Out in Theaters: ‘PATTI CAKE$’

August 23, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bridget Everett, Cathy Moriarty, Danielle Macdonald, Geremy Jasper, Mamoudou Athie, Out in Theaters, Patti Cake$, Reviews, Siddharth Dhananjay 2 Comments

If you’re going to see one movie about a plus-sized New Jersey female rapper this summer, you best make it Patti Cake$, the stunning feature debut from Geremy Jasper. Following in the tradition of Hustle and Flow, Patti Cake$ uses an untraditional hero, Patricia Dombrowski (stage name Killa P) played to unique perfection by newcomer Danielle Macdonald, to craft an unlikely (but entirely lovable) story of talent erupting from unexpected places. Jasper’s film is an independent musical fever dream stuffed to the brim with colorful, well-defined characters, a diverse and talented cast of unknown talent and a killer soundtrack that’ll force its expertly produced setlist of tunes to rattle around your skull for days to come. Like a filmic cocktail of Adderall and Prozac, this mic drop of a movie is certain to make you perk up, pay attention and leave plastered with a smile. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘INGRID GOES WEST’

August 21, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Aubrey Plaza, Billy Magnussen, Elizabeth Olsen, Ingrid Goes West, Matt Spicer, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Out in Theaters, Reviews 4 Comments

Perfect paired with a few beers and a Xanax, Matt Spicer’s Ingrid Goes West is a psycho-stalker comedy that’s as unsettling and hilarious as a 12-year’s mexi-stache . Aubrey Plaza is devilishly weird as an Instagram-obsessed pariah, a Peeping Jane who turns to social Play-Doh to emulate those of higher social standing, but the role is more than meets the eye. Ingrid befriends up the ladder by copying the purchasing habits of her “friends”, buying the same designer bag or sharing the same favorite breakfast joint, phishing for likes, comments and follows but mostly on the hunt for a new #BFF. Though side-splitting funny, Ingrid Goes West dares to be more than a laugh, unleashing some powerful material essential to our conversations on social media and self-worth. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘BRIGSBY BEAR’

August 16, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Brigsby Bear, Dave McCary, Greg Kinnear, Jane Adams, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Kyle Mooney, Mark Hammill, Matt Walsh, Michaela Watkins, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ryan Simpkins 1 Comment

An acquired taste for sure, Kyle Mooney made a name for himself being an ass. From checking into kickers inside So-Cal to playing a definitely-on-the-spectrum sports reporter who’s totally out of his league, Mooney has capitalized on mocking mainstream culture, championing a keen ability to satirize entire populations by being the very dumbest version of such. Mostly by making an ass of himself. So imagine my surprise when Mooney’s brainchild Brigsby Bear (written by and starring Mooney and directed by comedy collective Good Neighbor compatriot Dave McCary) is such an earnest and heartfelt affair, if a bit simple-minded, saccharine sweet and stubbornly sunny. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘LOGAN LUCKY’

August 15, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, Daniel Craig, Hilary Swank, Jim O’Heir, Katherine Waterston, Katie Holmes, Out in Theaters, Rebecca Blunt, Reviews, Riley Keough, Seth MacFarlane 4 Comments

Following a four year stint in “retirement”, American auteur Steven Soderbergh returns to the multiplexes with the kind of snappy, crowd-pleasing, whizzbang fare that throttled him from indie delight to box office superstar. Assembling a sublimely cast trio of Magic Mike (Channing Tatum), Kylo Ren (Adam Driver) and Bond, James Bond (Daniel Craig) in a delightful supporting role, Logan Lucky, much like the film that rocketed Soderbergh to success (Ocean’s Eleven), rides on the back of its stars’ natural well of charisma as well as a pithy screenplay (courtesy of maybe pseudonym Rebecca Blunt) that constantly waffles between sly, chuckle-inducing commentary and witty narrative sleight of hand. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘WIND RIVER’

August 10, 2017 by Jason Jean Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Taylor Sheridan, Wind River 1 Comment

