Call Me By Your Name: Movie Review

Sensual love and haunting sadness.

Call Me By Your Name is a film about love and sadness. I would argue that that’s all it’s about and it’s beautiful. Timothée Chalamet stars as Elio a teenager in Italy who likes lounging about. Armie Hammer co-stars as Oliver an American who has come to stay with Elio’s family and work with his father. Elio doesn’t like Oliver much and just views him as another arrogant American. The subtle shifts in the characters and their perceptions is particularly good.		2017 Directed by: Luca Guadagnino Screenplay by: James Ivory Based on the novel by André Aciman Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Armie Hammer

Get Out: Movie Review

Humorous, bizarre and very well made.

Get Out is the type of movie that just begs you to keep watching. The theme of systemic racism has been explored before, the psychological thriller/supernatural element of the suburbs has been done before, even the horror ending has been done before (at least similarly), but none of it has been put together in quite this way before. It’s a very complete movie with brilliantly designed cinematography, and a score that perfectly balances the uneasiness and inherent humour.		2017 Directed by: Jordan Peele Screenplay by: Jordan Peele Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, and Bradley Whitford

The Disaster Artist: Movie Review

Hysterically funny real-life nonsense.

After just a few funny scenes of The Disaster Artist, I started getting antsy, that maybe I shouldn’t be laughing at one man’s lunacy, but there are two good points to keep in mind. As much as this is a comedy about the making of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room (it is – and a very funny one at that), it’s mainly about friendship and the pursuit of dreams, and Tommy Wiseau is all for it.		2017 Directed by: James Franco Screenplay by: Scott Neustadter, Michael Weber Based on book by Greg Sestero, Tom Bissell Starring: James Franco, Dave Franco

Wonder Wheel: Movie Review

Empty, meaningless fusion of 1950s Coney Island and family melodrama.

Wonder Wheel is disappointing. An interestingly constructed, 1950s fusion of Coney Island and the melodrama of a play. The main issue is that it’s just so empty. Ginny (Kate Winslet) is having an affair with attractive lifeguard and aspiring playwright, Mickey (Justin Timberlake). She spends her days having sex with him and fretting about how awful her life is. Mickey spends all of his time expounding to the camera about being in love with Ginny or her step-daughter Carolina (Juno Temple).		2017 Directed by: Woody Allen Screenplay by: Woody Allen Starring: Juno Temple, Kate Winslet, Jim Belushi and Justin Timberlake

Lady Bird: Movie Review

Heartfelt, honest and funny.

Lady Bird is about a lot of smaller ideas, all of which might seem uninteresting to the average viewer, but it so perfectly captures the awkwardness of a teenager coming of age and trying to survive her last year of high school, that there’s a relatable humour and warmth that will echo throughout the generations. Writer and director Greta Gerwig has referred to it as a love letter to her hometown of Sacramento, California, and it’s also about navigating the slightly different social structure of an all-girls catholic school, which Gerwig herself attended.		2017 Directed by: Greta Gerwig Screenplay by: Greta Gerwig Starring: Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf, Tracy Letts, Lucas Hedges

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri: Movie Review

Brilliantly unsettling drama.

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is one of those movies where you are never allowed to get comfortable. Every time you think you know what it’s about, there’s another twist which turns all of its themes on its head. And that’s impressive for a drama, a drama about police relations, racism, homophobia, bigotry, and a parent’s grief about the death of a child.		2017 Directed by: Martin McDonagh Screenplay by: Martin McDonagh Starring: Frances McDormand, Sam Rockwell

Colossal: Movie Review

Unique, interesting and entertaining.

If you have ever wanted to have a discussion about extremely self-destructive people, then you need to watch Colossal. A movie that’s more clever than it has any right to be. Gloria (Anne Hathaway) spends her nights getting drunk and then waking up in the morning (or afternoon) with a hangover unable to remember what happened the night before, and then rinse and repeat. Meanwhile there’s a giant monster terrorizing Seoul, South Korea. Interestingly, these two events are intimately connected.		2017 Directed by: Nacho Vigalondo Screenplay by: Nacho Vigalondo Starring: Anne Hathaway, Jason Sudeikis

Lady Macbeth: Movie Review

A dark and twisted tale of love and murder.

