Out in Theaters: ’12 STRONG’

January 18, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Chris Hemsworth, Michael Pena, Michael Shannon, Navid Negahban, Nicolai Fuglsig, Out in Theaters, Peter Craig, Reviews, Taylor Sheridan, Ted Tally, Trevante Rhodes Leave a comment

12 Strong calls in the cavalry on Al-Qaeda in Nicolai Fuglsig’s “declassified true story of the horse soldiers”. Spurred by the 9/11 terror attacks, Captain Mitch Nelson (Chris Hemsworth) leaves behind a safe, cushy military desk job to lead a team of special forces to the sandy front lines of the War on Terror. There, he must earn the trust of an Afghan warlord to take down a critical Taliban position. We’re told repeatedly that the fate of the War rests on this mission’s success and, well, we all know how that one turned out. Generic on most accounts, 12 Strong is an inoffensive American war movie relying on offensive war-mongering tactics. The semi-sturdy if mostly unremarkable acting and blasé set pieces lack the praise-worthy or memorable accents to set 12 Strong aside from the harras. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘WIND RIVER’

August 10, 2017 by Jason Jean Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Taylor Sheridan, Wind River 1 Comment

As I write this review for Taylor Sheridan’s new film Wind River we’re experiencing some fairly remarkable meteorological theatrics in the Pacific Northwest. At night our moon is the color of a blood orange, while our sunrises and sunsets are a near supernatural hellfire red. The reason? Our atmosphere is currently congested with smoke from several wild fires tearing through the Canadian coastal ranges to the north, and the noxious haze has created an off-world prism on our horizon. We can only imagine the terrible price somebody’s paying for these gorgeous mutations in our sky down here. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘HELL OR HIGH WATER’

August 10, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Ben Foster, Best of 2016, Chris Pine, David Mackenzie, Gil Birmingham, Hell of High Water, Jeff Bridges, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Taylor Sheridan 1 Comment

Over a hand of cards, Ben Foster’s Tanner stares daggers at a rival player. “Don’t chase me, Comanche,” he taunts, pushing a healthy pile of chips towards the pot, bloodlust flaring in his pupils. Comanche chases. And wins. Tanner slinks away, tail defiantly untucked. The chip-rich champion carnivorously confronts him, “Do you know what Comanche means?” Violence seems imminent. It hovers; an invisible, palpable force. “Enemy to everyone,” the Comanche growls. Tanner stares back dead-eyed, unsure if this confrontation spells death. Not seeming to care either way. Pimple-inducing tension streaks through the scene like nudists at a Pride parade. Sweat drips down the screen. “You know what that makes me?” Tanner’s response stabs, barbed as a butterfly knife. “A fucking Comanche.”
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Out in Theaters: ‘SICARIO’

September 25, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Benicio Del Toro, Denis Villeneuve, Emily Blunt, Jóhann Jóhannsson, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Roger Deakin, Sicario, Taylor Sheridan Leave a comment

Amongst the best in its entire run, episode seven, season two of Breaking Bad, “Negro y Azul” sees decorated DEA agent Hank Schrader’s fated run-in with a Cartel informant known only as Tortuga (a perfect in the role Danny Trejo). The syndicate snitch assembles a wish list of “thank you” gifts from a SkyMall mag – the going rate for Cartel rats. Hank butts in, jeering Tortuga to hurry it along and dispense with the bullshittery, awaiting the familiar nods of approval he’s used to as big dog back in Albuquerque. A tidal wave of censure bears down on him like a face full of hot Champurrado; sodden scorn pours from the eyes of colleagues and the turtle-titled turncoat alike. Taken aback, Hank swallows the salty-but-sure fact that what may soar in the Northern-most stretch of American border comes to die here in the infertile Mexican desert. He’s a bald eagle, snatched up and spanked by the very red, white and blue claws that feeds him. Read More