‘CONCLAVE’ A Punchy Papal Political Thriller and One of the Best of the Year

October 22, 2024 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Carlos Diehz, Conclave, Edward Berger, Isabella Rossellini, John Lithgow, Lucian Msamati, Peter Straughan, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Sergio Castellitto, Stanley Tucci, Volker Bertelmann 8 Comments

The Pope is dead. Cardinals from across the globe arrive in Rome, ready for an unknown period of sequester and deliberation wherein they must elect the future leader of the Catholic Church. The ceremony, known as a papal conclave, is amongst the most secretive and ancient election processes in the world. The doors and windows are secured, shuttered, and locked. The flow of information in and out of the Sistine Chapel limited to billows of chimney smoke. It is here that Edward Berger’s papal political thriller, Conclave, smoothes its vestments and edges its daggers to deliver a sharp-tongued battle of worshipful wits. Read More

‘THE MENU’ Deliciously Satirizes the Cult of Kitchen

November 17, 2022 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Acturo Castro, Anya Taylor-Joy, Hong Chau, Janet McTeer, John Leguizamo, Mark Mylod, Mark St. Cyr, Nicolas Hoult, Out in Theaters, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Rob Yang, Seth Reiss, The Menu, Will Tracy 1 Comment

A Taste of Honey

Margot Mills (Anya Taylor-Joy) is not supposed to be dining out at Hawthorne. After all, a table at Hawthorne is amongst the most difficult reservations to land on the planet, held solely for the affluent, celebrities, and those with their own gravitational sphere of influence. From the moment she arrives at the esteemed remote island restaurant, Margot is out of place against the other diners. Esteemed critics, minor celebrities, finance bros – the usual suspects have gathered to taste the creations of Chef Slowik (Ralph Fiennes). And then there’s Margot. The worst part? She doesn’t even really like the food. Read More

‘NO TIME TO DIE’ Kills Off Daniel Craig’s Reign as 007 in Sullen, Disappointing Fashion

September 29, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Ana de Armas, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Christoph Waltz, David Dencik, James Bond, Jeffrey Wright, Lashana Lynch, Léa Seydoux, Neal Purvis, No Time to Die, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ralph Fiennes, Rami Malek, Robert Wade 1 Comment

With No Time to Die, Daniel Craig’s run as gentleman spy James Bond has reached its final stop. And it’s with a heavy heart that I tell you that Craig’s last turn as 007 is a lumbering swan song at best; a heaving disappointment all in all, lacking in wit, memorable spectacle, even semi-logical villainy, and sensical plotting. For a near-three hour capstone to the Daniel Craig era of James Bond, No Time to Die is both overly-plotted and undercooked, too short on whizzbang set pieces and long on trying to tie up all the loose continuity of his run. It is, in a phrase, more than past the moment to let this particular iteration of the character go. It is indeed time to die.

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.

Out in Theaters: ‘THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE’

February 8, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Animated Movies, Chris McKay, Michael Cera, Out in Theaters, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Rosario Dawson, The Lego Batman, Will Arnett, Zach Galifianakis 3 Comments

A visual sugar rush, The Lego Batman is Bayhem for 5-year olds. A skittle-colored collision of kid-friendly set pieces and jokes that never manage to be as clever or irreverent as its predecessor, even when peppered with good-natured and adult-oriented laughs throughout, this overactive spinoff hosts a collection of pop culture friendly winks and nods with references spanning the last 60 years of cinema but the overabundance of side characters and endless maze of action sequences leaves the animated film feeling dizzying, muddled, overwrought and headache-inducing. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘KUBO AND THE TWO STRINGS’

August 16, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Animation, Art Parkinson, Best of 2016, Charlize Theron, Chris Butler, George Takei, Marc Haimes, Matthew McConaughey, Out in Theaters, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Travis Knight 2 Comments

If there was ever any doubt that the circle of awesome that began with Coraline, Paranorman and The Boxtrolls would be broken, breathe relief. First-time director Travis Knight has led the masterful animators at Laika to victory once more with Kubo and the Two Strings. With the precision and delicacy of a samurai, Knight and his roundtable of figurine tinkerers carved out my heart and left it a fluttering mess, crafting a spellbinding adventure that thrums with wistful soul and spirited poignancy. In an age of skepticism and cynicism, Knight and the Laika wizards prove real alchemy exists. Marrying resplendent visual imagination with potent mature themes, they have made gold. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’

February 3, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alden Ehrenreich, Caesar!, Channing Tatum, Coen Brothers, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Hail, Jonah Hill, Josh Brolin, Out in Theaters, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Scarlett Johnasson, Tilda Swinton 4 Comments

The Coen Brothers’ Hail, Caesar! exists in some zany cinematic purgatory of indecisiveness. Their critique of 1950s Hollywood dwells in an occasionally bemusing middle ground; that is, it can’t decide whether it wants to be a skewering of or a love letter to the golden era of tinsel town. Those who’ve found solace in the bewilderingly esoteric arms of A Serious Man or the bombast of The Hudsucker Proxy will likely concede Hail, Caesar! as a new coming for the seriocomic duo but I like my Coen’s like I like my coffee and Hail, Caesar!’s semi-satirical goofball makeup couldn’t be further from the blackest of comedy that defines the brothers’ greatest ventures. Read More

Channing Tatum is a Merry Sailor in Trailer for Coen Bro’s ‘HAIL, CAESAR!’

October 9, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Channing Tatum, Frances McDormand, George Clooney, Hail Caesar!, Jonah Hill, Josh Brolin, Ralph Fiennes, Scarlett Johansson, The Coen Brothers, Tilda Swinton, Trailers Leave a comment

Have you ever wondered what Channing Tatum would look like in a little sailors outfit? Wonder no more. The trailer for Hail, Caesar!, the newest comedy from Joel and Ethan Coen, has arrived and it looks nothing short of glorious (and features Tatum dressed oh-so-preciously) . Hail, Caesar! tells the story of a tentpole movie production halted when its leading man (George Clooney) is kidnapped and held for ransom. The sure-to-be winning picture is brimming with talent; in addition to Tatum and Clooney, Josh Brolin, Tilda Swinton, Scarlett Johansson, Ralph Fiennes, Jonah Hill and Frances McDormand are set to star with cinematography provided by all-star DP Roger Deakins. Read More

Out in Theaters: THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL

March 18, 2014 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adrien Brody, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Edward Norton, Harvey Keitel, Jason Schwartzman, Jeff Goldblum, Jude Law, Léa Seydoux, Mathieu Amalric, Out in Theaters, Owen Wilson, Ralph Fiennes, Reviews, Saoirse Ronan, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Wes Anderson, Willem Dafoe 2 Comments

Fiennes, Brody, Dafoe, Goldblum, Murray, Law, Swinton, Ronan, Norton, Keitel, Schwartzman, Seydoux, Wilson, Balaban, Amalric, Wilkinson. Wes Anderson‘s latest may have more big names working for it than ever before but their characters are more paper thin than they’ve been, more fizzle than tonic, more Frankenstein’s creations than humans. His company of regulars – joined by a vast scattering of newbies – are relegated to playing furniure-chomping bit roles, filling the shoes of cartoonish sketches, slinking in long shadows of characters. From Willem Dafoe‘s brutish, brass-knuckled Jopling to a caked-up and aged Tilda Swinton, gone are the brooding and calculated, flawed and angsty but always relatable characters of Wes yore. In their place, a series of dusty cardboard cutouts; fun but irrevocably inhuman. Read More