United States of America
Film has been a lifelong passion of mine. Even when I was about 6 years old, I would write film ideas. It is something I hope to make a career out of and is something I enjoy doing. Since 2013, I have delved into the world of film blogging and film criticism and I hope to share my passion and knowledge of the film world with other outlets.
Gay Essential
Watching You Can't Escape Lithuania is an experience that is indeed inescapable. So much so that by the time it's over, you can come up with your own theories as to what the title means. "In one way, people feel that they cannot escape their background or their education."
Cinema Sentries
The Cloverfield Paradox built a lot of hype by announcing that it would be available to stream on Netflix right after the Super Bowl. But unfortunately, the hype surrounding the super secretive and constantly delayed film turned out to be more interesting than the actual film itself.
One way to describe is that it is very cerebral. There's always a lot of focus on the faces of the characters, forcing you to analyze what is going on in their heads which will be frustrating for some viewers.
When watching the retro opening credits of Proud Mary where our main heroine is getting prepped up with the song "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" playing the background, it seems like we're in for an action thrill ride in the vein of '70s blaxploitation films. But then, within the first thirty seconds, our expectations immediately become squandered.
One word can be used to describe : Poetic. The Shape Of Water is a poetic demonstration of the magic of storytelling and after the ambitious yet divisive Crimson Peak, it is a return to form for director Guillermo Del Toro who has proven himself to be a master at crafting poetic genre fare like The Devil's Backbone and one of the best movies ever made, Pan's Labyrinth.
I never wanted to end. I didn't want to leave behind the breathtaking scenery of the desert and I definitely wanted to see more of the chemistry between the two leads. isan intimate yet flawless gem that captures forbidden love that is apolitical yet groundbreaking during its time of release because it was the first film about a same-sex relationship between two women that isn't tragic.
Even though Coco follows a standard Disney formula with its storyline about a young child trying to find their true calling, like with Mulan and Moana, it still manages to find ways to reinvent itself. Coco is not just about listening to your inner voice and taking control of your destiny.
Martin McDonagh may be a director from Ireland, but it is eerie how he has crafted a film about America that is so timely with . It deals with a woman starting a rampage against a patriarchal society which could easily mirror how women are standing up to the male-dominated Hollywood in the midst of the Harvey Weinstein scandal.
Actress Greta Gerwig has proven her naturalistic acting chops in films like 20th Century Women, No Strings Attached, and Jackie. But now, she has announced herself as an exciting new filmmaking voice with , her solo directorial debut. Lady Bird may tread into a familiar genre: The coming-of-age dramedy.
When The Killing Of A Sacred Deer first starts, we get a glimpse of a beating heart being operated on with an ominous choir singing in the background. Right then and there, it becomes evident that the film will be a particular kind of experience.
The previous films have proven to be quite a mixed bag. The first film by Kenneth Branagh was interesting because of how it played into Branagh's Shakespearean sensibilities. But its sequel Thor: The Dark World was a giant black hole of mediocrity with no creative vision and is the worst film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date.
When the film Bad Moms came out last year, it managed to become a massive summer hit towards the ends of the summer season. It made $183.9 million worldwide and became the highest-grossing film for newbie distributor STX Entertainment. But because the film did incredibly well, that meant it would get a sequel.
Film Inquiry
With a low budget at about $100,000 and a limited setting, The Faith Community manages to incite fear with its horrific concept rather than the use of jump scares and CGI monsters.
Films that are set in one place and/or have a limited amount of character have proven to be the most intriguing because of the various ways that filmmakers could have fun with the physical limitations that they showcase.
As I was watching No Dress Code Required, I kept asking questions: Why? Why does it matter? Why are people devoting such energy into making sure two men, who are strangers to them, aren't given the right to marry? If it's not hurting anybody, why does it matter?
As imperfect as is, I will say this: As somebody who is aiming to become a professional film critic and build a career in writing, Rebel in the Rye is a good reminder of the hardships I will likely face.
As I give my review for , I'll just get one thing out of the way. I'm sure people will write this off as a "white " or call it "Moonwhite" or whatnot. There are similarities between the two because they are both about male youths coming to terms with their sexuality and they depict the theme of masculinity.
While The Limehouse Golem is a typical "whodunit" thrill ride, it still manages to act as a pastiche to the classic genre, playing with conventions such as gender politics and the methods that our main character uses to solve the crime.
Amy Adams is one of our most versatile actresses. She can go from playing a sweet Disney princess in , to a neurotic art dealer feeling the emptiness of her lonely mansion in Nocturnal Animals with absolute ease.
For my money, Girls Trip is not only one of the best surprises that I have seen so far this year but also the funniest film so far this year.
