Towering ‘DUNE: PART TWO’ An Artful Masterclass in World Expansion

February 21, 2024 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Austin Butler, Charlotte Rampling, Christopher Walken, Denis Villeneuve, Dune, Dune: Part 2, Dune: Part Two, Florence Pugh, Greig Fraser, Hans Zimmer, Jacqueline West, Javier Bardem, Jon Spaights, Josh Brolin, Léa Seydoux, Patrice Vermette, Rebecca Ferguson, Shane Vieau, Stellan Skarsgård, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya 6 Comments

Denis Villeneuve is nothing short of a living maestro. No other working director can so skillfully transmogrify a heralded text into a jaw-dropping exercise in both art and commerce, making for a sci-fi epic that’s as artistically entrancing as it is nonstop thrilling. A masterclass in world expansion, Dune: Part Two picks up where the last chapter, released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max in the doldrums of the lingering pandemic in 2021, left off while continuing to complicate the world of Arrakis, its mythology, its peoples, and what’s at stake for the entirety of Frank Herbert’s well-drawn universe. Villeneuve’s eleventh feature film presents a triumphant middle chapter that grapples with inner darkness, ruminative notions of prophecy and destiny, romantic entanglement, and familial tragedy in what is set to be one of the great trilogies and a true modern masterwork. Read More

‘WONKA’ Delights in Making the Roald Dahl-Verse Dreamy Again

December 14, 2023 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Calah Lane, Hugh Grant, Jim Carter, Matt Lucas, Matthew Baynton, Natasha Rothwell, Neil Hannon, Olivia Colman, Paterson Joseph, Paul King, Rake Thakrar, Reviews, Rich Fulcher, Roald Dahl, Simon Farnaby, Timothée Chalamet, Tom Davis, Wonka 2 Comments

Two words: Paul. King. The 45-year old British writer/director has not so much stumbled as pioneered his way into the most winsome of formulas with his trifecta of perfectly delightful family friendly films, Paddington, Paddington 2, and, now, Wonka. By exploring the backstory of the mysterious titular character from one of Roald Dahl’s most iconic tales, King seamlessly blends the charm and whimsy that have defined his previous works with the musical fantasia of the 1971 Gene Wilder-starring film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. The result is a truly special prequel: a largely wonderful and never-not-dazzling film that revels in oodles of fun, deliciously lavish set pieces, and many a toe-tapping song and dance numbers. Read More

Preposterous Doomsday Satire ‘DON’T LOOK UP’ Explodes With Snickers, Star Power

December 8, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adam McKay, Cate Blanchett, Don’t Look Up, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Leonardo DiCaprio, Mark Rylance, Meryl Streep, Rob Morgan, Ron Perlman, Timothée Chalamet 2 Comments

“Don’t look up,” becomes the political mantra of President Janine Orlean (Meryl Streep) as a comet nine kilometers wide barrels towards Earth. Without immediate intervention, there is a one-hundred percent chance of an extinction level event. But midterms are fast approaching and an opportunity to save the world and existence as we know it gets fed through the political machine, to the chagrin of actual scientists the world over. Taking aim at the Trump-era invention of “alternative facts”, Orlean encourages her followers to not believe their own eyes, spinning an impending apocalypse into a culture war in ways that are both all too far-fetched and tragically feasible. Read More

‘THE FRENCH DISPATCH’ Is An Inaccessible Patchwork of Withering Pretension

October 19, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Adrien Brody, Alexandre Desplat, Anjelica Huston, Benicio Del Toro, Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Christoph Waltz, Edward Norton, Elisabeth Moss, Frances McDormand, Henry Winkler, Hugo Guinness, Jason Schwartzman, Jeffrey Wright, Léa Seydoux, Liev Schreiber, Mathieu Amalric, Owen Wilson, Roman Coppola, Rupert Friend, Saoirse Ronan, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Willem Dafoe 2 Comments

Structured like a New Yorker zine and just as wryly smug and pandering to the self-proclaimed intelligentsia, The French Dispatch is an ego-driven misfire for visionary director Wes Anderson who has done little more than projectile vomit his signature quirk on the screen in thick gobs, forgetting to actually make a movie along the way. Read More

Sweat and Tears: Villeneuve’s Breathtaking Space Opera Epic ‘DUNE’ Rules

October 18, 2021 by Matt Oakes Posted in Most Popular, Out in Theaters Tagged Dave Bautista, Denis Villeneuve, Dune, Jacqueline West, Jaiver Bardem, Jason Momoa, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac, Patrice Vermette, Rebecca Ferguson, Stellan Skarsgård, Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya 4 Comments