As I write this review for Taylor Sheridan’s new film Wind River we’re experiencing some fairly remarkable meteorological theatrics in the Pacific Northwest. At night our moon is the color of a blood orange, while our sunrises and sunsets are a near supernatural hellfire red. The reason? Our atmosphere is currently congested with smoke from several wild fires tearing through the Canadian coastal ranges to the north, and the noxious haze has created an off-world prism on our horizon. We can only imagine the terrible price somebody’s paying for these gorgeous mutations in our sky down here. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘ANNABELLE: CREATION’

August 8, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Annabelle: Creation, Anthony LaPaglia, David Sandberg, Gary Doberman, Lulu Wilson, Miranda Otto, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Samara Lee, Talitha Bateman 2 Comments

No need to beat around the bush, Annabelle: Creation is both significantly better than the 2014 Annabelle, a fast-money gambit courtesy of hack director John R. Leonetii, and not nearly as good as The Conjuring (or the surprisingly still terrifyingThe Conjuring 2 for that matter). There’s very little that might qualify as new in this prequel to a prequel and, as should serve as no real surprise, the scares are limited to the “things go bump in the night” variety. Nothing really dares to linger beyond curtains, aside from the fleeting memory of a few well-timed startles here and there, but David Sandberg, director of last year’s somewhat undeservedly well-liked Lights Out, does a good enough job orchestrating familiar horror cliches into playful tension. Read More

Talking with Matthew Heineman of ‘CITY OF GHOSTS’

August 8, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged City of Ghosts, Interview, Interviews, Matthew Heineman, Talking With... 1 Comment

Matthew Heineman has made a name for himself over the past few years hawking visceral documentaries in some of the world’s most harrowing war zones. In 2015, he brought Cartel Land to the screen, a story about drug smuggling and vigilantism that put the documentary filmmaker in the midst of fire fights and in the bellies of meth labs and torture chambers. He’s since set his sights on ISIS and a group called RBSS (Raqqa is Being Slaughter Silently), a guerrilla band of civilian journalists committed to exposing the horrors that have taken place since ISIS seized their hometown and made it into their de-facto capital. City of Ghosts follows the members of RBSS as they flee the omnipresent threat of ISIS, contend with the reality of their family’s being tortured and killed and still continue to do all they can to rally support against the terrorist organization dead set on dismantling everything they care about. Read More

Talking With Gillian Robespierre, Elisabeth Holm, Abby Quinn of ‘LANDLINE’

August 7, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Abby Quinn, Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre, Interviews, Landline, Talking With... Leave a comment

Gillian Robespierre took the independent film world by storm in 2014 with her breakout hit Obvious Child. A story about millennial maturity told through an abortion comedy, Obvious Child‘s blatant irreverancy was all the rage, making her an overnight name in many in-the-know film appreciation circles. Robespierre’s follow-up, a 90s set comedy about a family dealing with two separate instances of infidelity, may not have accrued the same cult following, nor is it likely to pock as many end of year favorites lists, but the dramedy has tonal and directorial elements similar of a budding Noah Baumbach, who has since gone on to great acclaim. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘DETROIT’

August 3, 2017 by Jason Jean Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Algee Smith, Anthony Mackie, Detriot, Detroit, Jason Mitchell, John Boyega, John Krasinski, Kathryn Bigelow, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Will Poulter 1 Comment

On the night of July 25th, 1967 two factions coalesced on the Algiers Motel. A small contingent of African American men weathering the storm of Detroit’s 12th Street Riots, and a platoon of enraged white cops looking for the person/persons who fired a gun at their patrol from a window of the motel.

Out in Theaters: ‘ATOMIC BLONDE’

July 28, 2017 by Jason Jean Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Atomic Blonde, Charlize Theron, Eddie Marsan, James McAvoy, John Goodman, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sofia Boutella, Til Schweiger, Toby Jones Leave a comment

You wouldn’t be wrong to assume that David Leitch’s Atomic Blonde is something akin to John Wick’s younger, hotter sister. Leitch did, after all, cut his teeth in the film industry coordinating and performing stun twork – as did Chad Stehalski, Leitch’s co-director on John Wick. The two Hollywood cowboys are equally infatuated with style above all else, though in Atomic Blonde’s instance it feels less superficial, even while embracing maybe the most superficial time in history – the bitchin’ 80’s.