If Beale Street Could Talk is gorgeous, powerful, stunningly crafted, and another masterpiece from Barry Jenkins. If Beale Street Could Talk is a love story at its core the same way that Moonlight, director Barry Jenkins' last film, is. It makes sense considering Jenkins excels at everything you need to make a good romance. He nails communicating…
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is a bright and bold loving critique of the superhero genre and a much needed hard reset. 30-second review: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is so keenly aware of what it wants to be even though what it wants to be has never existed before. It's a bright and bold loving critique of the…
Best Supporting Actress has a frontrunner in Regina King, but there's a good chance she is upset by Rachel Weisz or even Marina de Tavira. Best Supporting Actress is possibly the trickiest category to predict at the Oscars this year. Here are my current rankings: Regina King (If Beale Street Could Talk) — Golden Globe, Critics…
![How Cher won an Oscar for ‘Moonstruck’ in 1988 [VIDEO]](https://smashcutreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Screen-Shot-2018-12-14-at-10.57.49-PM.png)
Cher pulled off an Oscar win for Best Actress over Glenn Close in 1988 for Moonstruck. This video explains how it happened. https://youtu.be/U1sSiXC_S2c Thirty years before Lady Gaga became an Oscar frontrunner for A Star is Born, Cher took home the Oscar for Best Actress for her performance in 1987 romantic comedy Moonstruck. But how did a…
Cold War is stunningly crafted black-and-white love story set in postwar Poland that lacks the emotional substance to make it truly great. In Cold War, the war isn't the only thing that's cold. The film follows a two-decade-long romance between Wiktor (Tomasz Kot)—the music director of a folk music academy tasked with capturing the culture of…
Suspiria, a remake of the 1977 classic, gets an upgrade in plot and horror. 30-second review: Suspiria doesn't feel at all tamped down by the 1977 original Dario Argento film. If anything, it feels more like it is inspired by it rather than remaking it. However, that's what director Luca Guadagnino—his last film was the Oscar-winning Call Me By…
Beautiful Boy has a story worth telling, but the way it's told doesn't do justice to its subjects as it avoids the real pain of addiction. 30-second review: Beautiful Boy has an incredible true story worth telling at its center, but the way director Felix Van Groeningen presents that story zaps any impact that it could…
Bird Box doesn't bring anything new to the post-apocalyptic thriller genre despite a strong third act and solid performances. Bird Box certainly has the pedigree of a great movie behind it. The Netflix-produced movie is directed by the Emmy-winning director of The Night Manager Susanne Bier—she pulled off an upset against The People v. O.J. Simpson—written by the Oscar-nominated…
Mary Queen of Scots is a solid well-made historical drama with powerhouse performances by Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie Mary Queen of Scots is an exemplary example of how a historical drama can feel modern and have modern themes without sacrificing the story its based on. Saoirse Ronan—following up her career-high performance in Lady Bird—is a powerhouse as the titular famed…
Science Fair documents the profound and entertaining journey of nine students competing against 1,700 of the world's brightest young minds This is not your typical science fair. Directors Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster's film about the classic school tradition have young high school students with foam poster board talking about their projects. But instead of papier-mâché volcano's and…