Lady Macbeth is a film deserving of its namesake, in that there are no likable characters. This is a film filled with sociopathic people completely devoid of empathy – and yet there is something compelling about the murderess protagonist. The film itself is based on the Russian novella "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" (which of course borrows its title from the Shakespearean character), although veers significantly from the original material.		2016 Directed by: William Oldroyd Screenplay by: Alice Birch Based on the novel by Nikolai Leskov Starring: Florence Pugh, Cosmo Jarvis

Opening Night: Movie Review

Delightfully funny, chaotically real.

What a blast. There are a number of things that films can do to overcome weak stories and characters, namely, have a quick pace with popular songs and funny lines, and that’s exactly what Opening Night does. Set in approximately real time backstage at a Broadway musical on opening night, the characters aren’t particularly innovative. There are a lot of gay men and drama queens, helpful hands who aren’t exactly helpful, and Nick (Topher Grace) – the stage manager trying to pull everything together.		2017 Directed by: Isaac Rentz Screenplay by: Gerry de Leon, Greg Lisi Starring: Topher Grace, JC Chasez, Taye Diggs, and Alona Tal

Blood Honey: Movie Review

A campy story with death and bees.

There are a number of working titles floating around including “The Hive” and “The Bequest” but I wonder if they considered the very fitting “Death by Bees”. Not only does this film feature a literal death by bees but it also brings to mind the B-horror films like Killer Bees which should attract the right audience for this campy thriller. Although I’m not sure campy is the right word for a poor story played out very dramatically.		2017 Directed by: Jeff Kopas Screenplay by: Jeff Kopas, Doug Taylor Starring: Shenae Grimes-Beech

Wind River: Movie Review

Thoughtful, compelling and distressing.

Wind River starts with the end of a life of a Native American woman. It wouldn’t be inaccurate to say murder mystery, but it does feel like that is a cheap description. This film is a drama, a tightly wound drama at times, while on its way to avenging a murder (either through legal justice or revenge) it gives some thoughtful pause to racial tensions between Native Americans and their white neighbours, and the universality of grief.		2017 Directed by: Taylor Sheridan Screenplay by: Taylor Sheridan Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Jeremy Renner

Lemon: Movie Review

Not a good crazy.

There’s a scene in Lemon where Michael Cera’s character says to Brett Gelman’s character, “I knew you were crazy, but I thought it was a good crazy. I liked it. I liked it a lot; I thought it was fun. Now I know you’re bad crazy; you’re unstable.” The quote also works as a good description of the film. A film that is very clearly crazy, but is it good crazy or bad crazy? Could it be a fun and likable kind of crazy? The answer to the latter question is “no.”		2017 Directed by: Janicza Bravo Screenplay by: Janicza Bravo, Brett Gelman Starring: Brett Gelman, Judy Greer

Landline: Movie Review

Witty, genuine and authentic.

Landline is set in the 90s. The filmmakers definitely make that point clear, but at the same time the references are mostly kept in the background. The film is so much more than outdated fashion and culture jokes. It’s a very enjoyable treatise on love – family love and commitment to yourself and commitment to another you’ve professed to love. It hits that remarkable balance between witty silliness and relatable drama of real life.		2017 Directed by: Gillian Robespierre Screenplay by: Elisabeth Holm, Gillian Robespierre Starring: Jenny Slate, Abby Quinn, Edie Falco, John Turturro and Jay Duplass

The Little Hours: Movie Review

A nun sex comedy goes crazy and sometimes funny.

The Little Hours is a medieval satirical farce, a sex romp through a nunnery and its countryside. The movie looks exactly like it could have been a Monty Python sketch. An idea that probably should have remained just that, but writer and director Jeff Baena and the cast with a background in sitcoms were able to stretch it out with enough laughs to keep the audience’s attention.		2017 Directed by: Jeff Baena Screenplay by: Jeff Baena Starring: Aubrey Plaza, Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Kate Micucci, John C. Reilly

A Ghost Story: Movie Review

Creative exploration of life and loss with a uniquely engaging ghost.

