Hey, I'm Karl, founder and film critic at Smash Cut. I started Smash Cut in 2014 to share my love of movies and give a perspective I haven't yet seen represented. I'm also an editor at The New York Times, a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, and a member of the Online Film Critics Society.
Captain Marvel features Brie Larson as the first lead female superhero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as she a young Nick Fury solve the mystery of her identity. One sentence review: Captain Marvel is a fun, corny, and empowering origin story that feels like a bridge between the past and the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.…
High Flying Bird is a masterfully constructed drama that tackles the professional sports business with as much intrigue as a heist movie. 30-second review: High Flying Bird doesn't clue you into its real intentions until the very end, that doesn't make the journey to get there any less compelling. Steven Soderbergh is a master of storytelling…
The 2019 Oscars feel like a step back after so much progress in the last couple years, but there are glimmers of hope. The 2018-2019 awards season has finally come to a close and like every other season, it feels like looking at an empty room after a party. It’s still and lifeless with reminders…
The Changeover is a well-made fantasy YA movie that features a terrifying villainous turn by Timothy Spall. The Changeover — based on Margaret Mahy’s 1984 novel of the same — is refreshingly a young adult adaptation that doesn’t have aspirations for a franchise. In the vein of Twilight, the movie tells the story of Laura (Erana James),…
The Kid Who Would Be King delivers as a family-friendly fantasy-adventure based on the King Arthur legend and an allegory for Brexit. The Kid Who Would Be King tells the classic story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table via Brexit era Britain. As Morgana (Rebecca Ferguson truly chewing the scenery) — the…
Velvet Buzzsaw has trouble balancing its satirical and horror elements, which results in an interesting, but unsatisfying Netflix original. Velvet Buzzsaw doesn’t become the movie we want it to be until the last 30 minutes. That’s when it starts working effectively as an art-world satire and horror-thriller. The rest, though, has a hard time striking a…
Alita: Battle Angel boasts exhilarating action scenes and a breakout performance by Rosa Salazar, but buckles under the weight of its complex plot. Alita: Battle Angel gets one very important thing right: robots fighting. Director Robert Rodriguez — best known for the Spy Kids and Sin City franchises — knows how to direct an action scene.…
Piercing is a twisted watch that will completely satisfy genre fans and polarize mainstream audiences — but that's why it works (mostly). Piercing — based on Japanese novelist Ryū Murakami's book of the same name — feels so familiar. It has story elements of American Psycho and tinge of Phantom Thread while boasting stylistic flourishes reminiscent of 70s horror movies like Carrie and Suspiria—…
Glass is a wildly ambitious conclusion to M. Night Shyamalan's Unbreakable trilogy that succeeds and fails in many ways. Glass — the finale of M. Night Shyamalan’s surprise Unbreakable trilogy — is ambitious and wild. It works completely in some aspects and fails in others. But I’m glad that it exists. Shyamalan took the initiative and self-financed the film,…
Despite the mess that is the 2019 Oscars, it is refreshing to have a season that feels unpredictable. Best Picture is still up in the air as is Best Supporting Actress while there is room for upsets in nearly every category. As a lifelong Oscar fan, it's always more excited to not know who's going to win come Sunday night.
Will Win:BlacKkKlansman Could Win:Roma or Green Book Should Win:Roma or Black Panther
I'm taking a big swing in this category. While BlacKkKlansman hasn't won a major prize, it was nominated every where it needed to be. People love and respect Spike Lee. I think this is going to do really well on the preferential ballot. As long as Roma or Green Book don't win on a first round then I think this is your Best Picture winner.
Best Actress
Olivia Coleman as Queen Anne in THE FAVOURITE
The nominees:
Glenn Close, The Wife
Olivia Coleman, The Favourite
Lady Gaga, A Star is Born
Melissa McCarthy, Can You Ever Forgive Me?
Yalitza Aparicio, Roma
Will Win: Glenn Close, The Wife Could Win: Olivia Coleman, The Favourite Should Win: Olivia Coleman, The Favourite
Glenn Close will finally end her 37-year losing streak when she wins her first Oscar for The Wife. There is the *tiniest* chance that BAFTA winner Olivia Coleman wins for her performance Queen Ann in The Favourite.
Will win: Rami Malek, Bohemian Rhapsody Could win: Christian Bale, Vice Should win: Bradley Cooper, A Star is Born
Although Christian Bale won the Golden Globe and Critics Choice awards for his performance as Dick Cheney in Vice, I think the real challenger to clear frontrunner Rami Malek is Bradley Cooper. For better or worse, he's been in the news a lot and if voters want to award A Star is Born outside of Best Original Song, this would be the place to do it.
