Bittersweet Symphony ‘THE HOLDOVERS’ Waxes on Holiday Loneliness

November 3, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Alexander Payne, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, David Hemingson, Dominic Sessa, Paul Giamatti, Reviews 3 Comments

Winter is coming. At an Exeter-esque New England prep school circa the 1970s, students ready themselves for Christmas break. All but a handful of Barton students anticipate time with family, away from the academic demands of their coursework and the prying eyes of their hawkish professors. A small collection of eponymous “holdovers” are left behind, stranded at the snow-bound school for various reasons, forsaken under the tyrannical cross-eye of Dr. Paul Hunham (Paul Giamatti). Amongst the abandoned is resident reprobate Angus Tully (Dominic Sessa), a whip-smart smart-ass who’s a bit of a loner and has a troubled home life. There to ensure the collection is fed during their holiday stint is cafeteria manager Mary Lamb (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who recently lost her son, a recent Barton graduate, in the Vietnam War. Director Alexander Payne (Election, Sideways, Nebraska), working from a fantastic script from long-time TV writer David Hemingson, finds every avenue to make these characters collide, collude, and refract one another in a dizzying display of heart, humanity, and humor. Read More

Scorsese’s Osage Nation Crime Opus ‘KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON’ is a Sprawling Tragedy of American Indifference

October 17, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Killers of the Flower Moon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Lily Gladstone, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Robert DeNiro 5 Comments

Marty makes ‘em long. His most recent crime opus, Killers of the Flower Moon, based on David Grann’s 2017 nonfiction novel of the same name, explores themes that have long rumbled the conscience of the American auteur: corrosive greed, masculine rot, and the unsettling notion of violence as an accelerant for upward mobility. This time out, he’s dedicated 208 minutes (nearly three and a half hours, only a minute shorter than The Irishman) to telling this version of that story. That’s a full hour longer than Goodfellas, a movie that similarly deconstructed the idea of the American Dream and reframed it through the lens of rugged individualism, sickening violence, and moral decay, with startling clarity and explosive plotting. The result this time around, however, is a narrative that feels hazier in its execution, though no less lurid in its exploration of these enduring themes. By not framing this savage tale from the perspective of the affected indigenous people, Scorsese inadvertently echoes the same indifference he condemns. Read More

‘THE EXORCIST: BELIEVER’ Fails to Resurrect the Terror

October 4, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Ann Dowd, David Gordon Green, Ellen Burstyn, Exorcist: Believer, Horror, Leslie Odom Jr., Lidya Jewett, Movie Reviews, Olivia Marcum, Out in Theaters, The Exorcist: Believer 4 Comments

If there’s one thing an Exorcist movie, be it a sequel, prequel, remake or sequel, needs to be, it’s scary. David Gordon Green’s 50-years later requel, The Exorcist: Believer fails that most fundamental test. The very celluloid of William Friedkin’s The Exorcist hums with tension and terror – each shot more possessed with unspeakable dread than the last. It’s the original nightmare-inducing horror film, a palpable shock to the system that stands up half a century later. It’s especially remarkable when you consider the context: just five years earlier, filmmakers were ensnared in the strict confines of the Hays Code, a moral guideline that prohibited profanity, suggestive nudity, graphic or realistic violence, and sexual persuasions. The thought of a 14-year-old child actor old uttering lines like, “Your mother sucks c*cks in hell” was plain unthinkable just a few years prior. It’s also pretty unthinkable today. Read More

‘THE CREATOR’ Updates Humanity With Technically Brilliant Original Sci-Fi

September 28, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Allison Janney, Chris Weitz, Gareth Edwards, Hans Zimmer, John David Washington, Ken Watanabe, Madeleine Yuna Voyles, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sturgill Simpson, The Creator Leave a comment

Good science fiction straddles the line between grappling with contemporary anxieties and reflecting on the essence of humanity, often through non-human characters. Movies such as Blade Runner, Ex Machina, Her, and even Terminator 2 explore the notion that our innate humanity transcends mere flesh and blood. Any truly meaningful exploration of humanity tends to exceed the boundaries of pure science and biology, delving into the metaphysical realms of the soul. Qualities like empathy, love, or even the ability to crack a good joke are as fundamentally human as opposable thumbs or the capacity to biologically reproduce. In one pivotal scene in Gareth Edwards’ stark and striking science fiction film The Creator, the best original sci-fi film in years, a group of American soldiers descend upon a village to extract the location of a concealed weapon. One of the soldier threatens to execute the dog of a trembling little girl unless she gives up information. It’s a stark reminder that humanity often eludes those who are, ostensibly, human themselves. Read More

‘DUMB MONEY’ A Meme Movie With Moderate Returns

September 18, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged America Ferrera, Anthony Ramos, Ben Mezrich, Clancy Brown, Craig Gillespie, Dumb Money, Lauren Schuker Blum, Myha’la Herrold, Nick Offerman, Paul Dano, Pete Davidson, Rebecca Angelo, Reviews, Rushi Kota, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen, Shailene Woodley, Talia Ryder, Vincent D'Onofrio 3 Comments

The premise of Dumb Money is simple: slap an ensemble of human faces on the viral Game Stop stock story and run the highlight reel. The star-studded meme movie from director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella) effectively transports us to a not-so-distant past: January 2021. The pandemic was still in full swing, masks were mandated, the term “essential worker” applied to nurses and DoorDash drivers alike, and people were looking for something to root for. Enter Keith Gill (Paul Dano), aka Roaring Kitty aka DeepFuckingValue (DFV), a low-level financial analyst and hobbyist YouTuber who dumps his $53,000 life savings into GameStop positions and decides to tell the internet why. In turn, Gill starts a movement of retail traders who follow suit, looking to enrich themselves but also – and equally importantly – take down the proverbial man. Read More

