Out in Theaters: ‘TRANSFORMERS: THE LAST KNIGHT’

June 20, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Art Marcum, Isabela Moner, Jerrod Carmichael, Josh Duhamel, Ken Nolan, Laura Haddock, Mark Wahlberg, Matt Holloway, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Stanley Tucci, Transformers, Transformers: The Last Knight, Worst Movie of the Year 4 Comments

Just like kicking your little brother in the nuts isn’t a movie, Transformers: The Last Knight isn’t a movie. A blatant “fuck you” to audiences stupid enough to buy a ticket to this next go-round – one that Universal and Hasbro have positioned as a “launching pad” for a Hasbro Cinematic Universe (and yes, the existence of a Hasbro Cinematic Universe makes me question my place on this Earth and will to live) – this inept fivequel is a brain-numbing series of endless explosions and rinkadink chase sequences and imbecilic exposition and sparks farting through the air and adolescent titties bouncing in slo-mo and Mark Wahlberg hollering fucking nonsense and racist robots with gold-plated teeth and snobby British ladies gathered for high tea. Trans5mers is all those things and so much less. It’s a retard-robo-fantasy masquerading as a film that lacks any of the stuff that actually makes a movie a movie, replacing substance with middle fingers extended curtly at those in the audience expecting one iota of sense. A flaming effigy of not giving a single fuck, Transformers: The Last Knight spits in its haters’ face and asks you to thank it. Read More

Talking with Colin Trevorrow of ‘THE BOOK OF HENRY’

June 16, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews Tagged Colin Trevorrow, Interviews, Talking With..., The Book of Henry 1 Comment

The cast and crew of The Book of Henry have lamented its critical spanking but none moreso than director Colin Trevorrow. It’s no easy task to usher a film into the world, much less-so when the day finally arrives and critical voices rally their pitchforks. Though The Book of Henry has its fair share of issues, my conversation with Trevorrow shed some much needed light on why the film turned out the way it did. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘THE BOOK OF HENRY’

June 15, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Colin Trevorrow, Dean Norris, Gregg Hurwitz, Jacob Tremblay, Jaeden Lieberher, Maggie Ziegler, Naomi Watts, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sarah Silverman, The Book of Henry 1 Comment

The Book of Henry, only the third film from “indie” director wunderkind Colin Trevorrow, plays like a film adaptation of a best selling novel. There’s sudden shocking twists, richly drawn, if brazenly over-the-top, characters and a hurried pace that all coalesce to feel like the product of 300 pages of prose siphoned into a 100-page screenplay. Big, bold and unpredictable, Henry unfolds like a suburban Dan Brown novel; it’s pulpy and scrumptious while it lasts, brimming with sudden breakneck turns that veer the narrative into perpetual new territory, but won’t leave much of an imprint once you’ve slammed it shut. Read More

SIFF ’17 Capsule Review: ‘PYROMANIAC’

May 27, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Pyromaniac, Seattle International Film Festival 2017, SIFF '17 1 Comment

A brightly burning ode to a troubled firestarter who happens to be the son of the fire chief in a small Norwegian village of about 800, Pyromaniac is an unsettling if unfulfilling character study. This mysterious slow-burn is more interested in the human drama than the narrative twists it sets up but fails to satisfyingly reveals the arsonist’s true motives – and I’m not convinced the ending is nearly as impactful as it ought to be – but Pyromaniac is accented by fiery cinematography and catchy Scandinavian punk rock, which helps it burn just a bit brighter. (C+) Read More

SIFF ’17 Capsule Review: ‘AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL’

May 27, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged At the End of the Tunnel, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Reviews, Rodrigo Grande, Seattle International Film Festival 2017, SIFF '17 5 Comments

Rodrigo Grande’s devilish Argentine caper pits a paraplegic engineer against a malevolent troop of thieves burrowing beneath his house to rob a nearby vault. Nail-biting and pitch black in tenor, At the End of the Tunnel employs star Leonardo Sbaraglia’s dramatic chops to create a complicated protagonist, even if his villainous counterparts are at times cartoonishly evil. Drawing inspiration from the likes of David Fincher’s Panic Room, Grande’s is a worthwhile pursuit for those who want a little slice of dark Hollywood sheen to their foreign language dishes. (B-)

SIFF ’17 Capsule Review: ‘CITY OF GHOSTS’

