Film Reviews
B.J. Novak Deals Out Some Intriguing But Muddled Vengeance: Review
The Pitch: Ben (B.J. Novak) is a guy who doesn’t necessarily have something to say, but he wants to be the type of guy who says stuff worth hearing. That’s why, despite being a working writer in New York, with publication credits including The New Yorker, what he really wants is to make a podcast. “Not every white guy needs a podcast,” producer Eloise (Issa Rae) tells him when he tries to hard-sell her on his ideas at a party, but things change when a former hookup of Ben’s ends up leading him to podcasting gold. Awakened in the middle of the night by a phone call from a stranger, Ben finds out that a girl named Abilene Shaw, who he’d slept with a few times and texted casually, has died, and her family back home in small-town Texas thinks he was the love of Abby’s life. So, after a guilt t...
Jordan Peele’s Nope Is Dazzling, Self-Reflective Horror Blockbuster Spectacle: Review
The Pitch: In the rolling hilly countryside outside Los Angeles city limits, the Haywoods — descended from the first Black horserider/stuntman/movie star to ever be captured in motion — try to make ends meet as Hollywood horse wranglers. But when the family patriarch (Keith David, radiant as always) dies from a freak accident, the task is left to introverted Otis Jr., or OJ (Daniel Kaluuya) to keep the family ranch afloat, with the reluctant help of his fast-talking, hustle-happy sister Emerald (Keke Palmer). At first, they resort to selling off the family horses to nearby Jupiter’s Claim, a hokey Wild West-themed amusement park run by former child star Ricky (Steven Yeun). But fortunes start to change when they realize there’s something above them, in the clouds, scaring the horses and sh...
The Princess Review: The Raid By Way of Tangled, With a Kick-Ass Joey King
The Pitch: What if there was a princess — only she’s not like a regular princess, she’s a cool princess, meaning she can do crazy fight moves, which no one expects because she’s a princess? Girl power! If you’re thinking this sounds a bit like a hacky Matrix-referencing scene from the movie Shrek, you’re right. It does. And Shrek was far from the first or last movie to spoof princess tropes. At this point, Disney has been deconstructing and reclaiming its own fairy-tale princesses for multiple decades, growing from the shallow parody of Enchanted to the multifaceted reimagining of Frozen or Moana. Over this same period, the Disney kingdom has expanded, to the point where it now owns the formerly grown-up movie studio 20th Century Studios (formerly Fox), who have produced their own princess...
Elvis Review: Baz Luhrmann’s First Biopic Is Not As Absurd and Ahistorical As You Might Expect
The Pitch: Baz Luhrmann, the Australian maximalist behind such audaciously stylized films as Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, has taken on his first biopic, and it’s a monster. Although a few attempts have been made at dramatizing the life story of Elvis Presley, most notably Kurt Russell in John Carpenter’s 1979 film also titled Elvis, Luhrmann’s movie is by far the biggest and boldest yet, with an $85 million budget dwarfing every other Presley biopic combined. Austin Butler, a 30-year-old actor who made his name with several teen and tween-friendly TV roles on the Disney Channel and The CW, is the unlikely star of this massive biography of the King of Rock’n’Roll. An Anaheim native whose most prestigious previous project was a small role as a member of the Manson Family in Once Upon ...
Lightyear Review: A Sweet, But Relatively Safe Buzz Lightyear Origin Story
The Pitch: It’s fitting that after four editions of Toy Story over the last 25 years, numerous spin-off shows and games, and a still-undisputed legacy status, Pixar simply wasn’t done telling stories in this universe. But this one is a bit of a curveball: In the year 1995, a young boy named Andy is given an action figure of Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger who served as the protagonist in Andy’s favorite film. Lightyear is that film. Lightyear promises to be the definitive origin story of one of the film’s most iconic characters, complete with a sci-fi backdrop, his signature attitude and catchphrase, and a major appearance from Buzz’s primary antagonist, Zurg. Though they’ve traded Tim Allen for Chris Evans in the recording booth, there’s undoubtedly a classic Pixar feel to Lightyear. The f...
Jurassic World Dominion Has Us Rooting for the Dinosaurs, and That’s Probably a Bad Thing — Review
The Pitch: In a twist no one could have possibly seen coming, it turns out that releasing a wide variety of extinct species into a global ecosystem might have some negative repercussions on said global ecosystem. That’s where Jurassic World Dominion begins, four years following the events of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, which is almost enough time for most of the world to get used to the spread of dinosaurs across the planet. But funnily enough, the most dangerous creatures in this brave new world aren’t dinosaurs — they’re bugs. Specifically, the prehistoric-sized locusts that have begun tearing through the world’s crops, which if left unchecked could have extinction-level repercussions for literally every living creature. Fortunately, Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) is doing her best t...
