Out in Theaters: ‘THOR: RAGNAROK’

November 1, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Cate Blanchett, Chris Hemsworth, Christopher Yost, Craig Kyle, Eric Pearson, Idris Elba, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Out in Theaters, Taika Waititi, Tessa Thompson, Thor: Ragnarok, Tom Hiddleston 2 Comments

Candy-colored Thor: Ragnarok is a retro, dimension-hopping hoot. Rambunctious, joyous and just plain fun to watch, Ragnarok is shellacked with vintage Taika Waititi style, the critical darling director behind such rollicking Rotten Tomatoes-adored comedy-adventures as Hunt for the Wilderpeople, What We Do in the Shadows and Boy retaining his idiomatic filmmaking tactics even under the watchful eye of notoriously handsy Marvel producers. The best of the Thor films (and this coming from someone who actually admits to enjoying the previous two), Ragnarok employs Taika’s signature witty, irreverent approach to comedy and his knack for building genuine camaraderie among squirelly outcasts to craft the funniest blockbuster of the year, one that doubles as a hell of an odd-couple intergalactic road trip, even if it still barely breaks the lather-rinse-repeat nature of the Marvel Cinematic Universe mold. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘KONG: SKULL ISLAND’

March 8, 2017 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Brie Larson, Corey Hawkins, Dan Gilroy, Derek Connolly, Henry Jackman, John C. Reilly, John Goodman, John Ortiz, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Kong: Skull Island, Marc Evan Jackson, Max Borenstein, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Samuel L. Jackson, Tom Hiddleston Leave a comment

Like Godzilla before him, King Kong has since the 1930s become a culturally permeably mainstay. A piece of cinematic iconography, King Kong is the USA’s equivalent to Japan’s giant fire-breathing lizard and both have served to define our country’s spotted history in cinematic terms. But their reach extends beyond the borders of past rivals. Each have become so ingrained in the global zeitgeist that if you plucked a child from just about anywhere on earth, they would likely be able to put a name to a photo or toy of the recognizable giants. Kong, the ape who famously fell, has found his story told a number of times but none have approached the movie monster with quite the same bombastic chutzpah and total IMAX-friendly insanity as Jordan Vogt-Roberts has with Kong: Skull Island. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘HIGH-RISE’

April 29, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Amy Jump, Ben Wheatley, Elisabeth Moss, High-Rise, J.G. Ballard, Jeremy Irons, Laurie Rose, Luke Evans, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Sienna Miller, Tom Hiddleston Leave a comment

In 2011, Ben Wheatley proffered one of the horror genre’s best new finds in Kill List. In this sophomore feature, Wheatley showed a fierce command of the film medium, creating a dizzying religious parable set among a world of violent crime and ethereal justice with dreamlike sadistic cults operating levers best left unmolested. And though Kill List fit most easily into the horrorscape because of its acrid use of bloodshed and razor wire tension, it also established a director predominantly preoccupied with splicing genres together. He did so again with 2012’s brilliant black comedy Sightseers, blending elements of horror and dark English satire, and once more in 2013’s wildly experimental, black and white historical drama/“horror” film A Field in England, though to lesser effect. Read More

Tom Hiddleston Totally Loses It in Insanely Awesome ‘HIGH-RISE’ Trailer

January 7, 2016 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Ben Wheatley, Elisabeth Moss, High-Rise, James Purefoy, Jeremy Irons, Keeley Hawes, Luke Evans, Sienna Miller, Tom Hiddleston, Trailers Leave a comment

Director Ben Wheatley is perhaps the most underrated name in the horror game and his latest, High-Rise, looks to continue his streak of being a total badass with a camera. High-Rise will be the director’s fifth feature film effort – coming off the heels of the rather eccentric A Field in England – and has the potential to live up to Kill List and Sightseers, easily two of the best post-millennium horror movies bar none. Wheatley has proved a capacity to drastically alter his style, with Kill List being an unrelenting, absolutely terrifying horror show, Sightseers landing with much more darkly-tinted comedic barbs and A Field in England being, well, A Field in England, so it makes sense that High-Rise looks nothing like anything the director has delivered in the past. Read More

Out in Theaters: ‘CRIMSON PEAK’

October 15, 2015 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Charlie Hunnam, Crimson Peak, Guillermo del Toro, Horror, Jessica Chastain, Jim Beaver, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Tom Hiddleston 1 Comment

Only in a Guillermo del Toro yarn would the setting – a decrepit Victorian estate housing buried, but not forgotten, secrets – literally drip blood. His is the humor of a tongue buried deeply in a cheek, almost to the point of popping through to the other side. It’s not actually blood that is dripping but there’s no mistaking what the globular rouge streaks running down the wallpaper is supposed to resemble. In the world of Crimson Peak, it is but red clay that sullies the interior of the far flung mansion from which the title takes its name. The house is literally sinking in it. As the winter snow decorates the earth around this distinctly haunted house, it grows blood red from the clay beneath. So it’ll likely catch you off guard to hear that for a movie ostensibly soaked in blood, Crimson Peak is actually pretty restrained. Read More

Out in Theaters: THOR: THE DARK WORLD

November 7, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Out in Theaters Tagged Anthony Hopkins, Chris Hemsworth, Idris Elba, Marvel, Natalie Portman, Out in Theaters, Reviews, Thor: The Dark World, Tom Hiddleston 2 Comments

Between Chris Hemsworth‘s washboard abs and the razzle-dazzle signature FX of Marvel‘s brand, Thor: The Dark World uses blinding awesomeness to cast shade on its portended plotting. First and foremost a Marvel movie, this second (or third if you’re counting The Avengers) outing for the God of Thunder rounds all of the superhero studio’s likely bases, but a gilded touch from Game of Thrones director Alan Taylor helps bring an epic scope to the proceedings. Far exceeding the first film in terms of visual panache and high stakes action beats, the crowning gem of the Thor camp continues to be Tom Hiddleston‘s Loki. Deviant, seething, and locked away for treason, Loki may not be as much of a focal point as he was as the big baddie in The Avengers but he persists in being the most complex and unpredictable character in Marvel’s stable. Read More

Jim Jarmusch Does Vampires in ONLY LOVERS LEFT ALIVE Trailer

November 2, 2013 by Matt Oakes Posted in Trailers Tagged Anton Yelchin, Jim Jarmusch, John Hurt, Mia Wasikowska, Only Lovers Left Alive, Tilda Swinton, Tom Hiddleston, Trailers

From indie director Jim Jarmusch (Broken Flowers, Ghost Dog) comes a vampire feature geared towards adults. While hardly the stuff of True Blood, Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive tells the tale of a musician vampire who reconnects with an old flame, also vampiric. Starring Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers) and Tilda Swinton (Moonrise Kingdom), Only Lovers Left Alive screened to favorable reviews at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

The synopsis, per Wikipedia, is as follows:

After being around for centuries and now living in the modern age, vampire Adam (Tom Hiddleston) is a rockstar who cannot grow accustomed to the new modern world with all of its new technology. While he lives in Detroit, his wife Eve (Tilda Swinton) lives in Tangier, flourishing in the new world. But when she senses Adam’s depression with society, she gets on a plane and goes to see him. Shortly after Eve gets there, her little sister, Ava (Mia Wasikowska), shows up after 87 years and disrupts the couple’s idyll reunion.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BN6jVUW2XZM

Only Lovers Left Alive is directed by Jim Jarmusch and stars Tom Hindleston, Tilda Swinton, Mia Wasikowska, John Hurt, and Anton Yelchin. There is no official release date yet.

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