FYC Capsule Review: ‘PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE’

December 7, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adèle Haenel, Céline Sciamma, Noémie Merlant, Out in Theaters, Reviews Leave a comment

Céline Sciamma’s simmering Portrait of a Lady on Fire burns with a quiet feminine passion. In 1770, two young women confront love and lust in each other’s arms, as a professional relationship lapses into forbidden romance. Sciamma’s film is delicate but shot with undeniable fury, the evocative and stately cinematography particularly burning off the celluloid. Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant bring a low-broiling chemistry to their taboo union that’s impossible to deny, the handsomely-shot period piece rich in emotional texture, digging into its singular and provocative romance with great nuance and care. No moment is spared, no furtive glance wasted, nor are the emotional stakes heightened to flashy levels in Héloïse and Marianne’s sumptuous unfurling of affection. Try to watch and not feel a bit on fire yourself. (B)

FYC Capsule Review: ‘THE AERONAUTS’

December 5, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Aeronauts, Tom Harper Leave a comment

When The Aeronauts lifts off the ground, the film from Tom Harper truly does take off. Down on ground-level, everything is a bit more sour than soar though. Benefitting from some breathtaking visual effects and a capable pair of leads in Felicity Jones (excellent here) and Eddie Redmayne, The Aeronauts can be a thrilling mid-air adventure to the highest reaches of the atmosphere that’s weighed down by its commonplace dramatic packaging. Jones plays hotshot hot-air balloon pilot Amelia Wren, who is trying to break the height world record accompanied by scientist/proto-meteorologist James Glashier (Redmayne) out to prove that weather can be studied and predicted. Harper proves more than capable of staging invariably tense sequences where life and death hang in the balance, and his crisp direction gets notably better the higher off the ground their balloon gets. If only he could have found more balance in mixing the grounded drama with the high-flying hijinx. Thankfully, Jones gives it her all, making the venture a worthwhile ascend, if one you don’t need to rush out to catch. (C+) Read More

‘MULAN’ Remake Trailer Promises a Fresh Take on Disney’s Woman Warrior Saga

December 5, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Disney, Liu Yifei, Mulan, Niki Caro, Trailers Leave a comment

2019 delivered three Disney live-action remakes, Dumbo, Aladdin, and Lion King, and all three were big old failures in my book. This despite the fact that they made jaw-dropping amounts of cash at the international box office. If this latest look at Mulan is any indication of things going forward, perhaps the studio has found a way forward without going the whole literal shot-for-shot remake route. Directed by New Zealand filmmaker Niki Caro (Whale Rider) and starring a Chinese cast including Liu Yifei as Mulan, martial arts master Donnie Yen as Commander Tung, Yoson An as love interest Chen Honghui, Tzi Ma as Mulan’s father and Jet Li (yes, that Jet Li) and the emperor of China. Read More

Bond, James Bond Has One Final Ride in Spicy ‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Trailer

December 4, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged 007, Ben Whishaw, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Christoph Waltz, Daniel Craig, James Bond, Léa Seydoux, No Time to Die, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Trailer Leave a comment

Spectre may have been the worst Daniel Craig 007 outing but if the trailer for No Time to Die is any indication, it seems that Bond, James Bond is going out on a high note. Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga of True Detective and Beasts of No Nation acclaim and written by Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, this first look at No Time to Die promises to tie up Craig’s tenure as the infamous 00-agent, bringing back old friends and foes including Jeffrey Wright’s Felix, Christoph Waltz’ Blofeld, Léa Seydoux Bond girl Madeleine Swan (always rare to see a Bond girl return) in addition to mainstays like M (Ralph Fiennes), Q (Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris.) He will be joined by newcomers Rami Malek and Lashana Lynch, playing a tech-savy heavy and 007’s replacement, respectively.

Marvel Resurrects Dead Hero in First Trailer for ‘BLACK WIDOW’

December 3, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Black Widow, David Harbour, Florence Pugh, Marvel, MCU, Rachel Weisz, Scarlett Johnasson, Trailers Leave a comment

It’s hardly a spoiler at this point to acknowledge the fact that Black Widow, Marvel’s first female superhero who has been played by Scarlett Johansson since 2010, is dead. The former assassin-cum-non-powered-superhero sacrificed herself in Endgame to save the world. More specifically, her friend and partner Hawkeye. Had the movie not come out in April and gone on to make literally more money than any other movie ever, I’d maybe try and dance around that fact but let’s be honest: either you know already or you couldn’t care less about the MCU. Read More

