La La Land heartbreakingly portrays the highs and lows of chasing dreams. Though packaged as a high-energy feel-good musical, it contains poignant notes that make it great. I didn’t like La La Land when I watched it. Frankly, I was disappointed. I was even shining off a spot in my top ten movies of the year…
Despite relying on genre cliches, a new setting and distinctly Norwegian point-of-view make The Wave an enjoyable disaster flick By the time we get to the eponymous wave in 2015’s The Wave, we are nearly halfway through the movie. Usually when that happens in a disaster movie, that time feels squandered. But not with The Wave. We…
Emotionally raw and unnerving, The Impossible is a disaster movie that is actually a family drama at its core, which makes for a thrilling a beautiful movie This month, director J.A. Bayona returns with a movie adaptation of Patrick Ness’ novel A Monster Calls. So, I thought it would be a perfect time to go back and…
Best Supporting Actor is looking like it's going to go to Mahershala Ali for Moonlight. However, there is certainly room for an upset. While it took a while for the race for Best Supporting Actor to take shape, a clear frontrunner has emerged in Mahershala Ali (Moonlight). His towering performance was a favorite among the early critic awards…
Though unsentimental to a fault, Loving is a surprising and beautiful portrait of the reluctant revolutionaries, Richard and Mildred Loving Movies based on real events often fall into the trap of just showing plot point after plot point, often at the expense of real character development. Take The Theory of Everything or J. Edgar. However,…
Moonlight is gorgeously crafted, masterfully acted, surprisingly timely, and demands to be watched and respected It wasn’t until I got into my twenties that I became aware of what identity is. Identity is as much how you view yourself as what the world views you as. You may be a minority or gay or poor, but that…
La La Land seems invincible in Best Picture. But I can see an upset coming from Moonlight or even Hidden Figures. Since the film premiered at Venice in September, La La Land has been the frontrunner for Best Picture. It really has won everything it needs to win — Golden Globe, BAFTA, the Guilds — and has ratcheted up incredible buzz…
With some of the most beautiful animations committed to film, Kubo and the Two Strings is a movie that prides itself on story and delivers on its promise “If you blink, do it now.” Some movies just remind you how much you love movies. These are the movies that transport you to a different world, dazzle you…
Smart, impeccably made, with a phenomenal performance by Amy Adams, Arrival proves to be a high point in the science fiction genre Denis Villeneuve is a filmmaker that I thought could be one of the great auteurs of our generation (two of his films appeared on our list of the best thrillers of the decade). After blasting…
Wonders of the Invisible World is a refreshing adventure into the space of fantasy young adult genre that feels completely original I think one of the most interesting and successful parts of the young adult genre is the “weird” factor. You have to admit, a lot of YA is weird with weird characters in weird situations. But…
