Mank tells the story screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz’s journey in writing 1941’s Citizen Kane, a film that many critics and scholars consider to be the greatest film of all-time. But Mank isn’t a typical biopic about a man and his crowning career achievement. This is a behind-the-curtain look at the Hollywood system in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the moguls who ran it, and a troubled man who just happened to write one of…
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David Fincher is one of the best directors working in Hollywood and one of my favorite directors. For nearly three decades, Fincher has given us some iconic and memorable films, from violent thrillers to Oscar winning dramas. Here is my ranking of all of David Fincher’s films. 11 – ALIEN3 (1992) Following Ridley Scott’s Alien and James Cameron’s Aliens, two masterpieces of the sci-fi genre, David Fincher made his directorial debut with Alien3. Following two masterpieces…
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Here are my picks for the best movies coming to Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Criterion Channel, and HBOMax in December. This month has Netflix coming strong with original content that they hope will garner awards attention and HBOMax growing its strong library and releasing Wonder Woman 1984 on Christmas Day, which is huge for streaming. NETFLIX Full list of everything coming to Netflix in December can be found here. E.T. THE…
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The 2020 Christmas season might be a little different this year compared to most years. Usually a time of year where families come together to show love and appreciation for one another by feasting and gift-giving, all of that might be postponed this year, as COVID-19 still sweeps the globe, particularly in the United States. Many scientists, doctors, and government officials have advised not having large family gatherings during the holidays…
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Maybe Next Year is a documentary about love and passion and the emotional tole loving something so much takes on a person. No, this isn’t a documentary about the love between two people. It’s a love story between a sports teams, the NFL’s Philadelphia Eagles, and the fans who bleed green and white for them. Maybe Next Year looks at the 2017-2018 Philadelphia Eagles season. At this point, the Eagles had not…
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Here are my picks for the best movies coming to Netflix, Prime Video, Hulu, Disney+, Criterion Channel, and HBOMax in November. Though one of the more weaker months, Hulu and HBOMax offer up the strongest lineups this month. NETFLIX Full list of everything coming to Netflix in November can be found here. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (Stanley Kubrick, 1971) Stanley Kubrick’s classic about experiments performed on an imprisoned sadistic gang leader. …
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Below are my reviews of Belushi, The Road Up, and There Is No Evil from the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival. BELUSHI Directed by R.J. Cutler John Belushi is one of the most tragic stories Hollywood has ever had. A comedic genius who became a star in his mid-twenties by being one of the standouts in the early days of Saturday Night Live and starring in movies like National Lampoons Animal House and The Blues Brothers. By the…
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Here are my reviews of the Comedy Shorts Program from the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival. BLOCKS Directed by Bridget Moloney Blocks is a very creative short film about an over-worked mother. Ashleigh (Claire Coffee) is the mother of two young, rambunctious, messy children. One day, Ashleigh begins to spontaneously vomit toy blocks. However, the more blocks that are coming, the closer Ashleigh is getting to a breakdown. Coffee portrays the over-worked Ashleigh…
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My reviews of Summer of 85 and Sleep from the 2020 Chicago International Film Festival. SUMMER OF 85 Directed by François Ozon Summer of 85 opens with Alexis (Félix Lefebvre) walking down a prison hallway handcuffed with a guard walking next to him. We hear in a voiceover we assume to be Alexis that he a fascination with death, but doesn’t like the idea of a corpse. Alexis then informs us that he is in this situation…
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Here are my reviews of the AFTER DARK Shorts program from the Chicago International Film Festival. There were six films in total. REGRET Directed by Santiago Menghini The program started on a dark, somber note with Regret, a film that looks at the horror of just that; regret. Following the death of his father and deciding to not attend his funeral, Wayne (Brent Skagford), must survive the manifestations of his inner demons over…
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