A Ghost Story is an incredibly unique and odd experience and although I have no desire to describe it in overly philosophical and broad terms, describing how it accomplishes what it accomplishes is going to be a challenge. First, writer and director David Lowery has chosen a box-like 1.33:1 aspect ratio with rounded corners. Similar to photographs you’ve seen in your grandparents’ albums. It gives the film a worn-out but familiar atmosphere, like this moving story of a ghost’s life is a family photograph held onto and cherished through the years.		2017 Directed by: David Lowery Screenplay by: David Lowery Starring: Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara

Detroit: Movie Review

Powerful foray into America’s race riots.

Detroit opens with a cartoon detailing a brief synopsis of the racial history of the early to mid 1900s, that leads into Detroit in the 1960s with African Americans milling about on the streets, many out of work, most just going on with their lives despite the unrest, racist cops sputtering their racist ideas, black politicians being the voice for the brewing civil unrest and black cops not wanting to be the voice for every African American in the country. Tensions boil over, race riots ensue.		2017 Directed by: Kathryn Bigelow Screenplay by: Mark Boal Starring: Will Poulter, Algee Smith, John Boyega, Anthony Mackie

The Incredible Jessica James: Movie Review

Not as incredible as she thinks she is.

The Incredible Jessica James is only partly a misnomer. The title Jessica (played by The Daily Show’s Jessica Williams) thinks of herself as incredible. She also likes to use many other adjectives to describe how wonderful she is, but it doesn’t take long before the audience just finds her annoying and incredibly insufferable. Oddly the movie around her is mostly non-descript. An unremarkable comedy-drama mixing together a little quarter-life crisis with a romantic comedy.		2017 Directed by: James C. Strouse Screenplay by: James C. Strouse Starring: Jessica Williams, Chris O'Dowd

Girls Trip: Movie Review

Funny and satisfying film about love, sex, pee, drugs, debauchery and self-acceptance.

The thing about Girls Trip that works is that it cares about its characters, and its audience. It’s a funny film – crass, funny, and sweet; and so effortlessly it has us caring about this foursome of women. None of these character types are new to film, and none are overly complicated, but they all contribute to the film and there’s a genuineness to all four of them which makes the predictability and relationship drama easier to swallow.		2017 Directed by: Malcolm D. Lee Screenplay by: Kenya Barris, Tracy Oliver Starring: Regina Hall, Queen Latifah, Tiffany Haddish and Jada Pinkett Smith

Dunkirk: Movie Review

Visually and aurally immersive experience of war.

Christopher Nolan decided to tell a World War II movie. One thing needs to be made very clear: this is not a story; this is a visually and aurally immersive experience of war. I’m sure many people were thinking Dunkirk would be something along the lines of Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan but updated with today’s impressive technology and added upon with Nolan’s visual flair, but Nolan is striking a very different chord. Dunkirk just wants to get you in your seat and throw a thousand different things at you.		2017 Directed by: Christopher Nolan Screenplay by: Christopher Nolan Starring: Mark Rylance, Fionn Whitehead, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh

To the Bone: Movie Review

Dramedy tied together with empathy.

To the Bone is a somber yet intriguingly uplifting look at the life of a young woman struggling with anorexia nervosa, and this is the extreme side of the disorder, literally on the brink of death. Or looking at that another way, the film is about a young woman dying who is incapable of saving herself. Not an easy watch, but that’s also only in parts because of the film’s use of humour and introduction of supporting characters there is a feeling of optimism scattered throughout.		2017 Directed by: Marti Noxon Screenplay by: Marti Noxon Starring: Lily Collins, Keanu Reeves

The Big Sick: Movie Review

Funny, heartfelt romantic comedy with real characters (literally).

The Big Sick explores several topics including the struggle of artists as they try to make it big, the clash of American and Pakistani cultures, relationships with in-laws, and how near-death experiences can change people and their loved ones, and it does all of this while being framed as a romantic comedy. Which is just one of the reasons it’s a good movie: an accessible and entertaining romantic comedy but approaches it from more interesting, and refreshing, view points.		2017 Directed by: Michael Showalter Screenplay by: Emily V. Gordon, Kumail Nanjiani Starring: Kumail Nanjiani, Zoe Kazan

Handsome Devil: Movie Review

A well-told entertaining and inspiring coming-of-age story for our times.