‘UNCUT GEMS’ Bets Big on Sandman’s Dramatic Chops

November 27, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Sandler, Benny Safdie, Eric Bogosian, Idina Menzel, Josh Safdie, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ronald Bronstein, The Weeknd, Uncut Gems Leave a comment

The unique genius of the Safdie Bros is that they can put Adam Sandler in one of his best dramatic roles to date and still start the movie with a classic Sandman butthole joke. In Uncut Gems, Sandler plays skeezy jeweler Howard, a Jewish Big Apple resident and compulsive gambler in Manhattan’s Diamond District. We meet Howard via his insides, in the midst of a colonoscopy, and things just get more shit for him from there. Howard owes just about everyone in the city, running up spendy vigs with the local pawn shops, wheeling and dealing with low-rent loansharks, and making sketchy deals with his more mobbed-up acquaintances. Exactly the kind of people you don’t want to owe a penny to. Read More

Fiery ‘QUEEN & SLIM’ So Much More than Black Bonnie and Clyde

November 26, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith., Lena Waithe, Melina Matsoukas, Out in Theaters, Queen & Slim, Reviews Leave a comment

An awkward first date sets the tone Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim. Language and communication is just as much about talking as it is about the silences, our two characters are soon to discover, and Queen & Slim establishes early on the power of silence and the unspoken word. The magic of Tinder lands a man of dubious socioeconomic status (Daniel Kaluuya) and his recalcitrant one-night-eating-partner (Jodie Turner-Smith) at a diner booth with little to talk about. And little hope of physical connection. Silence can be warm or it can be infinitely awkward. This is definitely the later. An African-American lawyer, she wonders if it was the best he could afford. He claims they’re here because “It’s black-owned”. So too is Queen & Slim. Read More

Gerwig’s ’LITTLE WOMEN’ Is Exquisitely Crafted, Beautifully Acted Holiday Delight

November 25, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper, Eliza Scanlen, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Meryl Streep, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts 1 Comment

In 1868, Louisa May Alcott introduced the world to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in her semi-autobiographical novel “Little Women”. Alcott’s novel was almost immediately met with huge commercial success and has gone on to be retold generation after generation. First adapted for the screen in 1917 as a silent film, Little Women has gone on to become a cultural reflection of its times, a new version unspooling every twenty years or so to capture the attention of new young audiences. From 1933’s Katharine Hepburn cut to 1994’s Gillian Armstrong take (whose all-star cast included Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, and Kirsten Dunst), Little Women is a story destined to play on repeat. And, in this one such example, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Read More

Darker ‘FROZEN II’ Feels Like A Solid, Really Expensive Straight-to-DVD Sequel

November 20, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chris Buck, Disney, Frozen II, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Lee, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Santino Fontana 1 Comment

For the vast majority of their existence as a company, Disney has sent sequels straight to home video, usually in some off-colored VHS package you’d find facedown at the discount bin in some Walmart or other. Prior to Ralph Wrecks the Internet, the only Disney sequel that ended up in an actual theater was 1990’s The Rescuers Down Under. Sequelitis simply was not the corporate mandate of the time. Not in the 40’s Golden Era or the 90’s Renaissance. That one exception aside, Disney Animation has long been in the original content game (debates about how original their Disney Princess collection actually is aside) but with the one-two punch of Ralph deus and Frozen II, expect to get a lot more sequels to Disney’s massive moneymaking franchises in the coming future. Forget Prince Charming, it’s time to bow down to King IP. Bob Iger’s mandate is cold hard cash, hand over foot. Thankfully, if the sequels are anything like Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee’s Frozen II, franchise-thirsty fans from Virginia to Vietnam are probably all in decent-enough hands showing up in droves to shell out to their Disney overlords. Read More

High-Schooler’s Slow-Motion Self Destruction Vividly Captured in ‘WAVES’

November 19, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alexa Demie, Atticus Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, Out in Theaters, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Revies, Reviews, Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russell, Trent Reznor, Trey Edward Shults, Waves Leave a comment

Waves is a film in two parts, at once as connected and severed as a man following a trip to the guillotine. In a sense, it’s almost a story and sequel in one package. One whose first and second parts have alternating sets of lead characters, battling tonality, and wildly diverse cinematography, though its hip-hop-saturated musical through-line binds its saga together as does the overbearing sense of cause and effect that ripples throughout the Williams family’s lives. Waves moving outwards and growing in intensity, born of the smallest pebble dropped in the pond, grow to towering surf, stretched over devastating undertow. Read More