Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Horror, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Brightburn (2019) Movie Review

May 23, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Think about Superman for a minute. He is an unnatural, unstoppable alien force. Sure, he is a force for good. But what if this near-omnipotent being chose to serve a different master: himself.

Brian and Mark Gunn’s script for Brightburn aims to envision what that “what if” comic would look like. It is speculative fiction, like how 50 Shades of Grey is its own story but everyone knows it started as Twilight fan fiction. The child who crashes to Earth in a spaceship is not Continue reading Brightburn (2019) Movie Review →

Under the Silver Lake (2019) Movie Review

May 21, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

David Robert Mitchell’s Under the Silver Lake is an unsurprisingly divisive experience. It challenges you to bear witness to the unseemly realities of the wealth-power relationship of Hollywood while also presenting such realities with a greasy film of surreality. It is also a film that appears to relish in the masturbatory excesses of an over-sexed L.A.

This is evidenced in one of the first things we see in the film. As the curious yet distant Sam (Andrew Garfield) gazes at Continue reading Under the Silver Lake (2019) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) Movie Review

May 16, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The John Wick series eludes criticism. Kind of. It is a series of films that knows its audience and knows itself. As such, a formal critique feels unnecessary. John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum is a film that caters to the fans of the previous two films. If you’re not already in on these films, then this film won’t change your mind. If you’re in, then you know who you are and you’re already prepared to see Parabellum. My job is done for me, it seems.

All the same, there are highs and lows in Parabellum that I think are worth discussing.

The stunt extravaganza action films starring Keanu Reeves as the eponymous assassin are exceedingly Continue reading John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum (2019) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Sci-Fi/Fantasy

The Wandering Earth (2019) Movie Review

May 15, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

There is a shot during what functions as the prologue chapter to The Wandering Earth whose awesome nature leads one to believe that this is more than merely some basic re-skinning of the sci-fi dystopian concept. Much of the film’s effects appear as the computer generated facades that they are, plasticky backdrops and accoutrements. So does this shot, but the gooey melting plastic of a planet in motion away from a star has a cosmic majesty to it, which director Frant Gwo captures superbly.

The planet in the shot is Earth itself, being propelled away from the sun of our solar system to avoid the Continue reading The Wandering Earth (2019) Movie Review →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019) Movie Review

May 10, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Pokemon is one of the biggest video game brands in history. As of 2017, it was the third best selling video game franchise in the history of the medium, behind Mario and Tetris. Its first generation of games, manufactured in 1996 for the Nintendo handheld console, the Game Boy, sold over 45,000,000 units.

The franchise quickly ballooned into a trans-media synergy that encompassed animated television shows, animated movies, trading cards, toys, and more video game installments. In a sense, it is a surprise that it has taken this long for The Pokemon Company to pull the trigger on a live-action film of its titular product.

Then again, there was the Super Mario Bros. movie.

The stigma against video game adaptations to film is Continue reading Pokemon: Detective Pikachu (2019) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) Movie Review

May 6, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

I don’t understand the meme in which serial killer Ted Bundy is lauded for his physical attractiveness in spite of his villainy. Netflix is the prime source of the “hot Bundy” memes, and the memes do not do Netflix’s latest, Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile, any favors. Midway through Joe Berlinger’s film, a series of women are interviewed during an intermission from Bundy’s murder trial, and they stumble through statements that exult the alluring presence of Bundy in the court room.

If that isn’t enough proof that the film aims to capitalize on Bundy’s Continue reading Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile (2019) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words), musical

Teen Spirit (2019) Movie Review

April 25, 2019 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

“Teen Spirit” is an American Idol-esque pop reality competition in which teens sing and dance in hopes of achieving a record contract. Violet (Elle Fanning) is a seventeen-year-old who sneaks out at night to perform to a near-empty dive bar. She croons to one listener, silhouetted by a neon heart sign. “I was a fool,” she repeats until the song fades, and the one man (Zlatko Buric) claps.

When Violet decides to register for the “Teen Spirit” competition, she enlists this man—she later finds out he is a former opera singer—to Continue reading Teen Spirit (2019) Movie Review →

CineFiles Movie Reviews