The ‘GLASS’ is Half Empty in Laughably Bad Conclusion to Shyamalan Trilogy

January 16, 2019 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Anya Taylor-Joy, Bruce Willis, Glass, James McAvoy, M. Night Shyamalan, Samuel L. Jackson, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Split, Unbreakable Leave a comment

The Unbreakable trilogy that started in 2000 at the peak of M. Night Shyamalan’s powers, then went subterranean during his dark ages (the brutal run of films that spanned Lady in the Water to After Earth), and stealthily re-emerged in the midst of his recent revival of sorts (the one-two punch of The Visit and Split re-ameliorating the Indian director with American audiences) has officially ended. Along with the hopes of a true Shyamalanasance (say that three times fast.) And folks, Glass concludes the promise of a 19-years-in-the-making unprecedented movie triptych in the worst way possibly imaginable. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘OCEAN’S 8’

June 7, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Anne Hathaway, Awkwafina, Cate Blanchett, Gary Ross, Helena Bonham Carter, Mindy Kaling, Ocean's 8, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Rihanna, Sandra Bullock, Sarah Paulson Leave a comment

The king is dead, long live the queen. With the apparent demise of George Clooney’s smug, square-chinned Danny Ocean, kid sister Debbie (Sandra Bullock) has taken up the family mantle of thievery, having cooked up the perfect jewel heist while locked in a state penitentiary for the past five years. There’s double-crosses, jobs within jobs, slick montages, and a brand new bag of femme fatales to get to know but Ocean’s 8 is very much an offshoot of the popular rebooted franchise brought to life in the early 2000’s. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘THE POST’

December 6, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Alison Brie, Bob Odenkirk, Bradley Whitford, Bruce Greenwood, Carrie Coon, David Cross, Jesse Plemons, Matthew Rhys, Meryl Streep, Pat Healy, Sarah Paulson, Steven Spielberg, The Post, Tom Hanks, Tracy Letts, Zach Woods Leave a comment

The Post, a Steven Spielberg-directed drama about the Washington Post’s critical role in discriminating the notorious Pentagon Papers, has Very Important Movie Streep written all over it. A newspaper procedural starring awards giants Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, lit to resemble an Oscar winner by Janusz Kaminski and following a script from first-timer Liz Hannah and Josh Singer (The Fifth Estate, Spotlight) that touts the importance of its subject at every turn (sometimes in painfully obvious soliloquy), The Post is part important meditation on the unimpeachable import of the First Amendment, part desperate plea for Award’s attention and part Spielberg doing his Dramatic Spielberg thing. Read More