FYC Capsule Review: ‘THE AERONAUTS’

December 5, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Aeronauts, Tom Harper Leave a comment

When The Aeronauts lifts off the ground, the film from Tom Harper truly does take off. Down on ground-level, everything is a bit more sour than soar though. Benefitting from some breathtaking visual effects and a capable pair of leads in Felicity Jones (excellent here) and Eddie Redmayne, The Aeronauts can be a thrilling mid-air adventure to the highest reaches of the atmosphere that’s weighed down by its commonplace dramatic packaging. Jones plays hotshot hot-air balloon pilot Amelia Wren, who is trying to break the height world record accompanied by scientist/proto-meteorologist James Glashier (Redmayne) out to prove that weather can be studied and predicted. Harper proves more than capable of staging invariably tense sequences where life and death hang in the balance, and his crisp direction gets notably better the higher off the ground their balloon gets. If only he could have found more balance in mixing the grounded drama with the high-flying hijinx. Thankfully, Jones gives it her all, making the venture a worthwhile ascend, if one you don’t need to rush out to catch. (C+) Read More

‘UNCUT GEMS’ Bets Big on Sandman’s Dramatic Chops

November 27, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Sandler, Benny Safdie, Eric Bogosian, Idina Menzel, Josh Safdie, Julia Fox, Lakeith Stanfield, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ronald Bronstein, The Weeknd, Uncut Gems Leave a comment

The unique genius of the Safdie Bros is that they can put Adam Sandler in one of his best dramatic roles to date and still start the movie with a classic Sandman butthole joke. In Uncut Gems, Sandler plays skeezy jeweler Howard, a Jewish Big Apple resident and compulsive gambler in Manhattan’s Diamond District. We meet Howard via his insides, in the midst of a colonoscopy, and things just get more shit for him from there. Howard owes just about everyone in the city, running up spendy vigs with the local pawn shops, wheeling and dealing with low-rent loansharks, and making sketchy deals with his more mobbed-up acquaintances. Exactly the kind of people you don’t want to owe a penny to. Read More

Fiery ‘QUEEN & SLIM’ So Much More than Black Bonnie and Clyde

November 26, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Daniel Kaluuya, Jodie Turner-Smith., Lena Waithe, Melina Matsoukas, Out in Theaters, Queen & Slim, Reviews Leave a comment

An awkward first date sets the tone Melina Matsoukas’ Queen & Slim. Language and communication is just as much about talking as it is about the silences, our two characters are soon to discover, and Queen & Slim establishes early on the power of silence and the unspoken word. The magic of Tinder lands a man of dubious socioeconomic status (Daniel Kaluuya) and his recalcitrant one-night-eating-partner (Jodie Turner-Smith) at a diner booth with little to talk about. And little hope of physical connection. Silence can be warm or it can be infinitely awkward. This is definitely the later. An African-American lawyer, she wonders if it was the best he could afford. He claims they’re here because “It’s black-owned”. So too is Queen & Slim. Read More

Gerwig’s ’LITTLE WOMEN’ Is Exquisitely Crafted, Beautifully Acted Holiday Delight

November 25, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bob Odenkirk, Chris Cooper, Eliza Scanlen, Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, Greta Gerwig, Laura Dern, Little Women, Louisa May Alcott, Meryl Streep, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Saoirse Ronan, Timothée Chalamet, Tracy Letts 1 Comment

In 1868, Louisa May Alcott introduced the world to Meg, Jo, Beth, and Amy in her semi-autobiographical novel “Little Women”. Alcott’s novel was almost immediately met with huge commercial success and has gone on to be retold generation after generation. First adapted for the screen in 1917 as a silent film, Little Women has gone on to become a cultural reflection of its times, a new version unspooling every twenty years or so to capture the attention of new young audiences. From 1933’s Katharine Hepburn cut to 1994’s Gillian Armstrong take (whose all-star cast included Winona Ryder, Christian Bale, Claire Danes, Susan Sarandon, and Kirsten Dunst), Little Women is a story destined to play on repeat. And, in this one such example, maybe that’s not such a bad thing. Read More

Darker ‘FROZEN II’ Feels Like A Solid, Really Expensive Straight-to-DVD Sequel

November 20, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chris Buck, Disney, Frozen II, Idina Menzel, Jennifer Lee, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad, Kristen Bell, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Santino Fontana 1 Comment

