Tag Archives: movie review

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

The Shallows (2016) Movie Review

June 23, 2016 Alex Brannan

On a Latin American beach, a young boy finds a helmet with a waterproof camera attached to it that depicts the brutal death of a surfer at the hands of a shark.

We then cut to an unnaturally high key-lit, lens flare-heavy jungle road in which Nancy (Blake Lively) is being driven to a beach, only to find that her surfing buddy has flaked on her. She decides to go out to sea on her own, though, given the sentimental value of the beach that she doesn’t know the name of.

This scene is shot like a dream sequence, but unintentionally. Lens flares and distortion caused by the angle of the camera on the car causes Continue reading The Shallows (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Indie Films, Leave it, Long Reviews (>400 Words)

Clown (2016) Movie Review

June 19, 2016 Alex Brannan

Clown, “presented” by notable horror director Eli Roth and written-directed by Cop Car and future Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts, has gotten a U.S. VOD and limited theatrical release after two years. The film was made and premiered prior to Watt’s last year’s critical darling Cop Car, and it is a psychological horror film involving everyone’s favorite terrorizing force: Clowns.

When the hired clown cancels last minute, Jack’s (Christian Distefano) birthday party is in jeopardy. Luckily, good ol’ dad Kent (Andy Powers) swoops in to save the day, Continue reading Clown (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Comedy, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Central Intelligence (2016) Movie Review

June 19, 2016 Alex Brannan

Two high school peers: one, Calvin (Kevin Hart), is destined for greatness, and the other, Robert (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) is relentlessly bullied into submission. 20 years later, Calvin is at a dead end job with no hope of upward mobility and Robert is looking to reconnect. Only, this seemingly innocent encounter promises to be something much more impactful on Calvin’s life.

This is the basic setup. Hart plays the straight man and Johnson plays the odd man. Johnson here plays a character with Continue reading Central Intelligence (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Drama, Indie Films, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

Land and Shade (La Tierra y la Sombra) (2015) Movie Review

June 17, 2016 Alex Brannan

Alfonso (Haimer Leal) travels to his old home, where he meets the family he abandoned: his wife (Hilda Ruiz), his ailing son (Edison Raigosa), the son’s wife (Marleyda Soto), and his grandson (Jose Felipe Cardenas).

The first few shots of the film are Continue reading Land and Shade (La Tierra y la Sombra) (2015) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Animation, Love It, Short Films

Piper (2016) Short Film Review

June 16, 2016 Alex Brannan

Piper is the latest in a long line of pre-feature Pixar short films. This particular animated short debuted ahead of Finding Dory, and, while Finding Dory is an all right time at the movies, Piper may blow it out of the water (apologies for the pun).

The film is simple enough in narrative with a sickeningly adorable conceit: Continue reading Piper (2016) Short Film Review →

All Movie Reviews, Animation, Like It, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Finding Dory (2016) Movie Review

June 16, 2016 Alex Brannan

In this sequel to 2003’s Finding Nemo, an infant Dory (Ellen DeGeneres) is separated from her parents (Diane Keaton and Eugene Levy) and aimlessly searches for them throughout her life until…the narrative of Finding Nemo begins.

A year after the events of that film, Continue reading Finding Dory (2016) Movie Review →

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

Cell (2016) Movie Review

June 14, 2016 Alex Brannan

Cell is a movie based on a novel by Stephen King. In this adaptation, Clay Riddell (John Cusack), is an artist who, while in an apartment, becomes witness to an apocalyptic event in which a cell phone signal causes users to become feral (in inconsistent ways). They foam at the mouth, attack people, attack themselves, and become utterly unaware of their own humanity.

The opening shots of this film set the tone for its overall success. Continue reading Cell (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Indie Films, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Short Films

An In-Depth Analysis of Sunspring (2016), The Short Film Written By A Computer

June 12, 2016 Alex Brannan

Note: Spoilers for Sunspring are in this in-depth review. The video is embedded below if you want to watch before you read.

In Sunspring, director Oscar Sharp engages in a cinematic experiment. The goal: to create an award-worthy short film using a script written by an artificial intelligence. The result: glorious sci-fi chaos. Feeding the A.I. with dozens of science fiction script .txt files and a series of prompts given for a sci-fi filmmaking competition, the small cast and crew used the resulting script to shoot the short in one day.

“In a future with mass unemployment, young people are forced to sell blood,” Thomas Middleditch’s H begins, upon pulling a book out of a drawer and thumbing through it. “It’s something I could do.”

This is perhaps the most Continue reading An In-Depth Analysis of Sunspring (2016), The Short Film Written By A Computer →

Action/Thriller, All Movie Reviews, Leave it, Quickie Reviews (<400 Words)

Now You See Me 2 (2016) Movie Review

June 10, 2016 Alex Brannan

Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman), framed by the magician-Robin Hoods The Horsemen and now behind bars, is looking for revenge. Meanwhile, The Horsemen are given orders by the mysterious magician activism syndicate The Eye to engage in their next caper.

This initialization of the plan is sequenced with wonderful pacing and wit. The plan itself is logical nonsense, but it sure is Continue reading Now You See Me 2 (2016) Movie Review →

All Movie Reviews, Horror, Long Reviews (>400 Words), Love It

The Conjuring 2 (2016) Movie Review

June 9, 2016 Alex Brannan

During Ed and Lorraine Warren’s (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga) investigation of the Amityville horror, Lorraine Warren encounters hell incarnate during a seance in an opening sequence to The Conjuring 2 that is orchestrated with neo-horror precision, combining old school tropes and new era scare tactics.

After amassing a popular following through the Amityville case, the Warrens are requested in Enfield, where they encounter Continue reading The Conjuring 2 (2016) Movie Review →

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