Other reviews compare Anora to Pretty Woman, but this is a bad mistake. The world has moved on considerably since 1990, and these days, capitalism is now second to oligarchy. Oligarchs are people for whom life is to be lived without consequences because their incredible wealth means anything, or anyone, can be bought. …
It’s been a long time since Cate Blanchett got weird. She’s played unlikeable, she’s played dark, she’s played strange, but not since Heaven in 2002, in which German director Tom Tykwer got her to shave her head and bomb the Italian police, has Cate Blanchett got weird. But Cate Blanchett is also one of the very rare actors in …
Calling a TV show “underrated” can feel like simplistic praise. With the cavalcade of streaming content, viewers will always have what they call “underrated” favorites. These favorites can still lead to numerous Emmy nominations and critical praise. MAX’s television show Hacks has had thirty-two Emmy nominations and six wins. Seasons one and …
Quentin Dupieux, the director of The Second Act (Le deuxième acte), who was also the writer, cinematographer, and editor of The Second Act, thanks his own brain in the credits. This is entirely what should be expected from Mr. Dupieux, whose works are – and this is meant as an extreme compliment – completely insane. He tends to work …
Satirical and meta comedies can be hard to deliver effectively. Classics like Monty Python and The Holy Grail, The Truman Show, and the overall work of Mel Brooks revolutionized the concept. Now, those comedies have been ushered in for a new generation. Films like Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, Cocaine Bear, and Weird: The Al Yankovic Story took …
Ryan Gosling can do no wrong when picking roles, as each film he stars in becomes something special. From comedies such as Crazy, Stupid, Love, and The Nice Guys to more dramatic roles such as in Lars and the Real Girl, The Notebook, and La La Land, every film is memorable, mainly due to his acting. With a slew …
Author/Vietnamese-American Professor Viet Thanh Nguyen’s novel The Sympathizer is a spy novel unlike any other. The Pulitzer Prize-winning book balances many different themes and ideas. Following an unnamed narrator, it tells a story that is equal parts political thriller, romance, and occasional comedy. That helped make the novel a resonatory and powerful piece of …
Apple TV+ knows its strengths, focusing on the science fiction, comedy, and drama sections on its home page. Ted Lasso has noticeably been a huge hit, and seeing Apple TV+ lean into some of the funniest actors of our day has been a boon for them. Acapulco is the latest success for the streamer. …
It might be a little much to claim that Ryan Gosling is singlehandedly reinventing American masculinity onscreen. On the other hand, he has followed up his global triumph in Barbie (and winning of the Oscar in all our hearts with his performance of I’m Just Ken at the Academy Awards) with The Fall Guy, during which he …
I’m as much a fan of rom-coms as of any other genre mix. As long as the narrative doesn’t fall into the usual formulaic traps and quickly becomes just another cheap, forgettable variation of a story watched and rewatched countless times, I always find myself open-minded and ready to be …
The Fall Guy is the newest action spectacular from Bullet Train’s David Leitch, and in so many ways, it is a love letter to movies and stunts. Starring Ryan Gosling, Emily Blunt, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Winston Duke, the film is a meta look at the physical business behind making movies. A huge part of that is music, and The …
Everybody loves a good monster movie. From the dawn of cinema, the unknown creatures of the underwater realm, dark woods, forests, and otherwise uncharted areas that might care to pay us a visit in the nighttime hours have long been the source of many a child’s lost hours of sleep. …
Every so often, a movie comes along that is so unique, original, and sometimes wildly bizarre that they’re almost indescribable; there’s not much out there to compare them to. For instance, trying to explain to someone what A24’s Everything Everywhere All At Once is like or even the Noah Baumbach film White Noise on Netflix, they’re …
It’s been six or seven years (not that we’re counting) since White Collar was on the air on Netflix and ten years since the show finished airing on the USA Network. As of April 1st, the show is back in the streamer’s library. Starring Matt Bomer as debonair former criminal Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as …
The Apple TV+ original series The Big Door Prize hit the ground running with its debut in early 2023. It received massive praise from critics, and the first season hit 92% on the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate. The series was quickly greenlit for a second season, which is set to debut on April …
She grows marrows, not swedes. Marrows are a kind of zucchini, which in the UK is known by its French name, courgette, while a swede is called a rutabaga when it’s in the US. But her name is indeed Caroline, and we all know a good vegetable-based pun when we …
La Chimera is a complicated film to describe, and not necessarily because the story itself is confounding, but because the occupation of our protagonist, Arthur (Josh O’Connor), bewilders all expectations. We meet him as he is recently released from prison and reunite with Sister Flora (Isabella Rossellini) as they await his …
The Gutter, a bowling comedy from Yassir Lester (Marvel’s Armor Wars) and Isaiah Lester recently had its world premiere at SXSW in Austin. The film stars Shameik Moore, Susan Sarandon, D’Arcy Carden, Jay Ellis, Jackée Harry, and Paul Reiser, just to name a few. Moore plays Walt, a bartender and shoe de-roacher (exactly what you think) at the AlleyCatz bowling alley. Money problems …
Romantic time travel movies have become a subgenre unto themselves. Recent films like About Time, Midnight in Paris, and The Time Traveler’s Wife are examples of this. Granted, It has been some time since those stories graced the big and small screen. The Greatest Hits hopes to remind audiences why they’re beloved stories in the first …
Sardonic humor can be a difficult feat to accomplish in media. Very few feature films or television series have made that humor engaging. HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm is one of the only successful examples. Larry David’s unfiltered nature has set a high bar for curmudgeon-leading men. That has made films with those types of …