Out in Theaters: ‘MOANA’

November 21, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Auli’i Cravalho, Chris Williams, Disney, Don Hall, Dwayne Johnson, Jemaine Clement, John Musker, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Moana, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ron Clements, Temuera Morrison Leave a comment

Following the sage advice of her kooky grandma (a la Pocahontas) princess Moana must leave the enclosed life she’s always known behind (a la Aladdin’s Jasmine) to return a mystic item to the mountain from whence it came (a la Lord of the Rings). Moana, for its great many strengths, falters bringing a truly original tale to the screen, running on the fumes of Disney movies past to craft a well-loved, good-natured and visually decadent, but still somewhat second-tier Disney Princess potboiler, to the big screen in eye-popping 3D. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘BLEED FOR THIS’

November 17, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Aaron Eckhart, Ben Younger, Bleed for This, Ciarán Hinds, Katey Sagal, Miles Teller, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ted Levin 2 Comments

The boxing movies formula – arrogant but determined go-getter faces uphill battle and training montage to take on personal issues and superior veteran contender – is one that has been honed and sharped since Rocky defined it for the mainstream in 1976. There have been an astounding number of excellent additions to the sports sub-genre (Warrior, The Fighter, Million Dollar Baby, and just last year, Creed, to name but a few) and many more middling efforts to boot. Bleed for This may not be one that goes down in history as a boxing great but with a knockout performance from star Miles Teller and plenty of heart and good humor, it’s enough of a contender to warrant ringside seats. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK’

November 16, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Beau Knapp, Ben Fountain, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, Chris Tucker, Garrett Hedlund, Jean-Christophe Castelli, Joe Alywn, Kristen Stewart, Life of Pi, Mackenzie Leigh, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Steve Martin, Vin Diesel 1 Comment

Let’s get one thing out of the way first. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is a terrible name for a film. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. A clunky mouthful, the title is culled directly from the celebrated novel of the same name from Ben Fountain, who won several novelist awards for his work including the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction, but that doesn’t mean that such a jargony mouthful needed to remain in place when translated to film. The terrible, horrible, no good, very bad name comes under fire again when you realize that Billy Lynn doesn’t really walk all that much, he kinda just plops down in his Dallas Cowboy stadium seat and remembers exchanging “I Love You’s” with Vin Diesel until it’s his chance to perform with Destiny’s Child. If the previous sentence didn’t make a lick of sense, welcome to Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk.
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Out in Theaters: ‘LOVING’

November 16, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Jeff Nichols, Joel Edgerton, Loving, Michael Shannon, Nick Kroll, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ruth Negga 3 Comments

There is much to respect and admire about what Jeff Nichols has done with Loving. However its incredibly restrained tactics and slow as molasses narrative kept it at a bit of an arms length for me emotionally. But Nicols’ methodology is no mistake. Loving purposefully emulates its subjects – Richard and Mildred Loving, both of whom are played to quiet perfection by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga – an interracial couple who accidentally change the course of post-Jim Crow American history when they become embroiled in a critical constitutional law case. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘ARRIVAL’  

November 10, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Amy Adam, Arrival, Denis Villeneuve, Eric Heisserer, Forest Whitaker, Jeremy Renner, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Out in Theaters, Reviews 3 Comments

A palindromic tour de force, Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival is a real film lover’s film. A product of deep emotional and intellectual beauty, loaded with provocative philosophical treatises, smart symbolism and crafty red herrings, Arrival’s rich palette of heady questions and satisfying answers make for a movie-going experience that will surely dwell on long after the film reaches its sock-knocking, bittersweet conclusion. Cast doubt aside. Villeneuve, after four English-language films, manages to maintain his unfathomable winning streak and appears to only continue to sharpen his craft as a storyteller and visual artist. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘DOCTOR STRANGE’

