Tag Archives: Fifty Shades of Grey

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

Fifty Shades Freed (2018) Movie Review

February 10, 2018 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Congratulations, everyone. We are now officially living in a post-Fifty Shades world. It’s over. We made it.

Listen, the Fifty Shades trilogy has received its guff. We all know what the critical consensus is on these films. Why bother with yet another review of yet another film of this trilogy? Because, at the risk of losing any credibility I may have accrued as a critic, Fifty Shades Freed is the best of the trilogy.

Does that make it a good film? No. Is it a film with a better message than the other Fifty Shades movies? Not at all. But it has Continue reading Fifty Shades Freed (2018) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, F Movies, Loath It, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Romance

Fifty Shades Darker (2017) Movie Review

February 10, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Let me get the positives of Fifty Shades Darker out of the way so we can start making jokes. 1) Star lighting showcases our “steamy” talent quite adequately. 2) As with its predecessor, the production design is well-conceived. 3) Academy Award-winner Kim Basinger appears, and should be in a better movie than this.

BDSM is still viewed in this film as a Continue reading Fifty Shades Darker (2017) Movie Review →

Box Office Predictions, Movie News

Weekend Box Office Predictions: 2/10-2/12

February 9, 2017 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Three high-profile releases are on the horizon for this upcoming weekend: Warner Bros.’ The LEGO Batman Movie, Universal’s Fifty Shades Darker, and Lionsgate’s John Wick 2. These three movies all open on a pre-Valentine’s Day weekend with a lot of box office potential.

With the January reign of M. Night Shayamalan’s Split coming to a close (the film pulled in $14.4 million last weekend, still a #1 finish), these three films are vying to take its place.

With Rings, last weekend’s number two finisher, being a disappointment, it is not hard to see it Continue reading Weekend Box Office Predictions: 2/10-2/12 →

2016 Academy Awards, Award Ceremonies

2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Original Song

January 17, 2016 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Sometimes, the two-horse races at the Academy Awards are just as hard to call as the categories that are simply up in the air. This race is one of those cases.

I’ll begin with a dark horse selection. “Simple Song #3,” from the Michael Caine vehicle Youth. It is a beautiful song, but it is failing to supplant the buzz of two other songs in the category.

These songs are Continue reading 2016 Academy Awards Predictions – Best Original Song →

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

Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) Movie Review

February 14, 2015 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

Fifty Shades of Grey is an erotic romance film adapted from E.L. James’ novel of the same name. In it, nervous lip-biter Anastasia Steele (Dakota Johnson) is subbed in to interview billionaire playboy Christian Grey (Jamie Dornan) for a graduate school newspaper. During the interview, sparks fly (I’m using this phrase loosely) and they become romantically involved. But Mr. Grey is oddly distant and afraid of commitment. Ana soon finds out Grey’s secret: a hidden life of playing out a sexual domination fantasy. Virgin innocent Ana doesn’t know how to handle this news at first, but soon becomes wrapped up in the “taboo” world of BDSM, falling for Christian in the process.

From the title sequence, we are immediately flooded with exorbitantly sleek mise-en-scene, namely with shots of Christian’s wardrobe. We are also given beautiful landscape shots of the Seattle skyline. All the while, Annie Lennox singing “I Put a Spell On You” fills the scene with soulful body. This lush opening is enticing and inviting. It is only when characters begin to speak that problems arise.

Continue reading Fifty Shades of Grey (2015) Movie Review →

Movie News

February 2015 Movie Releases: What to Look For

February 2, 2015 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

January is over, which means the new year of film can finally begin to ramp up. The first month of the year is historically a bad time for new releases. The box office is usually dominated by carry-over from the holiday season, leaving January releases as duds the majority of the time. January 2015 was a surprising change of pace with American Sniper’s dominance at the box office (although its release was technically in December). But beyond Clint Eastwood’s war piece, there wasn’t much to be said about January. Now that it’s behind us, we can look ahead to the month in movies.

Continue reading February 2015 Movie Releases: What to Look For →

Movie News

Super Bowl Movie Trailer Advertising Spots: Thoughts and Reactions

February 1, 2015 Alex Brannan Leave a comment

The Super Bowl is always a huge date for advertising campaigns. The movie trailer business is no exception. Plenty of major Spring and Summer releases put out 30 second or one minute spots this year. These are my reactions to some of the big movie trailers of the night.

Continue reading Super Bowl Movie Trailer Advertising Spots: Thoughts and Reactions →