green’s trilogy-capper and alleged conclusion to the franchise (at least for now), Mike Myers is MIA. He’s gone. Not involved. For the vast majority of the film, he exists moreso as the lingering idea of the nature of evil than as an actual hulking killer. Instead the focus is on an entirely new character, Corey (Rohan Campbell), a hapless teen who gets roped into a night of babysitting. One prank gone wrong later, Corey accidents kills his charge. Read More