November 3, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Benedict Cumberbatch, Doctor Strange, Kevin Feige, Mads Mikkelsen, Marvel, Out in Theaters, Rachel McAdams, Reviews, Scott Derrickson, Tilda Swinton 2 Comments

With Doctor Strange, Marvel pries open a doorway to a new realm, one filled with magic and mysticism, dark dimensions and malevolent deities. Filled with heady three-dimensional visuals and eye-bulging psychedelic set pieces, Doctor Strange fulfills the promise of its inspired marketing push. That is, it is as close as Marvel has come to being Inception on crack. And let me assure you, that is a good thing. Led by a game Benedict Cumberbatch playing on type as a smarmy elite member of the intelligentsia, Doctor Strange nonetheless suffers the Marvel formula, the “portal problem” and yet another utterly disposable single serving villain. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘HACKSAW RIDGE’

November 2, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Andrew Garfield, Andrew Knight, Hacksaw Ridge, Mel Gibson, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Robert Schenkkan, Sam Worthington, Terera Palmer, Vince Vaughn 2 Comments

Mel Gibson, he of the religiously verbose variety, has been embroiled in a very public war with Hollywood – and himself – over the last decade. The director of Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and Apocalpyto became persona non grata when audio of his now famous anti-Semitic rant, followed by threatening messages made to his then-girlfriend Oksana Gregorieva, went public. Ever since, Gibson’s been trying to claw his way back into the good graces of the mainstream and with the double shot of Blood Father and Hacksaw Ridge, may have just found some footing. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘CHRISTINE’

November 1, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Antonio Campos, Christine, Maria Dizzia, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sundance 2016, Sundance Reviews, Tracy Letts Leave a comment

Almost 7% of the American population has been diagnosed as suffering from depression. That’s roughly 15 million people today. In 1974, though depression was recognized as a serious mental disorder, it wasn’t regarded with the same weight that it is today. After all, the mental disease didn’t enter the DSM III until 1980. Christine, from Simon Killer director Antonio Campos, takes a look at infamous Sarasota reporter Christine Chubbuck and her struggle with depression in sad, sanguine, cinematic streaks. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘THE HANDMAIDEN’

October 26, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chan-wook Park, Ha Jung-woo, Jin-woong Jo, Kim Min-hee, Kim Tae-ri, Korean Cinema, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sarah Waters, Seo-Kyung Chung, The Handmaiden 2 Comments

There’s something fishy about The Handmaiden and it’s not just the octopus in the basement. Chan-wook Park, the South Korean director of such darkly realized stunners as Oldboy and Lady Vengeance, is a noted storyboard guru. Each frame a picture, the film-critic-turned-filmmaker has a stunning eye for specificity that is reflected in the urgent nuances of every camera movement, every prop, every look, every framing choice. So when his latest picture reaches the conclusion of its first act and turns time back to the beginning, we become fiercely cognizant of the various misdirection at play. After all, the devil is in the detail. And you know that with Park’s distinctively dark auteur style, there are an abundance of both devils and details. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘OUIJA: ORIGIN OF EVIL’

October 19, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Annalise Basso, Elizabeth Reaser, Horror, Lulu Wilson, Mike Flanagan, Ouija: Origin of Evil, Out in Theaters, Parker Mack, Reviews 3 Comments

This week’s screening schedule forced what seemed initially a difficult decision in that the two wide releases played against one another on the same fateful night. Though I was only a mild fan of the first, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back offered Tom Cruise (of whom my readers will know I am a lifelong fan) a chance to get back in cahoots with Tom McQuarry (Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation). Ouija: Origin of Evil had a very different pull. Ironically, I had lamented the inevitability of its creation when handing out a D- to McG’s fetid attempt to turn the chilling board game to movie form. And yet Mike Flanagan, director of Oculus and just earlier this year Hush, is as seductive a marque name as any when it comes to the horror genre and I just couldn’t help but give over to the spirit of October and throw my chips in with the scarier offering. Turns out, it was a great choice. Read More