Handsome Devil is a great film because it effortlessly combines characters both relatable and vital to the well-being of society, important themes of acceptance and self-confidence, and grandiose statements on the nature of growing-up, and put them all in an entertaining story. It brings to mind similar films that have come before it, notably Dead Poets Society and School Ties, but still draws a favourable comparison. This is a film for now, for this generation of school kids, and is good enough to make a difference.		2016 Directed by: John Butler Screenplay by: John Butler Starring: Fionn O'Shea, Nicholas Galitzine, and Andrew Scott

Shimmer Lake: Movie Review

Atmoshphere and comedy hold together backwards crime drama.

Shimmer Lake has a great atmosphere and an intriguing sense that an interesting mystery is unfolding. It starts on Friday only giving hints as to what happened. Then progressing backwards through the week, providing further clues, and a few dead bodies, to show how it all went down. It takes most of that time to produce a coherent crime drama and the comedic casting makes it difficult to strike the right tone; however, by the end, you have watched a funny, interesting crime drama best told in reverse.		2017 Directed by: Oren Uziel Screenplay by: Oren Uziel Starring: Benjamin Walker, Rainn Wilson

Megan Leavey: Movie Review

The bond between woman and dog with emotional strength.

Megan Leavey is a dog movie, but it’s also a war movie. Kate Mara stars as Megan Leavey, a young woman who turned to alcohol following the death of her best friend who died at the hands of drugs and alcohol. She’s very clearly lost in life and has no difficulty admitting it; she blames her parents (mostly her mother) for not letting her cope, but she had to get out of the house and do something, so she joined the Marine Corps.		2017 Directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite Screenplay by: Pamela Gray, Annie Mumolo, and Tim Lovestedt Starring: Kate Mara, Ramon Rodriguez

Baywatch: Movie Review

A fun and entertaining ride into the ridiculousness.

When Mitch (Dwayne Johnson) describes their lifeguard job as saving lives, chasing down criminals, uncovering intricate crime rings and doing everything that the police should be doing, Zac Efron’s character Matt Brody responds “that sounds like an entertaining but really far-fetched TV show.” Considering that’s what Baywatch is, it’s only fitting that that’s also what this movie remake is as well. For the most part, entertaining, but also utterly ridiculous and they play that up big time.		2017 Directed by: Seth Gordon Screenplay by: Mark Swift, Damian Shannon Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Zac Efron

Everything, Everything: Movie Review

Romance carries the movie everything else sinks it.

Everything, Everything wants to be both everything and nothing at the same time, and that doesn’t work. On one hand it looks like it wants to be an edgy, surreal, quirky film - at that it fails. At other times, all it's trying to be is a straight-forward teen romantic drama and it definitely succeeds at that. The story is straight out of The Boy in the Plastic Bubble, source material that is more fantasy than reality, and this adaptation from a young-adult novel isn't any more convincing.		2017 Directed by: Stella Meghie Screenplay by: J. Mills Goodloe Based on the book by Nicola Yoon Starring: Amandla Stenberg, Nick Robinson

Snatched: Movie Review

Implausibility rules raunchy adventure comedy with mother-daughter relationship.

As demonstrated in Trainwreck, Amy Schumer is really good at playing an extreme version of a regular woman – being relatable and funny at the same time. In Snatched, Schumer’s Emily is more incompetent than the average woman, and is really funny when she quits her job right after she’s fired or breaking up with her boyfriend right after he dumps her (speaking of which, Randall Park was great as said boyfriend).		2017 Directed by: Jonathan Levine Screenplay by: Katie Dippold Starring: Amy Schumer and Goldie Hawn

The Lost City of Z: Movie Review

A beautifully imagined film leads the audience through the jungle.

The Lost City of Z is a curiously good movie. As the movie begins it looks a lot like an average historical period drama. Taking awhile to get interesting, it tells a methodical story of British Army Col. Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam) who is tasked by the Royal Geographical Society to survey the border between Brazil and Venezuela in the Amazon jungle. But with each scene and employing everything at their disposal, the filmmakers build it into a mesmerizing picture of survival and mystery.		2016 Directed by: James Gray Screenplay by: James Gray Based on the book by David Grann Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Sienna Miller

The Dinner: Movie Review

A long, slow build to a moral dilemma.