Take a Delightful Sojourn Into Thespian Hilarity at ‘THEATER CAMP’

July 27, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Amy Sedaris, Jimmy Tatro, Molly Gordon, Nick Lieberman, Out in Theater, Review, Theater Camp 7 Comments

In the vein of the best Christopher Guest mockumentaries, Theater Camp delivers a laugh-a-minute exploration of the inner workings of a fictitious child actor’s summer getaway, firmly rooted in reality. Destined to become a cult comedy classic, especially amongst the performance-inclined, this feature-length adaptation of the short film of the same name is crafted with a deep understanding of the theatrical world. Co-directed by Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman, both with theatrical backgrounds, the film expertly celebrates and satirizes the peculiarities of the theater world, infusing the humor with a delightful mix of specificity and personal touches. Read More

Nolan’s Three-Hour Biopic Opus ‘Oppenheimer’ is Not Da Bomb

July 19, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Casey Affleck, Christopher Nolan, Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Josh Hartnett, Kenneth Branagh, Matt Damon, Out in Theaters, Rami Malek, Reviews, Robert Downey Jr. 2 Comments

Christopher Nolan, the revered father figure of Film Twitter Bros the world over, has made his Mank (or his JFK, depending on who you ask.) Much like David Fincher’s polarizing and 10-time Oscar-nominated biopic, Oppenheimer offers a sprawling and contemplative portrayal of technology that reshaped the world, all while navigating the invasive presence of McCarthyism in America. It presents a sprawling, intricately layered narrative reminiscent of a Russian Nesting Doll, with stories within stories and a dynamic interplay of multiple timelines, including both colorized and black-and-white sequences, complemented by an ensemble cast of A-list actors. Those who caught early screening have already flocked to Twitter to lob terms like “masterpiece” and “best of the century” at Nolan’s three-hour biopic about the Father of the Atom Bomb but, much like Mank, Oppenheimer sees a celebrated filmmaker delivers a work seemingly tailored for awards recognition, though very clearly near and dear to him, yet ultimately fails to ignite the explosive impact it promises. Read More

Pastel-Plastered ‘BARBIE’ A Hilarious and Incisive Indictment of Modernity, Gender Roles

July 18, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Alexandra Shipp, Ana Cruz Kayne, Barbie, Dua Lipa, Emma Mackey, Greta Gerwig, Hari Nef, Issa Rae, John Cena, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Margot Robbie, Ncuti Gatwa, Nicola Coughlan, Noah Baumbach, Ritu Arya, Ryan Gosling, Scott Evans, Sharon Rooney, Simu Liu 2 Comments

When Mattel recently announced that they would be launching their own extended cinematic universe (the Mattel Cinematic Universe, or MCU2), the internet groaned in exhausted unison. After all, what could be more unappealing in our era of modern moviemaking than yet another corporate attempt to coalesce blatant brand synergy and Hollywood’s necrotic trend of interconnectiveness, all to satisfy a company’s stakeholders and their own bottom line? From my very anecdotal research, this is simply not a thing that the movie-going public is clambering for. No one is demanding a theatrical showcase where Hot Wheels, Sock ‘Em Robots, and Barbie team up in some kind of Avengers-style plot to take down the dastardly Hungry Hungry Hippos. And yet, Mattel is currently in some stage of development on a vast number of feature films based on just that with Hot Wheels, Magic 8 Ball, He-Man, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots, Polly Pocket, View-Master, American Girl, and the card game Uno all in some form of gestational pre-production. Theirs is a gloomy future that presupposes that Hollywood hits come purely from brand recognition – a future that forecasts the further sidelining of anything truly original, championing nostalgia and brand dominance over the creation of the new. Read More

Only Tom Cruise Can Stop Dastardly A.I. in ‘MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE’

July 5, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Christopher McQuarrie, Hayley Atwell., Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, Out in Theaters, Reviews, tom cruise 10 Comments

A lesser Mission Impossible movie is still better than 90% of the dreck that passes for big budget blockbusters these days. Unfortunately, though, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One is lesser Mission Impossible. A handful of the choices made by writer-director Christopher McQuarrie in his third effort behind the camera for this franchise just didn’t quite work for me. The array of villains are undercooked and ill-conceived, particularly the introduction of a sinister mystery man from Ethan’s past who falls mostly flat by virtue of his story feeling either one-dimensional or incomplete; the attempt to capitalize on AI (2023’s buzziest buzzword) as the ultimate baddie didn’t quite feel in step with the franchise; a decision to remove a particular character (in a weirdly blatant attempt to “make room” for another younger version) irked me; as did the bifurcation of this film into two halves, leaving this particular installment hanging as if Tom Cruise himself dangling from a precarious cliff face. A lot of complaints, I know, but there’s also plenty to love here. Read More

‘INDIANA JONES AND THE DIAL OF DESTINY’ A Lackluster Farewell to an Iconic Franchise

June 29, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged David Koepp, Harrison Ford, indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, James Mangold, Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Toby Jones 2 Comments

Old dogs can’t learn new tricks in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. With the history books finally set to close on the beloved Indiana Jones series, and a sturdy director in James Mangold behind the camera, expectations were high for this final installment, which was tasked with righting the perceived wrongs of the previous entry, The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and sending our beloved grave robber out on a high note. With the original trilogy holding a special place in the hearts of many, including myself, as some of the greatest adventure films ever made, the anticipation was palpable. However, as the film made its debut at this year’s Cannes Film Festival to overwhelmingly lukewarm reviews, enthusiasm skidded to a halt: this wasn’t the final crack of the whip many had hoped it would be. Nevertheless, with a mix of hope and trepidation, I journeyed into the theater, hoping for a thrilling and satisfying conclusion to the legendary archaeologist’s expedition. Read More