For the vast majority of their existence as a company, Disney has sent sequels straight to home video, usually in some off-colored VHS package you’d find facedown at the discount bin in some Walmart or other. Prior to Ralph Wrecks the Internet, the only Disney sequel that ended up in an actual theater was 1990’s The Rescuers Down Under. Sequelitis simply was not the corporate mandate of the time. Not in the 40’s Golden Era or the 90’s Renaissance. That one exception aside, Disney Animation has long been in the original content game (debates about how original their Disney Princess collection actually is aside) but with the one-two punch of Ralph deus and Frozen II, expect to get a lot more sequels to Disney’s massive moneymaking franchises in the coming future. Forget Prince Charming, it’s time to bow down to King IP. Bob Iger’s mandate is cold hard cash, hand over foot. Thankfully, if the sequels are anything like Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee’s Frozen II, franchise-thirsty fans from Virginia to Vietnam are probably all in decent-enough hands showing up in droves to shell out to their Disney overlords. Read More

High-Schooler’s Slow-Motion Self Destruction Vividly Captured in ‘WAVES’

November 19, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alexa Demie, Atticus Ross, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Lucas Hedges, Out in Theaters, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Revies, Reviews, Sterling K. Brown, Taylor Russell, Trent Reznor, Trey Edward Shults, Waves Leave a comment

Waves is a film in two parts, at once as connected and severed as a man following a trip to the guillotine. In a sense, it’s almost a story and sequel in one package. One whose first and second parts have alternating sets of lead characters, battling tonality, and wildly diverse cinematography, though its hip-hop-saturated musical through-line binds its saga together as does the overbearing sense of cause and effect that ripples throughout the Williams family’s lives. Waves moving outwards and growing in intensity, born of the smallest pebble dropped in the pond, grow to towering surf, stretched over devastating undertow. Read More

Salty Grandpa Recounts a Life of Killing in Scorsese’s Opus ‘THE IRISHMAN’

November 18, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Al Pacino, Anna Paquin, Charles Brand, Joe Pesci, Martin Scorsese, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Robert DeNiro, The Irishman Leave a comment

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: a gangster walks into a nursing home. Priest says to the gangster, “Unburden yourself, my child.” Gangster says, “But Father, I ain’t got no burdens.” “But of course you must,” the Holy Man states, “You’ve spent a lifetime murdering people. Burning businesses. Threatening men of all stripes. You’ve deprived wives of their husbands, children of their fathers.” “But I didn’t even know the families,” the grizzled old gangster mews. “So you don’t feel sorry for any of it?” the clothed man pushes. The old shriveled meat-bag of a man shrugs, ”I guess I do have one regret…” Read More

‘CHARLIE’S ANGELS’ Reboot Delivers Fluffy Girl-Powered Fun and Peak Kristen Stewart

November 14, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Charlie’s Angels, Chris Pang, Elizabeth Banks, Ella Balinkska, Kristen Stewart, Naomi Scott, Out in Theaters, Reviews Leave a comment

Who knew that Kristen Stewart could have this much fun? Whether she’s whipping her body around the dance floor or head butting Tinder dates in the kisser, K-Stew is straight lit. She’s scorching hot. As on fire as a Flaming Doctor Pepper. And it’s good to bask in the heat. The Twilight alum has spent the last decade reshaping public perception of her acting chops, starring in dramatic and critically-acclaimed Films with a capital F. Most notably through her partnership with Olivier Assayas in Clouds of Sils Maria and Personal Shopper, Stewart has become an actress of high repute and though she’s yet to land herself any kind of Oscar nomination, her star has risen from blockbuster starlet with a Razzie nom to respectable leading lady whose projects are worth seeking out through her association alone. For what seems like the first time in probably ever, the many sides and talents of Stewart come to a head in Charlie’s Angels, a cutesy and shallow fun time that would allow the actress the chance to let her hair down had she not cropped it short. Even so, Stewart is here to shake it off and actually have some fun. And boy what a show she puts on. Read More

Shia LaBeouf Excises Demons In Emotionally Raw ‘HONEY BOY’

November 13, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alma Har’el, FKA Twigs, Honey Boy, Lucas Hedges, Noah Jupe, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Shia LaBeouf 2 Comments

Everyone seems to have an opinion about Shia LaBeouf, the child-star turned Transformers/Crystal Skull actor turned Hollywood bad boy. But regardless of what you think you think, anyone who checks out Honey Boy, a revealing and emotionally turbulent tell-all written by and starring LaBeouf, will come out wanting to reach through the screen and deliver a big Shia hug. Read More

Bone Dry Procedural ’THE REPORT’ Values Facts Over Emotion

November 12, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam Driver, Annette Bening, Corey Stoll, Jon Hamm, Michael C. Hall, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Scott Z. Burns, Tim Blake Nelson Leave a comment

From longtime Steven Soderberg collaborator and writer/director Scott Z. Burns, The Report is a well-researched and competently constructed journalistic procedural that lacks in human emotion. Very much in a similar vein as movies like Spotlight and All the President’s Men, but lacking their towering sense of immediacy and tension, Burns’ film values objectivity and nonpartisanship most highly, allowing little room for things like a heartbeat or even the cinematic thrills customary with similar dramatic procedurals. Read More