Last year, I went and saw the 2016 sci-fi romance Passengers ( our original review),starring Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt. As soon as the movie was over, I found myself hating it due to moral issues with the film's plotline, and I found it to be a creepy misogynistic fantasy.
Danish director Lars Von Trier is probably one of the most depressing directors working today. But I don't mean that in a bad way. He makes amazing works of art, but they can be very emotionally taxing.
The Hulu series known as The Handmaid's Tale is an eerily timely yet incredibly structured piece of television. Yet because it carries the aesthetics of what makes an amazing movie (great acting, good scriptwriting, beautiful cinematography, etc.), it so far has managed to surpass what is coming out on the big screen this year, capturing the filmmaking passion that I fear is being lost in mainstream film today.
is a satire that contains a biting wit that hits from the minute the movie begins. Even if it initially left me unsure of what it is a satire of, it still manages to work as a character study and the nature of envy, which can consume us to the point where we lose everything and all we have left is our jealousy and hatred.
Movies are not only meant to inspire and make people feel something by the time the credits roll, but they are also meant to reflect the various demographics that pay to see them to capture that feeling of art connecting audiences. But unfortunately, Hollywood hasn't made much progress in representing every demographic.
Trailer Reviews For Shore Publishing
After making his directorial debut with Ex Machina, Alex Garland makes his return to the sci-fi genre with Annihilation starring Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Oscar Isaac.
The trailer for the dramedy called The Meyerowitz Stories directed by Noah Baumbach (Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale) and starring Ben Stiller, Adam Sandler, Dustin Hoffman, and Emma Thompson recently dropped.
Director Alexander Payne (Election, Citizen Ruth, Nebraska) makes his venture into the sci-fi genre with his upcoming satire Downsizing starring Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, Hong Chau, Jason Sudeikis, and Kristen Wiig.
Jessica Chastain looks to hit the jackpot as former Olympian skier Molly Bloom, who staged the world's most exclusive high stakes poker game that eventually caught the attention of the FBI, in Molly's Game, which is written and directed by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin (The Social Network, Steve Jobs) in his directorial debut.
Film maestro Darren Aronofsky makes his big screen return with the psychological horror thriller Mother! starring Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Ed Harris, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
The trailer for the upcoming Sundance sensation Call Me By Your Name based on the 2007 novel by Andre Aciman and starring Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer, and directed by Luca Guadagnino (A Bigger Splash), has just been released.
Filmotomy
One main narrative surrounding this year's Oscar race is how it has been the year of the woman. Our Best Picture frontrunners are Lady Bird, The Shape Of Water, and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri. And the Oscar snubbed starring Diane Kruger picked up Best Foreign Language Film at both the Critic's Choice Awards and the Golden Globes.
Even though the Oscar nominations don't get announced until Tuesday morning, the Screen Actors Guild Awards will be taking place on Sunday and are a very important precursor. They've been a predictor of Best Picture upsets like Shakespeare In Love and Crash which won the SAG award for Best Cast In A Motion Picture.
When looking at past winners for Best Picture, it is winners like On The Waterfront, the first two Godfather films, The Silence Of The Lambs, Schindler's List, and The Departed that show how AMPAS has the ability to reward films that will have a strong place in film history.
There is plenty to try and decipher about the psychological thriller . For example, one could wonder whether the story about an unnamed couple trying to build a paradise called "Eden" is a parallel to the Bible. It's ambiguous to the point where the characters don't even have names.
Now that 2017 has come to a close, it is time to reflect on the best that the year in cinema had to offer. And it has been quite a year. 2017 was a rich year for diversity in terms of not just the stories being told, but also the people that have made them.
In the wake of Moonlight winning Best Picture, we have another LGBTQ+ film that makes a strong case to win Best Picture. That film is Call Me By Your Name , an entrancing portrait of first love that is both tender and quietly devastating.
Something about the awards run of Mudbound has been rather suspicious. The film has picked up major nominations from the Broadcast Film Critics Association: Supporting Actress for Mary J. Blige, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, and Best Ensemble. It also received the Robert Altman Award for its Ensemble from the Independent Spirit Awards.
Whenever people talk about the historical prestige films that Steven Spielberg has made over the years, they talk about films like Schindler's List, The Color Purple, and Lincoln. But sadly, it seems that nobody really talks about Catch Me If You Can.
What makes great cinematography? Is it colorful lighting? Is it long tracking shots? Well, while those things do help create a visually intriguing experience, what ultimately makes great cinematography is its ability to act as a form of storytelling. It is up to the camera to try and translate the words that aren't written in...
Mudbound is many things at once: A demonstration of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a portrait of racial tensions in rural America, and a universal telling of everyday people trying to live through the trials of today to build a better tomorrow. Yet the film is one thing as well: Poetic.
