Zoë Kravitz’s Electrifying ‘BLINK TWICE’ Delivers Deadly Thrills

August 22, 2024 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Adria Arjona, Alia Shawkat, Blink Twice, Channing Tatum, Christian Slater, E.T. Feigenbaum, Genna Davis, Haley Joel Osment, Kyle MacLachlan, Levon Hawke, Liz Caribel, Naomi Ackie, Reviews, Simon Rex, Tew Mullen, Zoë Kravitz 3 Comments

Tech billionaire Slater King (Channing Tatum) is in the midst of a rebrand. A year after an undisclosed incident sparked a public apology tour, he’s turned over a new leaf, diving into philanthropic efforts while secluding himself on a mysterious remote island. His claims of reform are complicated by rumors of debauchery—all-night parties, sketchy associates, an on-hand pharmacy of designer drugs. This does little to deter the eager Frida (Naomi Ackie), a jejune cocktail waitress working the gala his company KingTech is hosting. Frida may still be figuring things out, but one thing is certain—brushing shoulders with Slater, if only for the night, would be a memory worth making. Read More

‘BEING THE RICARDOS’ A Lucille Ball Biopic Without Bite

December 7, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Aaron Sorkin, Alia Shawkat, Being the Ricardos, Clark Gregg, J.K. Simmons, Jake Lacy, Javiar Bardem, Nicole Kidman, Tony Hale 1 Comment

After three directorial efforts, I think it’s safe to say that Aaron Sorkin is a boring director. The celebrated scribe’s career began with early works like A Few Good Men and The Rock before rising to prominence pulling triple duties as writer, executive producer, and creator with NBC’s mega-hit The West Wing. Sorkin’s vocation hit a high note through the early aughts, earning an Academy Award nomination for his writing work on Moneyball and winning an Oscar for David Fincher’s excellent The Social Network – still his best work to date. Sorkin turned to directing with 2017 Molly’s Game and followed that decent-enough effort with the awards-desperate courtroom drama The Trial of the Chicago 7. Both films revealed a creator that apes the style of other better directors with none of his own. Read More

Talking with Jeremy Saulnier of ‘GREEN ROOM’

April 21, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Interviews, Uncategorized Tagged Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, Blue Ruin, Callum Turner, Green Room, Imogen Poots Mark Webber, Interviews, Patrick Stewart, Talking With... 4 Comments

Jeremy Saulnier emerged from the shadows last year with his not-quite-cult independent smash Blue Ruin. About a man fatally ill prepared to strike justice on the man responsible for his parent’s slaying, Saulnier managed an original voice in a familiar setting. With this year’s Green Room, he’s managed to strike the sweet spot once more. An uncompromisingly violent tale of a hapless punk band (played by Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, Callum Turner and Mark Webber) who come head to head with a Neo Nazi club owner (an intimidating as hell Patrick Stewart) is shrouded in viscus and plays like a violent assault to the senses. Visceral and mean, Saulnier has sharpened his edge as a filmmaker to craft a siege film set in a seedy underbelly society that’s absolutely boiling with tension. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘GREEN ROOM’

April 21, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, Callum Turner, Green Room, Imogen Poots, Jeremy Saulnier, Joe Cole, Mark Webber, Patrick Stewart, Reviews, Sundance 2016, Sundance Reviews 2 Comments

Hot from the critical heralding of Blue Ruin, Jeremy Saulnier returns to the world of white trash and movies with colors in their title with Green Room. An ultraviolet fantasy of viscus and vengeance, Green Room is as unapologetic as a Misfits album, as dead-serious as a KKK rally and as boastfully savage as a scalping. Characters find themselves torn to kibble by attack dogs, slashed to crimson ropes by box cutters and blasted in the face at point blank range with shotguns. Read More

Sundance ’16 Review: ‘GREEN ROOM’

January 24, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Festival Reviews Tagged Alia Shawkat, Anton Yelchin, Callum Turner, Green Room, Imogen Poots, Jeremy Saulnier, Joe Cole, Mark Webber, Reviews, Sundance 2016, Sundance Reviews 3 Comments

Out in Theaters: ‘THE FINAL GIRLS’

October 9, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters, Uncategorized Tagged Adam DeVine, Alexander Ludwig, Alia Shawkat, Angela Trimbur, Horror, Malin Akerman, Nina Dobrev, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Taissa Farmiga, The Final Girls, Thomas Middleditch, Todd Strauss-Schulson 3 Comments

The premise for The Final Girls – a group of teens are inexplicably sucked into a slasher movie and must survive its 92 minute runtime in hopes of returning to their world – is questionable to say the least. One might think to find such a movie buried deep down in and amongst the filth of Netflix; hidden amongst those low-budget wanna-be’s masquerading as the real deal. It doesn’t take the aid of Sherlock to prove that this is not the case. Not only is The Final Girls not atrocious, it’s rather excellent. As in, it’s goddamn righteous. Read More