Five Directors Who Could Use a Reversal of Fortune in the 2020’s

As we fully immerse ourselves into a new decade (or not, depending on what side of the “Team 0” versus “Team 1” debate one may fall on—Team 0 for yours truly), hope springs eternal. No matter how many downs or valleys we may have had, the prospect of starting with a fresh slate in all […]

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound

When’s the last time you got mad at a YouTube video because the sound got removed from the visuals? Chances are, you probably ceased watching immediately after it was clear what was going on. Sound with no picture can be liberating and imagination-provoking, but a picture with no sound is good at best. The great George […]

The Top 10 Action Movies of the Decade (2010-2019)

The 2010’s were quite the time to be an action fan. Along with horror, it feels like the one genre that sort of did redefine what was visually possible, and perhaps as important, what we should demand often as fans. There was something for everyone, whether that was big, sweeping set-pieces, or more contained, intimate […]

1917

April 6th, 1917. World War I still hangs in the balance between the Allied and the Central Powers. However, the pendulum could swing over the next two days. Why? The English forces are set to walk into a trap, one that the Germans have provoked by retreating from their advantageous position. Retreating is the only […]

Waves (2019)

Some people are afforded the luxury of being average. Not Tyler Williams (Kelvin Harrison Jr.). He’s driven ruthlessly by his father, Ronald (Sterling K. Brown) out of love, albeit tough. As a high school senior, Tyler is on the right path towards college, regarded as a good wrestler and student. It’s a plus that he’s […]

Richard Jewell

Better to be crazy than wrong. That’s the mindset that Richard Jewell (Paul Walter Hauser) takes into his law enforcement career. He’s a stickler for following the rules to a T, from his time serving at Piedmont College as campus security (that sees him fired due to being a “badge-wearing zealot”) to his security job working […]

Uncut Gems

The power of the rock will always remain unparalled and undefeated. New York City jewelry store owner Howard Ratner (Adam Sandler) has managed to secure a rare, beautiful rock that has embedded in it valuable gems that hook anyone who looks at and holds the rock. They feel powerful…which is how Howard feels when Kevin […]

Marriage Story (2019)

That’s marriage. The union between actress Nicole (Scarlett Johansson) and theatre director Charlie (Adam Driver) has become tenuous and clearly headed for divorce. Still, they’re nowhere near Nick and Amy Dunne levels, and plan to make every effort to split as amicably and as clean as humanely possible (they don’t want to bring lawyers into […]

Queen & Slim

Cherish the ride, no matter where it goes. Tinder brings together two people in a Cleveland, Ohio diner. One, “Queen,” (Jodie Turner-Smith) is a defendant lawyer. The other, “Slim,” (Daniel Kaluuya) is…not a lawyer. He’s a God-fearing family man, totally different from Queen, who’s a nonbeliever and distant from her kinfolk. The date isn’t bad, […]

Just Mercy

Hopelessness is the enemy of justice. Injustice arrives to take away Mr. Walter McMillian (Jamie Foxx) in 1987 Alabama after an average day out and about in the woods. He’s been charged with the brutal murder of an 18-year-old Caucasian female. His sentence? Death, despite the extremely questionable testimonial from the man who claimed he […]