As those of us that follow the Oscar race know, Best Actress this year is a bloodbath with no clear frontrunner. You have Sally Hawkins for The Shape Of Water and Frances McDormand for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri out in front. Then names like Margot Robbie for I, Tonya, Saoirse Ronan for Lady Bird,...
As a gay male who loves watching horror movies, there is one thing that keeps occurring to me. I've noticed that there aren't many horror movies centering around LGBTQ+ people which is not shocking, given the state of queer characters in all genres, yet it is rather unfortunate.
Sofia Coppola's latest feature, The Beguiled, carries the theme of loneliness, which was present in her previous work like The Virgin Suicides and Lost In Translation, due to the physical isolation that the main characters feel. However, what makes The Beguiled far different from those two films is how it serves as a pastiche of...
The Film Scoop Podcast
The Film Scoop
Even though it is October, we STILL have no clear frontrunner in the Best Picture race. Even after Telluride, Toronto, and the Venice Film Festival have taken place, there is still no one film ahead of the rest.
A driven woman advocating for feminism against a male chauvinistic pig? Sounds a lot like the 2016 Presidential election where Hillary Clinton competed against Donald Trump. But it also sounds like the plot of Battle Of The Sexes which manages to capture our current political zeitgeist yet thanks to its "sports movie" appeal and an exemplary performance by its leading lady, it manages to be engaging from minute one to the closing credits.
Back when Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director at the 82nd Academy Awards for The Hurt Locker, she became the first woman in history to ever win the prestigious award. But even after breaking that glass ceiling, since then, no woman has been nominated for Best Director.
So the LGBTQ romance Call Me By Your Name is shaping up to be a major awards contender and at a recent screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, it received a rapturous standing ovation once the film ended. It also has a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Much like the last two years, the Best Actress category looks like it'll be super competitive as we have an exciting crop of competitors ranging from previously rewarded veterans to those still waiting for moment on the Oscar stage to potential new discoveries.
In what was a rather ho-hum moviegoing weekend, The Hitman's Bodyguard starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson managed to emerge victorious with about a $21 million opening, overcoming a mixed-to-negative 39% Rotten Tomatoes rating in the process.
As you probably heard, British actress Jodie Whittaker will be the thirteenth person to play the iconic paranormal investigator known as Doctor Who and will be the first woman overall. Plenty were pleased by this rather progressive choice. But unfortunately, not everybody was on board with it.
After reading a list on Indiewire of 8 Actresses Who Deserve To Be Cast In Blockbusters by Kate Erbland, I got inspired to create my own list of seven actresses who I personally think deserve to headline blockbusters on their own.
The Big Sick, an autobiography on the real life romance between co-writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon, is both a telling of a true story and a reinvigoration of a genre that has over the years become a parody of itself. Mainly because it felt so real.
So in case you haven't heard, Phil Lord and Chris Miller were just fired from directing the Han Solo prequel for Star Wars due to creative differences with producer Kathleen Kennedy despite there being reportedly three weeks of filming left. This isn't the first time that a Star Wars film has had a troubled production.
Warning: Minor spoilers ahead So even though I did a spoiler-free review of Rough Night, there was something about it I wanted to touch upon regardless that the trailers didn't reveal. So early on, it is revealed that the characters of Frankie (Ilana Glazer) and Blair (Zoe Kravitz) were in a relationship when they were in college.
Southern News
Matthew St. Clair - Special to the Southern News When the first still of the film adaptation of the Japanese manga "Ghost In The Shell" that featured Scarlett Johansson in costume was released, the film started trending on Twitter. But for the wrong reasons because Johansson, a white actress, is playing a character that is Japanese....
Matt St. Clair - Special to the Southern News Fresh off of winning the Oscar for Best Animated Feature with "Inside Out," Disney has delivered a masterful animated film that may rival "Inside Out" for the title of the best Disney film in years with "Zootopia."
SCSU TV News
SCSU TV: Film Guy Reviews
Film Guy Reviews
After delivering his English language debut, the Hitchcockian thriller Stoker, Park Chan Wook returns to his native South Korean tongue to deliver one of the most thrilling experiences one will ever see this year.
Hello, Bloggers, welcome to another episode of Topic Of The Day. For today's topic, since we are in the midst of awards season, I figured I'd delve into something that really struck me. As I've discussed before in my blog, and others have pointed out, there is one genre that the AMPAS has had a rocky relationship with over the years: sci-fi.
Hello, Bloggers, today I figured I would start a new type of segment where since I like to analyze film, I take a performance and dissect the internalities and such behind it. This one is called Anatomy Of A Performance.