The Janes Is a Timely, Tight-Knit Oral History of Underground Abortions: Review
The Pitch: On May 3, 2022, a draft opinion from the Supreme Court leaked to Politico detailed the Court’s majority decision to reverse Roe v. Wade. The Roe v. Wade decision, which was declared in 1973, guaranteed the constitutional right for a pregnant woman or person to receive an abortion if they choose. In the years that followed, the ruling had allowed more Americans to have greater access to birth control and other forms of pregnancy-prevention measures without the risk of them losing their lives in the process. Given how integral Roe v. Wade has been to people across the country, the fact that it could be struck down is terrifying, to say the least. This landscape makes the release of The Janes, HBO’s latest documentary directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes, so much more critical. B...
Fire Island Review: A Delicious Jane Austen-Infused Rom-Com That Matches the Master’s Wit
The Pitch: Right from the jump, thanks to the voiceover of Noah (Joel Kim Booster) and a carefully planted copy of Pride and Prejudice, Fire Island tells you what it’s going to be — a retelling of the Jane Austen classic tale, relocated to a place and time that Jane Austen would have had a very hard time imagining: the titular gay party mecca centered in the hamlets of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines. Noah and his friends (including Matt Rogers, Tomás Matos, and Torian Miller) are making their annual trek to the island for a week of fun, sun, drugs, dancing, and most importantly — hooking up. But this year, things are a bit different. For one thing, their beloved adoptive mom Erin (Margaret Cho) has to sell her house on the island soon, giving this trip an air of finality. And also, Noa...
Adam Sandler Opts for the Lay Up with Broad Sports Drama Hustle: Review
The Pitch: In his first major dramatic outing since 2019’s Uncut Gems, Adam Sandler returns to the arena of basketball, this time as Stanley Sugarman, a depressed but whip-smart scout for the Philadelphia 76ers. Unlike the impulsive, materialistic Howard Ratner, Sugarman is a selfless and honest working man, tirelessly trotting around the world to bring the best of the best to the NBA. Even with his passion for the game, Sugarman’s intense drive causes friction both at work and at home. His stubborn approach drives a wedge between him and his slimy boss Vin (Ben Foster) and his constant international traveling costs him quality family time with his supportive wife Teresa (Queen Latifah) and their aspiring-filmmaker daughter (Jordan Hull). On one lucky scouting trip to Spain, Sugarman comes...
David Cronenberg Plays the Fleshy Hits in the Evocative, Squicky Crimes of the Future: Review
The Pitch: In a near-future world where pollution and technological advancement have led human beings to develop “Accelerated Evolution Syndrome” (i.e. the spontaneous development of new organs and bodily configurations), bodily modifications are the norm and pain is virtually a thing of the past. Save, it seems, for Saul Tenser (Viggo Mortensen), a celebrity performance artist whose gimmick is tattooing, then surgically (and publicly) removing, the new organs his body generates in elaborate showcases with his creative partner/probably-lover Caprise (Léa Seydoux). He lives a life of constant pain, one which no number of bio-technological devices — floating orchid-like beds that attach fleshy tentacles to his limbs, living high chairs that rock him as he eats breakfast so he can keep h...
Downton Abbey: A New Era Delivers Exactly the Sort of Period Drama Fans Crave
The Pitch: It may have been a few years since the last one, but never mind that; it’s time for the newest episode of Downton Abbey! Yes, all your favorite characters are back as the clock chimes on the year 1928, and the good folks of this lovely English countryside continue to puzzle over the encroachment of the modern world. First automobiles, then the telephone, and now — moving pictures! What is a stately English manor and its staff and residents to do?!? The above is this writer’s best efforts to inject some extra drama into a description of Downton Abbey: A New Era, the second theatrically-released installment continuing the saga of the wildly popular ITV/PBS period drama. But also, that’s really not necessary. While this isn’t something unique to Downton, it has always been a franch...
Firestarter Review: Zac Efron Stars In a Stephen King Remake That Quickly Flames Out
The Pitch: Stephen King adaptations have been a fixture of the big and small screens for decades, but there’s been a particular surge in recent years, following the blockbuster success of It. So it’s only natural that studios might circle back and revisit some of the adaptations that weren’t especially beloved in their day. Firestarter seems like a good candidate; the 1984 film version is more notable for its eclectic cast (including George C. Scott, Louise Fletcher, and a young Drew Barrymore!) than its meandering story (albeit one that’s largely faithful to the events of King’s book). The new Firestarter still follows Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), the pyrokinetic daughter of two telepathic parents, who goes on the run with her dad Andy (Zac Efron), pursued by the shadowy government for...
