Category Archives: Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

The Ones Below (2016) Movie Review

Two couples move in to a quaint duplex and, coincidentally, both are expecting. Kate and Justin (Clemence Poesy and Stephen Campbell Moore) are unassuming and innocently critical. Theresa and Jon (Laura Birn and David Morrissey) are welcoming and intolerably tidy. Their lives initially appear like mirrors with only the slightest light refracted, but the light starts to bend more and more when they sit down for dinner together. And this light can only hope to continue bending away from center as the film progresses.

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The first act, culminating in this dinner scene, is structured with precision. The editing may be standard shot-reverse shots, but the compositions are Continue reading The Ones Below (2016) Movie Review

Captain America: Civil War (2016) Movie Review

The premise of Captain America: Civil War is exactly what it sounds like: a legislation called the Sokovia Accords will put restrictions on the power of superheroes, and it threatens to tear the Avengers in two. Divided, faction leaders Cap (Chris Evans) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) face off in a heated battle for the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

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Narratively, the film juggles many balls, but few of them get dropped. Sure, they are Continue reading Captain America: Civil War (2016) Movie Review

Keanu (2016) Movie Review

After his girlfriend breaks up with him, Rell (Jordan Peele, also co-writer) comes across cute kitten Keanu, who proves to be the saving grace from his post-breakup blues.

Rell gets unnaturally attached to Keanu, to the point that when the cat is kidnapped (dare I say cat-napped?) by gangster outfit the 17th St. Blips, he and cousin Clarence (Keegan-Michael Key) must infiltrate the gang and literally save the cat.

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The lion’s share of comedy in Keanu derives from Continue reading Keanu (2016) Movie Review

The Jungle Book (2016) Movie Review

In The Jungle Book, the live action adaptation of the famous Disney retelling, a boy (Neel Sethi) raised by wolves is put in danger by his own humanity, as the bloodthirsty Bengal tiger Shere Khan (Idris Elba) vows to kill the child.

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CG burdens many films, which become over-dependent on them for spectacle’s sake. In the case of this film, the Continue reading The Jungle Book (2016) Movie Review

Wedding Doll (2016) Movie Review

Hagit (Moran Rosenblatt) works as a packager in a struggling toilet paper factory. Suffering from a cognitive disability, she lives with her mother Sara (Assi Levy), who sacrifices various aspects of her life in order to be there for her daughter.

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What is immediately evident with Wedding Doll is the Continue reading Wedding Doll (2016) Movie Review

Age of Cannibals (Zeit der Kannibalen) (2014) Movie Review

Age of Cannibals follows two German business consultants on a business trip in Lagos, Nigeria. While moving about their hotel, they try to convince a businessman to move his resources from India to Pakistan, deal with a new, young co-worker, and brashly handle cultural differences.

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Stylistically, the films is fairly cut and dry. There is little out of the ordinary, save for Continue reading Age of Cannibals (Zeit der Kannibalen) (2014) Movie Review

Demolition (2016) Movie Review

When his wife dies in a car accident, New York white collar type Davis Mitchell (Jake Gyllenhaal) falls into an erratic depression. At the hospital, after hearing of his wife’s ill fate, Davis uses a vending machine, and gets hung up when the machine disallows him his peanut M&Ms.

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After writing the company several lengthy and personal letters, a customer service worker (Naomi Watts) Continue reading Demolition (2016) Movie Review

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) Movie Review

Kim Baker (Tina Fey) is a low-on-the-totem-pole journalist sent to Afghanistan to cover the war there. While there, she deals with gender and cultural politics, as well as personal relationships with military and press personnel.

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In Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, the acting performances are Continue reading Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) Movie Review

The Talk (2015) Short Film Review

The Talk, from director Joe Otting, is a two-person short depicting a conversation between a father and his young daughter. This conversation begins with an innocent confession, one that every child needs to hear at some point in their life, but then it takes a nosedive into a frank, awkward realm.

The short features performances from John Hoogenakker and Isabella Crovetti-Cramp, who is most recognizable from her appearance in Continue reading The Talk (2015) Short Film Review

Race (2016) Movie Review

Race is the biopic of Olympic athlete Jesse Owens. The film follows Owens (Stephan James) as he tackles adversity in 1930s America and Germany. It also explores the relationship between Owens and his down-and-out coach Larry Snyder (Jason Sudeikis).

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What it boils down to is that this film is a Continue reading Race (2016) Movie Review