Logan Myerz reviews Mike Flanagan’s new 10-episode Netflix series The Haunting of Hill House. The show is a reimagining of Shirley Jackson’s classic horror novel.
#31DaysofHorror #Horror #October2018 #TheHauntingOfHillHouse #Halloween #MikeFlanagan
“Flashing between past and present, a fractured family confronts haunting memories of their old home and the terrifying events that drove them from it.”
by Kevin Muller
The word, remake, has become a dirty word in Hollywood. Whenever one is announced, people roll their eyes, and either totally ignore it or hand over their money in some type of curious shame. The new film, A Star is Born, is the third cinematic iteration of the popular story about a musician, in his decline, that finds both talent and hope in a young female aspiring singer. The pair this time are Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, who not only stars as the male lead, but directed, co-wrote, and produced this epic love story.
Tom Hardy in 2018s ‘Venom’ – A Superhero Film in the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time
by Nile Fortner
The Marvel comic book villain known as Venom first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man comics 30 years ago and now the villain a.k.a anti-hero hits the big screen in his very own movie. Audiences and fans haven’t seen the Venom character in a film since That ’70s Show actor Topher Grace portrayed him in Sam Raimi’s 2007s Spider-Man 3. Venom felt like an afterthought in Spider-Man 3, which left a sour taste in mind for some fans. I am a huge fan of the character Spider-Man and I’ve grown up with the character. Such as growing up with Sam Raimi’s trilogy and being an avid reader of the character in the comics to this day. I also grew up with superhero films like Ang Lee’s 2003 film Hulk and Halle Berry’s 2004 Catwoman. The 90s and early 2000s were a time when a large portion of superhero films used the popularity of a character to make a profit and they cared very little about the source material, comics, and even the fans. Tom Hardy in 2018s Venom feels like a superhero movie from the early 2000s and it’s a superhero film in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Logan Myerz reviews the 2nd season of the Netflix show, Ozark starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney.
#Ozark #OzarkSeason2 #TVReview #Review
Take a Bite Out of ‘Today’s Special’!
by Nile Fortner
The 2009 independent comedy film Today’s Special comes from fairy tale and folklore director David Kaplan and the film is an adaptation from the Off-Broadway play. Taking place mostly in an Indian restaurant, a young Manhattan chef played by Aasif Mandvi (The Internship and Spider-Man 2) rediscovers his passion for life by making Indian food. The film mostly has a Bollywood cast and has been played at the Mumbai Indian Film Festival and the Palm Springs International Film Festival where it won the “Best of the Fest” award.
by Kevin Muller
My personal favorite time of the year is upon us. These next few months will present us with movies that will provide escape, but most will be running for Oscar gold come February 2019. This list contains films from both groups.
It’s a been a bittersweet time in this country that’s been mostly bitter in ways thanks to the current political state here in America. However, part of what’s been sweet about this year is that whether it’s coincidence or not, a lot of black voices have been able to get a chance to express themselves in such original ways as Black Panther, Sorry to Bother You, Atlanta, and now Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman. For the most part, Lee succeeds with what he attempts to put on the screen. It’s a Spike Lee movie so you can definitely say that it’s not boring. The plot of the movie concerning Colorado Springs’ first black police officer in the 1970’s posing as a prospective KKK member who then recruits a Jewish officer to pose as the member in person to infiltrate the Klan. This is pretty unusual and to the movie’s credit, it does a lot with it by using it as a springboard to comment on recent political issues or social commentary that concerns the black community that may have been said before, but needs to reiterated for those who still aren’t able to get the message. For the most part, it never bothered me because it seems to come from a genuine place. While Lee is still Lee, this seem to be more mature and relatively calm to his other movies in its approach to its many ideas. It’s still very ambitious and maybe has too much to say. But it’s at least got some verve to it that I admire for bringing something to the table that will inspire some great food for thought, while simultaneously being an entertaining time at the movies.
‘The Raid: Redemption’ and ‘Mile 22’ star Iko Uwais is a knockout in 2016’s ‘Headshot’!
by Nile Fortner
Star of the action-packed Indonesian flick The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2, Iko Uwais now stars in the new Mark Walberg and John Malkovich film, Mile 22. The new action thriller directed by Peter Berg (Lone Survivor) once again brings Uwais to the hard-hitting action cinema that has made him a well-known worldwide action-star. While Mile 22 is expected to be a hit at the box-office due to the leading performances, I have decided to go back and think of Uwais as a leading man. Uwais is known for one of the best action films in years, The Raid: Redemption and the sequel The Raid 2, is without a doubt a great leading man in action movies. On the other hand, one film that seems to not have gotten as much praise as ‘The Raid’ films is the 2016 Indonesian film, Headshot.
Logan Myerz reviews Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman, the true story of a black police officer in 1979 who infiltrated the KKK.
#BlacKkKlansman
The French Film ‘The African Doctor’ is a Satire of Cultural Acceptance
by Nile Fortner
The French film originally titled, Bienvenue à Marly-Gomont (Welcome to Marly Gomont) a.k.a. The African Doctor, tells the true story of Seyolo Zantoko, a French doctor, who struggles to serve as a doctor in a small French village and obtain French nationality in order to expose his family to a wider world. The comedy-drama film is based on the real-life father of French musician Kamini Zantoko, who is also one of the co-writers, and the movie is directed by Julien Rambaldi.
Cinephellas 