May 26, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged City of Ghosts, Matthew Heineman, Raqqa is Being Silently Slaughtered, Reviews, Seattle International Film Festival 2017, SIFF '17 Leave a comment

A stirring tribute to the journalistic heroes of ‘Raqqa is Silently Being Slaughtered’, City of Ghosts takes us into the epicenter of Syria’s ISIS occupation where a troop of citizen journalists seek to expose the true horror tearing their world to pieces. Matthew Heineman’s immersive filmmaking peels back the curtain, crafting a definitive take on one of the world’s most horrific war zones. The personal sacrifice each of the subjects must endure – some are killed, others see their families killed in their place – is unspeakably heartbreaking but Heineman’s powerful documentary never exploits their pain for political means. Must-see investigative journalism, City of Ghosts is a terrifying vision of hell on earth. (B+) Read More

SIFF ’17 Capsule Review: ‘THE LITTLE HOURS’

May 26, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Leave a comment

A stacked comedic cast aligns for Jeff Baena’s The Little Hours, an unholy send-up of 14th century lust in a small-village monastery. The priest (John C. Reilly) drinks like a fish, while three rebellious nuns (Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Kate Miccucci) flex newfound bad habits when the arrival of a young stud (Dave Franco) spurs a sexual awakening amongst their ilk. Atoning for their sins, Baena creates an absolutely ridiculous world of opposition; repression and personal expression engulfed in a battle of the ages with flying-fast curses as hilariously out of place in this modest countryside as the eventual witch covens erupting in their woods. Unique, offensive and perfectly cast, The Little Hours is a little miracle of feminist subversion. (B) Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘BAYWATCH’

May 25, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alexandra Daddario, Baywatch, Dwayne Johnson, Hannibal Buress, Ilfenesh Hadera, Jon Bass, Kelly Rohrbach, Out in Theaters, Priyanka Chopra, r Seth Gordon, Reviews, Zac Efron Leave a comment

What to say about Baywatch, the new movie from Paramount and Horrible Bosses director Seth Gordon, that can’t simply be assumed? R-rated by virtue of scatalogical humor – penii, both of the flaccid and majorly erect variety, crowd the screen; jaws dangle, gawking at flopping mammaries; – and frivolous vulgarities, Baywatch fails to insert much conviction into its raunch and lacks even more in the originality department. Read More

SIFF ’17 Capsule Review: ‘TIME TRAP’

May 25, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Ben Foster, Mark Dennis, Seattle International Film Festival 2017, SIFF '17, Time Trap 2 Comments

Aliens. Conquistadors. Cavemen. All three filmic mainstays crop up in soft sci-fi thriller Time Trap from directors Ben Foster and Mark Dennis. A pulpy adventure reminiscent of 80s classics like The Goonies and Back to the Future, Time Trap tells the story of a company of graduate students and their pre-teen tagalongs who go looking for their professor in a cave that manipulates time. Clipping along using an intriguing premise to overcome middling characters, Time Trap is in a constant state of reinvention as it moves along, adding new layers of logistical gears to keep us on our toes and invested in its windy plot. Fun above all else, Time Trap is a great little schlocky detour into indie pop cinema sure to earn warm welcomes from excitable festival crowds. (B) Read More

SIFF ’17 Capsule Review: ‘BAD BLACK’

May 24, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Bad Black, Seattle International Film Festival, SIFF '17 2 Comments

This ultra-ultra-low-budget Wakaliwood effort (reportedly made for 200 bucks), which won the audience award at Fantastic Fest (constant nods to Austin probably didn’t hurt), has the same look and feel as the flicks you and your friends made on camcorders back in high school. This nonsensical, irreverent and totally batshit “action” “movie” borders on being unwatchable, ushering in an in-film hype-man narrating/overdubbing/ad-libbing throughout the entirety of the film. Men, women, children, cars, guns, cows; he dubs all. His omnipresent droning will either drive you mad or make you crack a smile at just how fucking ridiculous this whole endeavor is but probably a bit of both if you actually make it through the whole thang. There’s no acting, narrative or directorial choices to speak of as Bad Black is just a DIY home project making an impressive run at festivals for crowds too drunk to realize how what they’ve gotten themselves into. You probably shouldn’t waste your time and money. You’ll probably walk out. (C-)