Review – The Irishman (2019)

by Kevin Muller

The Irishman represents a lot as a film. First, it is the first time the legendary director, Martin Scorsese has worked with legendary actor, Al Pacino. This is also a big gamble for the streaming service, Netflix, who put up the $159 Million dollar budget, when almost every studio in town passed on it. The company has released many films before, including last year’s Oscar winning, and my favorite film of the year, Roma. The gigantic price tag went to de-aging the actors, since this film spans over 50 years. It is an expensive trick to finance. Most of all, this feels like a good-bye to a genre of films made by the master and his crew of skilled actors. The important question is, does it all work?

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Review – Parasite (2019)

by Kevin Muller

One of the perks of the Oscar film season, which we are currently in, is films from all around the world get their moment in the spotlight that are vying for the chance at the “Best Foreign Film” prize. You probably have a favorite film from this genre: Life is Beautiful, Roma, A Separation, War and Peace, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. This film comes from South Korea.  Does it deserve to be mentioned amongst those other great films?

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Review – The Lighthouse (2019)

by Kevin Muller

When writer and director Robert Eggers burst on to the scene with 2016’s The Witch, he gave us a true New England horror tale. What he succeeded in doing was creating an immersive experience for the viewers. A majority of the time, when films are set in a different time periods, the accents are shoddy, the cinematography too clean, or the actors can’t nail the true essence of the characters. Eggers nailed all three of those aspects and much more. For his next feature, he has given us a movie, that takes place at the end of the 19th century, located in New England, with his two actors speaking in thick New England accents. Does he go two for two, or was his first effort a fluke?

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Review – Gemini Man (2019)

by Kevin Muller

How would you define a movie star? Personally, it is an actor whose charisma shines through and levitates the best and worst of films. Will Smith has a giant personality that has given him a successful career that has spanned through television, music, film, and two Academy Award nominations. He can bring the funny as well as he can bring the tears. He can be sensitive, loving, and caring, but also witty, fun, and bad ass. Those are the very traits that make this very mediocre film semi-enjoyable instead of the train wreck it could’ve been.

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Review – RAMBO: Last Blood (2019)

by Kevin Muller

John Rambo is a relic of an older and wilder time in cinema. He’s a former soldier who came home only to be thrown back into the world of violence and murder. The chaos of war runs through his veins. Eleven years ago, after a 20 year hiatus, Stallone, who was 62 at the time, came back with a kick ass action movie that was unforgiving with its level of gore. It was a great call back to the films of the 80s too. Now, the aging action star, who can still kick the ass of people more than half his age, is back with another story for his memorable action hero. Does he still have it?

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Review – JOKER (2019) **31 Days of Horror**

By Kevin Muller

The most important thing a film can do is make you feel something.  Most of the time, we expect to walk out of the cinema feeling inspired or uplifted. That is fine, but certain films conjure certain feelings within us that are not always positive. The 1978 film, The Deer Hunter, was a bleak look at the mental anguish that war, specifically Vietnam, can have on former soldiers. One of the reasons it won best picture was because it took viewers on a journey where they encountered many types of emotions, mostly ones of horror, despair, and hopelessness. These are the same feelings you will face when watching Todd Phillip’s new film about the origins of the “Prince of Crime.” It isn’t a pleasurable experience, but a well-made one that really dives into the darkness of the character.

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Review – Ad Astra (2019)

by Kevin Muller

Stanley Kubrick’s film 2001: A Space Odyssey, was groundbreaking because it took viewers on a miraculous journey that displayed revolutionary film making. It also inspired countless directors and writers to create films of similar nature, with its beautiful visuals and psychedelic nature, that were either were respectful imitators or just flat out disasters. James Gray, who brought us the severely underrated 2016 The Lost City of Z, has now directed a space film that has hints of Kubrick. Does his film soar like a rocket or get lost in space?

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Review – Brittany Runs A Marathon (2019)

By Kevin Muller

It is always great to see new talent headline a movie. If you look up Jillian Bell, you will probably say to yourself, “oh yeah, that’s where she is from!” One of her more popular roles was playing the antagonist in 22 Jump Street, providing an uncomfortable, but hilarious, sexual tension with Jonah Hill in that film’s final confrontation. She was also a writer on Saturday Night Live for a few years. The chance to headline her own film is a pretty big step for this actress. Did the hard work pay off?

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Review – IT: Chapter Two (2019)

by Kevin Muller

While there are many defenders of the television miniseries, that was the first adaptation of Stephen King’s classic novel, the majority of those defenders will agree that the adult part of the 90s version fell short.  Everything seemed to fall apart in the second half of that adaptation. After 2017’s hugely successful big screen version, could director Andy Muschietti succeed in bringing something as good as IT Chapter 1?

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Top 10 Most Anticipated Fall Films of 2019 !

 

10. Little Women

It has been 25 years since the last big screen adaptation of this popular novel about four sisters dealing with societies expectations of them versus what they want to accomplish in life. Hot off her success of Lady Bird, Greta Gerwig takes on writing and directing duties. Saoirse Ronan, who was nominated for best actress, in that film, takes on the role of the fiercely independent Jo. Also along for the ride are Emma Watson, Florence Pugh, who was seen in two 2019 films, Fighting with My Family, and the insane Midsommar, and Timothee Chalamet, who also starred with Ronan in Lady Bird and gave a brilliant dramatic turn in 2017’s Call me by Your Name. These are young performers who will bring Gerwig’s vision to life. Gerwig can write sharp and sassy dialogue, which will breathe new life into this classic tale.

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