Uncut Gems is unlike any movie I have ever seen or any that I will potentially see in the future — and now I know why and how it has been so divisive among filmgoers, yet so revered among critics and fellow movie snobs. Watching Uncut Gems is like having teeth pulled (or worse) for over two hours.
Review: Missing Link (2019)
Animation studio Laika has produced fairly solid, albeit at times middling, films as of late, including the Boxtrolls. Like The Boxtrolls and other Laika stop motion animated films, Missing Link has a lot of heart, plenty of humor, and enough originality to be interesting and entertaining.
Review: I Lost My Body (2019)
I really wasn’t sure what to expect when I watched the French-made, Netlix-released animated film (that is meant for a more mature audience) I Lost My Body (i.e. J’ai Perdu Mon Corps). I’d heard such positive reviews that I decided to make it my first watch of 2020, and I was absolutely enthralled and entranced.
Review: Wild Rose (2019)
I was expecting Tom Harper’s Wild Rose, starring Irish breakout actress Jessie Buckley, to be a A Star is Born copycat. And, while the film certainly has elements of similar rising music star films, it is also vastly different than that. This is mostly due to the commitment and talent of Buckley, who has been rightly praised for her work in this film (she was also great in Chernobyl and in a small role in the Judy Garland biopic, Judy).
Review: Midsommar (2019)
The main reason I wanted to watch this film, which hadn’t piqued my interest upon its theatrical release, is because I loved Florence Pugh’s work in Little Women, and wanted to see another of her 2019 performances that critics had been praising. Pugh certainly did not disappoint in director Ari Aster’s follow-up to 2018’s excellent supernatural flick, Hereditary.
Review: Little Women (2019)
It is difficult for me to compare Greta Gerwig’s adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel to others, seeing as I have not seen any of them in their entirety. And, I have not read the book, so my review of the Saoirse Ronan-starring adaptation is based purely on Gerwig’s film, which I absolutely loved.
Review: Captain Marvel (2019)
I know I’m in the minority, but I loved Marvel’s first female-fronted superhero flick. I can’t understand the issues that others have had with it, especially the casting of Brie Larson as Carol Danvers aka Vers aka Captain Marvel.
Review: Knives Out (2019)
From the moment I viewed the trailer for Knives Out, I knew it would be a blast; with such a pedigreed cast including Halloween star Jamie Lee Curtis, former Captain of America Chris Evans, and James Bond himself, Daniel Craig, how could it NOT be gloriously fun? Luckily, my instincts and hopes were correct. Not only is director-writer Rian Johnson’s who-dun-it hilarious and entertaining, it’s also inventive, clever, and at times poignant.
Review: A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (2019)
Fred Rogers is perhaps the most likable figure in recent history, renowned for his ability to speak to children and adults alike about difficult subjects; he was, truly, a real-life hero. Director Marielle Heller (Can You Ever Forgive Me?) has brought us another based-on-a-true-story film, but what perhaps makes Heller’s Mr. Rogers movie so unique is that it isn’t wholly about Mr. Rogers himself; it’s more about the impact he had on so many people, including a disgruntled journalist played by Matthew Rhys (in an underrated performance).
Review: Booksmart (2019)
Some people have been calling Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut the “female Superbad,” which is ironic because co-lead Beanie Feldstein is the younger sister of Superbad star Jonah Hill, but Booksmart is so much more than that. Wilde and her team of screenwriters have crafted a hilarious, poignant, and wholly unique coming-of-age film that is primarily focused on the relationship between two female soon-to-be high school graduates.