As he did with his Oscar-nominated foreign film “Dogtooth,” Lanthimos builds a concept- driven story in “The Lobster” that explores the possibilities of how humans would react to well-intentioned extremism.
Archives
Captain America: Civil War Review
Welcome to Phase III of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where the solo superhero films get an “Avengers”-sized cast and even Spider-Man can swing out of the clutches of Sony Pictures and into a Marvel Studios movie. In other words, you’d need a lot of action figures to recreate “Captain America: Civil War.”
Summer Movie Preview 2016
Hard to believe this is my seventh summer movie preview on Movie Muse! Like most summers, the 2016 May through August movie slate is chock-full of sequels, and movies that hope to generate sequels. At this time every year, there’s so much promise, and by the end we’re left with movies that met our expectations, […]
Room Review
Although less commercially driven, “Room” is to 2015 as “Gone Girl” was to 2014: An acclaimed film based on an acclaimed book adapted for the screen by the author that takes the viewer into deep, psychologically troubling places. Obviously, “Gone Girl” is a mystery thriller with a creepy darkness to it, while “Room” is more […]
Brooklyn Review
As much as “Brooklyn” is a vibrantly realized 1950s period piece, the story itself is a throwback too; it’s a reminder of a classic storytelling technique seemingly uncommon at the movies today – draw in the audience in and charm its socks off.
Midnight Special Review
There are few under-the-radar writer/directors as hot as Jeff Nichols. The “Mud” and “Take Shelter” filmmaker is an extraordinary visual storyteller, and his streak continues in “Midnight Special,” a family drama dressed as a sci-fi thriller.
10 Cloverfield Lane Review
The J.J. Abrams Bad Robot “Mystery Box” formula has yielded lots of intriguing and successful films and television shows, perhaps none of them as cultish as 2008’s “Cloverfield,” which alongside “Paranormal Activity” put the found footage genre permanently on the map with this elusive, almost anti-Hollywood alien invasion story.
Oscars 2016 Recap: A new socially conscious era dawns in Hollywood
If you’re one of the few who checks my site Movie Muse regularly, you probably stopped doing that sometime in the last few months. The good news is I wasn’t ignoring you (or movies), we are just having some irksome server issues this winter that locked me out of WordPress. So I’m publishing this to […]
Bridge of Spies Review
Following “War Horse” and “Lincoln,” “Bridge of Spies” rounds out Steven Spielberg’s trilogy of histories in the 2010s, each film earning a Best Picture nomination for being a superb piece of craft — and having Spielberg’s name attached.
Deadpool Review
A superhero movie has never been funnier than “Deadpool.” Or more outlandish – or obscene. That should come as quite a relief to fans of Marvel Comics’ foul-mouthed anti-hero and especially Ryan Reynolds, who labored a long time to get Deadpool’s his own solo adventure on the big screen, a process that entailed – according […]
Amy Review
A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse could easily have been done in a conventional manner a long the lines of A&E’s “Biography” series and still been plenty compelling. Winehouse was an enigma whose tempestuous relationships with people and drugs made for ideal tabloid fodder as well as a fascinating character study. But Asif […]
The Revenant Review
Fresh off his Oscars for “Birdman,” Alejandro González Iñárritu makes a drastic change in scope and scale with “The Revenant,” a period survival drama set in the American frontier. But while the setting is wildly different, Iñárritu is still flexing a lot of his same filmmaking muscles. He really hones his unique cinematic stamp, thereby […]
The Big Short Review
The man behind “Anchorman” and “Step Brothers” brings you … one of the best films of the year …? Seems ridiculous, but you could make a case for it to be true. Adam McKay’s “The Big Short,” based on the book by Michael Lewis (also of “The Blinds Side” and “Moneyball”), is a comical tragedy […]
Spotlight Review
The rumors about “Spotlight” are true — a journalism film hasn’t been this effective, clean and compelling since “All the President’s Men” in 1976. Considering it is a story built largely around the investigative reporting process, it must seize its audience from start to finish and that’s exactly what director Tom McCarthy ensures that it […]
Sicario Review
Law enforcement battles with drug cartels tend to be the focal point of bullet-ridden crime thrillers with strong “Type A” heroes and despicable villains and a handful of characters who cross the line between the two. “Sicario,” on the other hand, is good-and-evil gray area for endless miles.
