Movie Reviews |

Movie Revue: Mary Poppins Returns

Mary Poppins Returns Overflows with Magic and Fluff

December 18, 2018 Cortland Jacoby Movie Reviews, Movies

Remaking a children’s classic is hard. Building upon one as a sequel 50+ years later with an entirely new cast is harder. You want the film to stand on its own without distancing itself too far from the original. Mary Poppins: Returns handles this balance fairly well. Directed by Chicago’s Rob Marshall and produced to the nines by Disney, the film does the impossible; it almost lives up to the original.

Movie Revue "Creed II"

Creed II Is A Knockout

November 21, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

The story of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) continues in director Steven Caple’s phenomenal sequel Creed II from Warner Bros. Pictures. Three years after shocking the world with his ability to go the distance with world light heavyweight champion “Pretty Ricky” Conlan, Adonis is on top of the world. Under the tutelage of Rocky Balboa, (Sylvester Stallone) Adonis claims the crown of world heavyweight champion, and his relationship with aspiring musician Bianca (Tessa Thompson) is flourishing.

Movie Revue: At Eternity's Gate (Middleburg Film Festival Exclusive)

At Eternity’s Gate: An Over-Done Portrait of a Mad Genius

November 21, 2018 Cortland Jacoby Movie Reviews, Movies

“Maybe God made me a painter for people who aren’t born yet.” The line seems a bit obvious, but it’s an accurate depiction of renowned painter Vincent Van Gogh. This sentiment is reflected throughout At Eternity’s Gate, a biopic following Van Gogh through the last few years of his life. Following Van Gogh as he travels and eventually settles down in Arles, France and the effect of mental illness on his life, the film is ultimately an exhausting, accurate, meta portrait of a genius trying to make art and live with his mental illness.

Movie Revue: Instant Family

Instant Family is Instantly Charming

November 18, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Mark Wahlberg and Rose Byrne deliver charismatic performances in Paramount Pictures Instant Family from director Sean Anders. Wahlberg and Byrne portray Pete and Ellie Wagner, childless spouses who have great success in flipping houses. After starting working on their latest home renovation project, the Wagners flirt with the idea of becoming foster parents. The Wagner’s have to first past a parenting class led by Karen (Octavia Spencer) and Sharon (Tig Notaro), which they do.

Movie Revue "Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald"

This Beast Should Stay Caged

November 16, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) returns to the screen in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald from director David Yates & Warner Bros. Pictures. The second installment of the “Fantastic Beasts” series opens with our primary antagonist Gellert Grindelwald (Johnny Depp) escaping from prison and recruiting a team of minions for his own evil doings. The key to his victory is Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) a powerful magical young adult who is an obscurial. In the world of “Fantastic Beats,” obscurials are children who attempt to repress their magical abilities.

Movie Revue "Widows"

Viola Davis & Steve McQueen bring Widows to Life

November 16, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Viola Davis electrifies the screen in director Steve McQueen’s Widows from 20th Century Fox. Davis portrays Veronica Rawlings a teacher union delegate in Chicago. Veronica’s husband Harry (Liam Neeson), a renowned bank robber, makes the mistakes of robbing crime boss Jamal Manning (Brian Tyree Henry), which results in his death, as well his gang. Jamal then decides that Veronica will inherit Harry’s debt, which causes Veronica to seek out the help from the widows of Harry’s crew.

Green Book Tries to Write a New Narrative About Race

November 16, 2018 Cortland Jacoby Movie Reviews, Movies

There is one every single year. Preying on the divisiveness of racial politics with the notion that we are more similar than we are different. The Oscar-bait race film is a delicate breed of manipulation, white guilt, and genuine feels. In past, these films do great at the Oscars but age rather poorly (see The Helpor The Blind Side). Tired tropes such as the white savior and the magical negro grace our screens and because race is such a tricky subject to navigate Read more

Movie Revue "Overlord"

History Mixes With Horror in Overlord

November 10, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

The horrors of war are the focus in Overlord from Paramount Pictures & Bad Robot Productions. It’s June 1944 and on the eve of D-DAY where a team of paratroopers is on a mission to destroy a German radio tower. Director Julius Avery makes the wise choice to introduce the audience to members of the group, whom we know will figure into our central plot. Among the paratroopers is Pvt. Boyce (Jovan Adepo), Cpl. Ford (Wyatt Russell), Tibbet (John Magaro) and Chase (Iain De Carestecker). Naturally, the group’s plane is shot down, and the only survivors are Corporal Ford and fellow soldiers Boyce, Tibbet, Chase, and Dawson.

Movie Revue "The Grinch"

The Grinch is a Early Holiday Treat

November 10, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

From Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment comes The Grinch, the third screen adaptation of the 1957 classic Dr. Seuss book How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The newest version is a 3D computer-animated version directed by Scott Mosier & Yarrow Cheney, with a script written by Michael LeSieur and Tommy Swerdlow.

Movie Revue: The Girl in the Spider's Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story

A New Dragon Tattoo Story Is A Mediocre Reboot

November 9, 2018 Derrick Dunn Movie Reviews, Movies

Computer hacker Lisbeth Salander returns to the big screen in Columbia Pictures The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story from director Fede Álvarez. The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Storyis an adaptation of the fourth book in the Swedish crime novel series known as Millennium. The Girl in the Spider’s Web: A New Dragon Tattoo Story serves as both a sequel to 2011’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoos well as a soft reboot given that we have a brand new cast.

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