Out in Theaters: TRAINWRECK

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bill Hader, Brie Larson, Collin Quinn, Dave Attell, Evan Brinkman, Ezra Miller, John Cena, LeBron James, Noman Lloyd, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tilda Swinton, Trainwreck 2 Comments

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW review

Take it from the effervescently crass mouth of Amy Schumer, “The title was always Trainwreck. Trainwreck or Cum Dumpster.” Oh Amy, you are such just so…you. From talk radio appearances to gross-out Twitter posts, the Schum has crafted her image on being unapologetically, oh-so-adorably crude and in the context of Trainwreck, it’s miraculous to take in. At last night’s premiere, when an audience member inundated her with compliments, she barked, “Stop trying to fuck me.” She has swiftly become the epitome of 21st century feminism-as-middle finger; the crème de la crème of vagina jokes and reverse slut shaming that will melt the lipstick off housewives and zap the calories off your finger sandwiches with her gloriously nasty one-liners and hysterically sexual non-sequiturs. Read More

Out in Theaters: THE STANFORD PRISON EXPERIMENT

July 17, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Billy Crudup, Kyle Patrick Alvarez, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Stanford Prison Experiment, Tim Talbott, Tye Sheridan Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 Sundance review.

Things came in twos at this year’s Sundance Film Festival with a pair of Cobie Smulders’ features competing against one another for the Dramatic Competition prize, a set of unexpected pregnancy comedy/dramas, Tye Sheridans (who actually was showcased in three films: Last Days in the Desert, Entertainment and this film we’re in the midst of reviewing) and, most notably, a duo of 1960-70s social psychology experiment films. One of which, The Experimenter told the story of Stanley Milgram, administer of increasing electrical shocks and student of peer pressure. The feature starred Peter Sarsgaard and was met with middling reviews. Read More

Out in Theaters: LILA & EVE

July 17, 2015 by Lillian Angelle Posted in Out in Theaters, Reviews Tagged Andre Royo, charles stone III, Chris Chalk, Jennifer Lopez, lila & eve, Review, Reviews, Shea Whigham, Viola Davis 1 Comment

Lila & Eve has the typical makings of a Lifetime Films production: sudden, out of context tragedy, crappy justice systems, female vigilantism, and unlikely friendships forged by way of grief. Starring Viola Davis as Lila, a mother who has lost her son in a seemingly accidental drive-by shooting, Lila & Eve is a film that can’t quite grasp a perspective and stick to it. Directed by Charles Stone III, most notably known for Drumline, his latest summer release falls short of being a thriller, yet has plenty of mind-numbing, shoot-’em-up action. Read More

Out in Theaters: ANT-MAN

July 16, 2015 by Chris Bunker Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam McKay, Ant-Man, Corey Stoll, David Dastmalchian, Edgar Wright, Evangeline Lilly, Joe Cornish, Michael Douglas, Michael Pena, Out in Theaters, Paul Rudd, Peyton Reed, Review, Reviews, T.I. 1 Comment

I’ve always wondered where our preoccupation with size came from. Maybe cause I’ve never been the biggest, or because I’ve always been more taken by the diminutive: as a self-entitled critic, attention to detail is my craft. Fortunately for movie-goers, so it goes for the folks at Marvel and Ant-Man director Peyton Reed. This edition’s got a new musk, and underneath that an exoskeletal husk of comedic explosion and graphic excitement that rivals its full-sized super-compatriots. With Ant-Man, the folks at Marvel forgot how to make a superhero movie as usual, and pumped out one of the best Marvel adaptations yet. Read More

Documentary Dossier: CARTEL LAND

July 16, 2015 by Jill Landon Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Cartel Lands, Dr. José Manuel Mireles, Matthew Heineman, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tim Foley 2 Comments

Cartel Land spends most of its runtime with the men and women on either side of the US-Mexico border, but it opens amidst the men working for the cartels, gathered under cover of darkness to cook their drugs and appeal to the camera—they are people, and people have to work. After all, if God minded their little cook op, he’d smite them down right quick. And that would be that. Their peculiar bookends – given by tertiary characters with a direct hand in “polluting the populace” – provide an extra shade of depth to a documentary at first intent on chronicling the horrors perpetrated on the Mexican people in the name of the cartels that is then mixed up – like acetone, sulfuric acid and antifreeze – with the morally gray mater of self-righteous vigilantes taking up arms to protect their gente.

