Well that took long enough. Yes, I'm a Top 10 straggler, but I'd rather be sure than second-guess myself down the road. Rushing out a list during the onslaught of screening season, simply to meet the obligatory date of December 31st, just doesn't allow that. Not for me, anyway. Instead, I like to let my [...]
** out of **** Rated R (for strong language, sexual content, nudity, and violence) Released: November 9, 2018 limited; expands through December & January Runtime: 148 minutes Directed by: Lee Chang-dong Starring: Yoo Ah-in, Jeon Jong-seo, Steven Yeun, Kim Soo-Kyung My review of Burning, for The Tulsa Voice. The latest film from South Korean director Lee Chang-dong has [...]
*** out of **** Rated PG-13 (for violence including some bloody images, thematic elements, and language) Released: January 18, 2019 Runtime: 119 minutes Directed by: M. Night Shyamalan Starring: James McAvoy, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Sarah Paulson, Anya Taylor-Joy, Spencer Treat Clark I love Unbreakable. I'm grateful to Split for bringing us back into that [...]
Warning: this essay contains major spoilers for the 2000 film Unbreakable. Unbreakable is a masterpiece of pop cinema. Pre-dating the Marvel Cinematic Universe by nearly a decade and even the original Sam Raimi Spider-Man by two years, M. Night Shyamalan’s Unbreakable was ahead its time – and that’s an understatement. It’s also a crucial point [...]
**** out of **** Rated R (for strong language, nudity, and some sexual content) Released: December 14, 2018 limited; expands December 25 and January Runtime: 119 minutes Directed by: Barry Jenkins Starring: Kiki Layne, Stephan James, Regina King, Colman Domingo, Teyonah Parris, Michael Beach, Brian Tyree Henry, Aunjanue Ellis, Ebony Obsidian, Diego Luna, Spike Lee confronts. [...]
***1/2 out of **** Rated R (for some sexual content and nudity) Released: November 23, 2018 NY/LA; expands December 28 Runtime: 121 minutes Directed by: Hirokazu Kore-eda Starring: Lily Franky, Sakura Andô, Mayu Matsuoka, Jyo Kairi, Miyu Sasaki, Kirin Kiki My review of Shoplifters, for The Tulsa Voice. From acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda, it won the Palme [...]
For the final 2018 issue of The Tulsa Voice, my fellow film critic Charles Elmore and I look back on the year in film. This is a conversation, not Top 10 Lists, as we reflect on what defined the cinematic experience of 2018, citing a wide variety of movies - both big and small - [...]
Episode 16 - THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Conversations On Cinema http://thebadandthebeautiful.libsyn.com/the-bad-and-the-beautiful-episode-16-xmas-xtravaganza If Beale Street Could Talk, @ 0:56 Vice, @ 20:23 Outro, @ 30:33 The Mule, @ 32:08 On this holiday episode of The Bad and the Beautiful, we look at new Oscar contenders from previous Academy Award winners. You can download it on [...]
*** out of **** Rated PG-13 (for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and for some language) Released: December 21, 2018 Runtime: 143 minutes Directed by: James Wan Starring: Jason Momoa, Amber Heard, Patrick Wilson, Willem Dafoe, Nicole Kidman, Dolph Lundgren, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Temuera Morrison, Michael Beach, Randall Park The latest attempt to set the [...]
**1/2 out of **** Rated R (for some violence and sexuality) Released: December 7, 2018 NY/LA; December 21 expands Runtime: 124 minutes Directed by: Josie Rourke Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Margot Robbie, Jack Lowden, James McArdle, Guy Pearce, David Tennant, Adrian Lester, Martin Compston, Adam Bond, Joe Alwyn, Gemma Chan Cate Blanchett’s Queen Elizabeth casts a long [...]