Before international stardom, Venus and Serena Williams were two girls from Compton, California, starting out on their road to greatness. The road in question, meticulously planned by their father and coach Richard Williams, is exactly what we see in Reinaldo Marcus Green’s latest sports biopic turned family drama, ‘King Richard’.
Read MoreSpencer is precisely the kind of film that the Academy goes crazy for: a period piece that focuses on a real, iconic historical figure; a commanding lead performance in said role; and its lush production design, with costumes and locations that brilliantly evoke the time period in which it is set. But often - as is the case with other past Academy darlings - the film is a tedious chore. Spencer is, sadly, no exception to the rule.
Read MoreWith a timeline for the Marvel characters that spans from the big bang to any given point in the future, a smorgasbord of characters to focus on, and cosmic, world-ending plots that trivialize other superheroes' premises, a film adaptation involving The Eternals, always had the potential to be a little scattered, at best.
Read MoreEven those not familiar with Hebert’s classic work, will not be blinded to the fact that ‘Dune’ is easily one of the best films of the year so far. Brought to you by visionary Canadian filmmaker Denis Villeneuve, this epic story is brought to life on such an incomprehensibly grand scale, it becomes completely mesmerizing.
Read MoreIf there is one complaint of The Last Duel, it’s that this is a lot to take in. With its subject matter, intense action packed finale, and two and a half hour run time, this might not be for everyone, but with an all-star cast and one of the best screenplays of the year, Ridley Scott’s historical drama is the biggest surprise of 2021 so far.
Read MoreIn his final appearance as James Bond, Daniel Craig delivers the perfect performance and ending that no previous Bond actor had been afforded. As a result, “No Time to Die” immediately takes its seat as one of the greatest and most essential Bond films.
Read MoreMelissa McCarthy re-teams with director Theodore Melfi and actor Chris O’Dowd to once again show her dramatic chops, but while “The Starling” attempts to soar and be poignant, the script grounds the film very quickly.
Read MoreBen Foster gives a transformative performance that should garner the actor his first Oscar nomination in Barry Levinson’s ‘The Survivor’, a career highlight for the veteran director that shows the Holocaust from a different perspective while looking to the future.
Read MoreThe appeal of ‘All My Puny Sorrows’ comes not necessarily from the heavy subject matter, but the novel and stimulating manner in which it presents the story. The film is packed with stellar performances, lead by Alison Pill, and captained by a director who always seems to get ‘stellar’ out of his actors.
Read MoreWhile Kenneth Branagh may only make a handful of artistic choices as director, every ounce of thoughtfulness went into the script of ‘Belfast’, and that remains enough. The film is shot in an intimate and small manner, the conflict is shrunk down, and eventually it’s all slow cooked into more delicious morsels about morality and love.
Read More‘The Power of the Dog’ is Jane Campion’s first film in 12 years, since the release of 2009’s ‘Bright Star’, and tells the story of Phil Burbank (Cumberbatch), who runs a cattle ranch with his brother George (Jesse Plemons). Cumberbatch and Plemons are a phenomenon on screen, but its uneven script quickly degrades the film into a sappy melodrama.
Read More‘The Card Counter’ is a film that gambles, but doesn’t quite play a winning hand. Imagine the illegitimate love child of ‘Rounders’, ‘Drive’ and ‘The Big Short’. Then imagine that it was haphazardly executed with a weak script and had no clear direction or intention. That’s ‘The Card Counter’.
Read More“Stowaway” looks pretty and boasts a formidable cast, but its story feels much hollower than writer-director Joe Penna wants it to be.
Read MoreBob Odenkirk proves himself capable of being the next big action hero in “Nobody”, where his fighting prowess helps the film’s excellent action sequences overcome its flat story.
Read More“Cherry”, the newest film from the Russo brothers, is a coming-of-age odyssey exploring one man’s descent into addiction and destruction. Tom Holland’s performance electrifies an otherwise uneven viewing experience.
Read MoreThe first words spoken in “Supernova” are a lovely little threat: “We’re not going back, you know.”
Read MoreIt might be contentious among critics, and certainly targets a particular kind of film lover as its audience, but “Malcolm & Marie” is an absolute godsend of a film that demands viewing when it arrives on Netflix this Friday.
Read MoreA Jay-Z-infused satire of the Indian caste system? We never thought we’d see it, until Netflix gave us “The White Tiger”.
Read MoreWhile Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom - like the play that inspired it - doesn’t quite capitalize on its opportunity for potent social commentary, this adaptation features incredible performances all around, including a career-best final turn from the late, great Chadwick Boseman that is sure to run as an Oscars favorite.
Read MoreSetting aside all of its eyesore-inducing cinematography and wasted cast, cinema’s most blatant attempt yet to capitalize on COVID-19, an action-infused romance set in a nightmare scenario imagined future, can be boiled down to one word: offensive.
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