Behold! Denis Villeneuve has adapted Frank Herbert’s iconic 1965 science-fiction novel Dune with all the might and majesty of a true maestro. A verifiable fireworks-show of audio-visual brawn and storytelling prowess, Dune as translated by Villeneuve is a rare cinematic treat that implodes on the screen, sucking audiences into a dizzying vortex of feuding empires, space zen, and chosen-one heroics, resulting in one of the most electrifying science-fiction space operas of this generation and one of the very best films of the year. The only knock against it – and it is a reasonably-sized knock – is that this first film in the planned (but not yet green-lit) two-parter only encompasses half the total story, leaving viewers desperate for a conclusion that may or may not come to fruition. Read More

Murray, Chalamet, McDormand, Swinton, Moss, and Many Many More Assemble for Wes Anderson’s ‘THE FRENCH DISPATCH’ Trailer

February 12, 2020 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Bill Murray, Bob Balaban, Elisabeth Moss, Frances McDormand, Jeff Goldblum, Jeffrey Wright, Lea Seydoux Owen Wilson, The French Dispatch, Tilda Swinton, Timothée Chalamet, Tony Revolori, Trailers, Wes Anderson Leave a comment

Bill Murray, Adrien Brody, Edward Norton, Willem Dafoe, Saoirse Ronan, Saoirse Ronan, Jason Schwartzman, Timothee Chalamet, Frances McDormand, Benecio del Toro, Bob Balaban, Jeff Goldblum, Elisabeth Moss, Tilda Swinton, Lea Seydoux, Owen Wilson, Henry Winkler, Rupert Friend, Jeffrey Wright, Tony Revolori. When you have Wes Anderson behind the camera, you know the cast is gonna be God-status but my lord is The French Dispatch absolutely stacked. This could quite honestly go down in history as one of the very best casts in history and they’ve joined Anderson to tell the tale of a fictional American newspaper in a fictional French city. 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

Out in Theaters: ‘BEAUTIFUL BOY’

October 16, 2018 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Beautiful Boy, David Sheff, Felix Van Groeningen, Nicolas Sheff, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Steve Carell, Timothée Chalamet Leave a comment

In the timeless words of Mr. Mackey, “Drugs are bad, mkay?” Beautiful Boy, an addiction drama starring Steve Carell and Timothée Chalamet, reiterates this point ad-nauseam without adding a lot more complexity to the topic than could a cartoon elementary school counselor. Adapted from Nicolas and David Sheff’s tell-all memoirs about a son’s personal struggles with addiction and his father’s battle to deal, Beautiful Boy struggles to add texture to the already established conversation about the horrors of addiction and the tolls it takes on its victims and their families. The product feels overtly telegraphed; a predictable series of ups and downs that lack distinction and uniqueness. As such, the overall impact of the film remains a bit muted. Like an ex-user’s nerve endings, it just can’t deliver the feels that one craves. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘CALL ME BY YOUR NAME’

December 20, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged André Aciman, Armie Hammer, Call Me By Your Name, James Ivory, Luca Guadagnino, Michael Stuhlbarg, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sayombhu Mukdeeprom, Timothée Chalamet 2 Comments

Call Me By Your Name is that annual run-away critical darling that far too many are quick to call a modern “masterpiece” that has good odds to bore most general audiences to tears. Clocking in at 132 minutes, the film from Italian Luca Guadagnino is long-winded indeed, emphasizing its European cinematic roots by having its characters spend a good chunk of their screen time staring into the distance, ruminating internally, sighing deeply and smoking cigarettes. After all, what’s more European than smoking cigarettes and staring off into the great beyond? Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘LADY BIRD’

November 7, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged A24, Beanie Feldstein, Greta Gerwig, Lady Bird, Laurie Metcalf, Lucas Hedges, Odeya Rush, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Saorsie Ronan, Timothée Chalamet 1 Comment

Indie darling Greta Gerwig breathes life into directorial “debut” (she co-directed Nights and Weekends in 2008) Lady Bird with passion and pathos. Gerwig’s strong freshman feature strikes a balance between the mumblecore sensibilities of frequent collaborators Joe Swanberg and Noah Baumbach while bringing a refreshingly anarchical female voice into the choir. Lady Bird as a character and film manages both tenderness and lawlessness; caught in the confuddling mix of teenage hormones and perceived oppressive parenting; rebelling against the grain, oft to her own detriment; Gerwig’s capable filmmaking expertly capturing that claustrophobic feeling of teenage angst and insurgency; Saorsie Ronan performing the hell out of the role. Read More