Documentary Dossier: THE LOOK OF SILENCE

July 16, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Documentaries, Out in Theaters Tagged Adi Rukun, Best of 2015, Documentaries, Joshua Oppenheimer, Out in Theaters, Reviews, The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence Leave a comment

*This is a reprint of our 2015 SXSW review.

In psychology class, you learn about the concept of diffusion of responsibility, a sociopathic event that explains that when more people are present or complicit in an unfavorable event, the less personally responsible that group will feel for its outcome. The public murder of Kitty Genovese – in which a woman was stabbed to death in NYC but not one neighbor alerted the police – is a tragic true-to-life example of this but no piece of fiction or nonfiction has better captured the ghastly phenomenon than Joshua Oppenheimer‘s The Look of Silence. Read More

Out in Theaters: MR. HOLMES

July 15, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Bill Condon, Conan Doyle, Ian McKellan, Laura Linner, Milo Parker, Mr. Holmes, Out in Theaters, Reviews, SIFF 2015 Leave a comment

Film originally seen at Seattle International Film Festival ’15.

Sir Ian McKellan extends a touch of majesty to just about any role he sinks his teeth into, whether that be a Middle Earth wizard or a Brotherhood metal mutant. Lending his commanding British timbre to Conan Doyle’s most esteemed literary creation, super sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Sir McKellan is extended an opportunity to tap into an established icon at an unprecedented juncture: Mr. Holmes as an aged, forgetful retiree. Read More

Out in Theaters: 10,000 KM

July 10, 2015 by Madelyn Sutton Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged 10000 KM, Carlos Marques-Marcet, Natalia Tena, Out in Theaters, Reviews 2 Comments

The nature of interpersonal relationships in this second decade of the 21st century have changed significantly from those of the great romantic chamber piece films like Annie Hall or Before Sunrise. Though it’s now a rather boring truism that the internet has changed the way we interact with one another, it seems that non-science-fiction films are just beginning to dig into what this means; one of the first real stand-out attempts to capture this shift is 2013’s Her, in which a lonely man falls for the sexy-voiced operating system in his computer. We can now add 10,000 km to the list of films exploring what it means to be together but separate, attached, at times, only by an internet connection. Read More

Out in Theaters: SELF/LESS

July 9, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Antonio Pinto, Ben Kingsley, Brendan Galvin, Dudu Aram, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Ryan Reynolds, Self/Less, Tarsem Singh Leave a comment

Tarsem Singh is an tough cookie to crack. On the one hand, he’s hailed as a visionary director; a masterful craftsman of colorful aesthetics and esoteric tone. And yet, his catalog of works is filled with laudable, though often graceless, misfires. From 2000’s J Lo-starrer The Cell to sword ‘n’ sandals CGI-fest Immortals (which seemed little more than 300-lite) and onward to his recent Snow White comedy Mirror Mirror, Singh hardly has one entry in his portfolio to unequivocally celebrate. Nor has he really delivered a true stinker. That trend continues in 2015 with a thinking man’s actioner that forgot the thinking man aspect with Self/Less.

Out in Theaters: TESTAMENT OF YOUTH

July 9, 2015 by Drew Powell Posted in Out in Theaters, Reviews Tagged Alicia Vikander, James Kent, Kit Harrington, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Taron Egerton, Testament of Youth Leave a comment

At the beginning of James Kent’s Testament of Youth the Armistice has been signed and World War I is ending. Though our protagonist, Vera Brittain (Alicia Vikander) isn’t celebrating. As she makes her way through crowded London streets, she looks beaten down and dazed. By this point, the war has taken everything from her. In real life, Brittain became a Pacifist after experiencing the horrors of The Great War first-hand. Based on her memoir of the same name, Testament of Youth carries a strong anti-war message that Kent handles with subtlety and compassion. He slowly easing into Brittain’s tale, instead of starting with suffering right away. Keeping the focus squarely on Vera and her evolution as a character, he crafts a delicate and understanding biopic worthy of mild celebration. Read More