Psalms and Sleaze Line the End of Ti West’s Trilogy in ‘MAXXXINE’

July 2, 2024 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bobby Cannavale, Elizabeth Debicki, Giancarlo Esposito, Halsey, Lily Collins, MaXXXine, Mia Goth, Michelle Monaghan, Moses Sumney, Pearl, Reviews, Ti West, X 1 Comment

Celebrity and faith are at impassable odds in the capstone to Ti West’s surprise trilogy, MaXXXine. What started with ’70s shlock in X, then traveled back in time to WWI-era West Texas with the outstanding technicolor prequel Pearl, now arrives in 1980s Hollywood in MaXXXine. The titular character, consistently played with wild-eyed abandon and gnawing verve by Mia Goth across the three films, grapples with the events of her blood-soaked past, sheds her present porn star celebrity, and charges into a bright future as a legitimate actress. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘DADDY’S HOME’

December 24, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters, Uncategorized Tagged Bobby Cannavale, Daddy's Home, Hannibal Buress, John Cena, Linda Cardellini, Mark Wahlberg, Out in Theaters, Owen Vaccaro, Reviews, Scarlett Estevez, Thomas Haden Church, Will Ferrell Leave a comment

There was an age of Will Ferrell where just about anything the slapstick buffoon did would conjure a hearty laugh from me. His performances in Anchorman, as the verbose, showboating newsman Ron Burgundy, and Step Brothers, as perma-man-child Brendan Huff, send me into a goofy rage of hacking cough fits to this day. But it’s been a hot minute since Ferrell has been able to lock himself and his signature non-sequitors into a winning project and Daddy’s Home continues that losing streak. Read More

Out in Theaters: SPY

June 11, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Allison Janney, Bobby Cannavale, Jason Statham, Jude Law, Melissa McCarthy, Out in Theaters, Paul Feig, Reviews, Rose Byrne, Spy Leave a comment

Like Funyuns, Melissa McCarthy is an acquired taste. In her least delicate projects, she vaults around the frame, sharting and cursing to the apparent delight of squealing audiences that I just don’t relate to. Even in Paul Feig‘s Spy – a film that affords her at least an attempt at a three-dimensional character – a wide margin of the comedy is rooted in McCarthy’s heft and just how riotous it is to see a fat lady try to do normal lady things. Tee-hee. Read More