The Dinner is described as a moral dilemma thriller. While "thriller" can seem like a misnomer, when paired with "moral dilemma" it should become clear that the suspense is off-key. The suspense comes in the form of wondering if these characters are ever going to say what they are talking about. The film really is a dinner. Husband and wife, Paul and Claire (Steve Coogan and Laura Linney) are meeting Paul's brother Stan (Richard Gere) and his wife Katelyn (Rebecca Hall) for dinner.		2017 Directed by: Owen Moverman Screenplay by: Owen Moverman Based on the novel by Howard Koch Starring: Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Richard Gere and Rebecca Hall

The Outcasts: Movie Review

The movie about unpopular high school kids on a power trip that we don't need.

The Outcasts is an indie version of a studio movie. It feels like a movie that cares more deeply about following a formula that will guarantee everyone will want to watch as opposed to just crafting a movie that everyone will actually want to watch. The norm these days is filling high school movies with overly-witty teenagers, but this high school is filled with overly-smart and philosophical teenagers who sound like they just memorized a sociology textbook. I hate that unnatural wit in teen movies, but I’m not convinced this is any better.		2017 Directed by: Peter Hutchings Screenplay by: Dominique Ferrari, Suzanne Wrubel Starring: Eden Sher, Victoria Justice

Their Finest: Movie Review

They’re making a movie and it’s brilliant and funny.

The plot of Their Finest works on many levels. On one side it’s a simple comedy-drama-romance of a young woman finding her way in the world, on another side it’s a comedy about making a movie, but it’s also an historical drama taking a look at the effects of war on everybody left at home, and when war hits the home you know, and how war has changed the role of women in society. Above all, it’s a comedy; a very engaging, very funny comedy about ridiculous actors and how to write a screenplay.		2016 Directed by: Lone Scherfig Screenplay by: Gaby Chiappe Based on the novel by Lissa Evans Starring: Gemma Arterton, Sam Claflin and Bill Nighy

Win It All: Movie Review

Gritty and messy, cute and sweet - a journey through a gambler's life.

A duffel bag full of cash and a gambling addict - what could go wrong? There’s something very sweet about combining the makings of dark comedy with a much simpler, more accessible, comedy-drama of a damaged man growing up. Win It All is more about Eddie (Jake Johnson) than it is gambling. Eddie is without-a-doubt a gambling addict and much of the comedy of the film derives from what is obvious to us but Eddie is oblivious about.		2017 Directed by: Joe Swanberg Screenplay by: Jake Johnson, Joe Swanberg Starring: Jake Johnson, Joe Lo Truglio

Speech & Debate: Movie Review

Conquering intolerance with hilarity and amusement.

Stand up and sing, or say something, or just do anything. Speech & Debate does an excellent job in helping its lead characters find their voice. This is about the injustice in high schools: an aspiring journalist being told exactly what to write and not being helped to get into a good school, an aspiring singer denied the lead role in the school musical because she’s too theatrical, outspoken and not pretty enough, and a gay kid not allowed to really be himself because the community is just not progressive enough.		2017 Directed by: Dan Harris Screenplay by: Stephen Karam Based on the play by Stephen Karam Starring: Sarah Steele, Liam James and Austin P. McKenzie

The Most Hated Woman in America: Movie Review

Draws an interesting line between victim and villain.

The Most Hated Woman in America is a good movie, but they made a fundamental error which stops it from being a great movie: they focused on the least interesting aspect. There are actually many interesting and compelling aspects to the movie which should keep most viewers mildly interested throughout at the very least. The story is about American Atheists founder Madalyn Murray O’Hair – the most hated woman in America. Granted, I hadn’t actually heard of her prior to this movie, but given the daily extreme death threats she received every day of her life, her moniker fits.		2017 Directed by: Tommy O'Haver Screenplay by: Tommy O'Haver Starring: Melissa Leo, and Josh Lucas