Damien Chazelle is having one of the greatest decades any filmmaker has ever had, reminiscent of Francis Ford Coppola’s run in the 70’s. In just a mere four years, Chazelle has quickly become one of the best directors in Hollywood today. He kicked it off in 2014 with the musical war drama, Whiplash, and followed it up with his modern take on 50’s musicals with La La Land, for which he won…
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The 54th Chicago International Film Festival kicks off this week and it is a festival I love attending. Not only was it the first festival that I attended back in 2008, but it is a festival that highlights so many unique movies from all around the world and showcasing some of the best filmmakers working today. This year’s festival is no different, with a slew of movies from all genres. I plan on seeing over…
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“The world has enough superheroes.” Such is the tagline for Ruben Fleischer’s Venom, a film that looked to be the supervillain origin story of one of Spider-Man’s most infamous foes. Supervillain origin stories have never been a thing in cinema, especially from major comic companies like Marvel and DC. The closest we’ve gotten is M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, but other than that, the only villain-focused film we’ve gotten is Suicide Squad, which, simply put, is an abomination. But…
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“Music is essentially 12 notes between any octave – 12 notes and the octave repeat. It’s the same story told over and over, forever. All any artist can offer this world is how they see those 12 notes. That’s it.” Bradley Cooper’s directorial debut, A Star is Born, is the fourth telling of the classic story, dating all the way back to 1937, with subsequent remakes in 1954 and 1976. Each movie…
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October is my favorite month of the year for movies. We are right in the thick of Oscar season, the festival season is alive and running, and we get some new horror movies, which, even though isn’t my favorite genre, tend to be a fun watch around this time. This October looks especially great, as two of my most anticipated movies of the year are coming out, as well as a couple really exciting horror…
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Director Eli Roth is known for being a horror director (and being the Bear Jew in Inglorious Basterds). Kicking off his career with Cabin Fever and progressing into bigger, bloodier fare like Hostel, Green Inferno, and Knock Knock, with a slew of shorts and guest spots, Roth gained notoriety for the immense violence and gore in his movies, becoming a staple in the Torture Porn Horror genre. But 2018 has been a growing year for the director. …
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Jack Black is a man of many faces, voices, and genres. He’s been in all sorts of comedies, from raunchy, adult focused ones to kid friendly ones. He’s been in drama, action, and even animation, crushing it every single time. Black is a true delight on screen and this Friday he stars in Eli Roth’s The House with a Clock in Its Walls, a movie that looks crazy, but one I am excited for because of…
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IT’S OSCAR SEASON!! We finally made it! We made it through the garbage of the winter, the mediocrity of the spring, and the chaos of summer, to get to my favorite time of the year. 2018 has been a solid year so far, but with the movies that are coming out this fall, 2019 is looking a whole lot better. This year’s Oscar race looks like a battle of former winners and nominees, including a…
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The Predator is a movie that I am going to watch constantly on HBO in about a year. That isn’t necessarily the best compliment for a movie, as I tend to have HBO on as background noise while I write reviews or go to sleep. The movies I tend to choose for my background noise are movies that I love dearly that I’ve seen dozens of times or movies that I don’t…
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As I walked into A Simple Favor, there was one question looming in my mind. And no, it wasn’t, “what happened to Emily?” The question was could Paul Fieg direct a thriller? Fieg, known for some of the great comedies this decade with Bridesmaids, The Heat, Spy, and Ghostbusters has never done a movie quite like this before. Film history has been mixed on comedic directors going towards the dramatic side. Sometimes it’s been great, like…
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