Share Is An Appropriately Hard Watch From Writer/Director Pippa Bianco

CW: Discussions of sexual assault follow

Under the Silver Lake Is The Poor Man's Inherent Vice

Under the Silver Lake is a movie all about hidden messages, but none of those messages are as hiden as the movie itself, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival last May before a prospective June 2018 release. But then the film reviewed mixed marks at the festival and its distributor, A24, delayed it to December 7, 2018. That day came and went without a trace of Under the Silver Lake. What happened? Was Under the Silver Lake doomed to just sit on a shelf somewhere? Then the film got a brief (read: three day long) theatrical run in April 2019 before dropping unceremoniously on Amazon Streaming last week. It's been a long journey for Under the Silver Lake and for some, this highly unusual motion picture will have been more than worth the wait. For me, it turned out to be a movie that would have been underwhelming even if I had been waiting just five minutes for it to arrive.

Native Son Updates A Classic Novel To The Modern Era With Solid Results

Native Son is an adaptation of a 1940 novel by Richard Wright, and like many seminal works of literature from the mid-20th century, Native Son has had its fair share of adaptations into other mediums of artistic expression. A stage play version of the story was performed only a year after the book was published while two feature films adaptations have been released in this past. This newest cinematic incarnation (which was an A24-financed production released on HBO) of Native Son arrives from screenwriter Suzan-Lori Parks and director Rashid Johnson and brings the story from its original 1930's backdrop to the modern era of 2019.

20th Century Women Brings Weight To Seemingly Inconsequential Moments Of Life

Perspective is a funny thing. We all have different ways of approaching just about anything in this world, all stemming from our own personal experiences, and that includes how we approach looking at the past. For many of the people living in bygone era's we now hold as sacred, there was nothing inherently special about the year they were living in. they were just trying to live out their lives as best they could. The cars we now look at as shining examples of automobile craftsmanship they would just drive around in solely as a means to get from Point A to Point B. The art from these decades we now revere as classics were just the newest movies playing at the multiplex. At the time, what they were going through was just the routine steps of life.

Swiss Army Man Review

In case you haven't heard, Swiss Army Man is quite a strange movie. If the goal of directing duo Daniels (which consists of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) was to ensure that their first feature-length directorial effort had a premise was so singularly odd it was practically guaranteed to slot them some form of fame, it wouldn't be a shocking development. Thankfully, the two individuals are not just here to show off brazen weirdness for weirdness sake (though Lord knows there's plenty of that to be found in Swiss Army Man), instead managing to show off a real sense of identity in their initial foray into the world of longer-form storytelling.

Swiss Army Man Review

In case you haven't heard, Swiss Army Man is quite a strange movie. If the goal of directing duo Daniels (which consists of Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert) was to ensure that their first feature-length directorial effort had a premise was so singularly odd it was practically guaranteed to slot them some form of fame, it wouldn't be a shocking development. Thankfully, the two individuals are not just here to show off brazen weirdness for weirdness sake (though Lord knows there's plenty of that to be found in Swiss Army Man), instead managing to show off a real sense of identity in their initial foray into the world of longer-form storytelling.

Room Review

Note: Normally, my reviews are as spoiler-free as possible. However, for this review, I will be discussing plot points from later portions of the film that could be described as spoilers in the conventional sense, though the plot turns are revealed in the trailer for the film. Don't worry, I don't go into excruciating detail on such elements of the story, but this is one film where going into it cold might be the best option. Just know that I found Room to be great if you don't want to read my super mildly spoilery review.

Room proves to be a far more harrowing experience than the majority of modern day horror films, simply by having its entire premise hinge on a situation that all too tragically occurs in reality. The fact that its entire concept stems from a more pragmatic source already adds a disturbing undercurrent to its diegesis. Such a connotation would likely bend and crack underneath the weight of poorly developed characters, but luckily, Room goes through great and commendable strides to ensure that its two lead characters are the most engrossing parts of the entire production.

Michael Fassbender Goes West In Trailer For Slow West

Michael Fassbender has been on a roll for pretty much his entire career. Whether it's been a great complicated villain in the X-Men movies, having a terrifying presence in 12 Years A Slave or being the star of one of last year's most underrated movies, Frank, the guy is usually quite compelling in his acting work. His next venture is Slow West, a film that debuted at Sundance and one A24 (with help from DirectTV, which does movies now too I guess?) is distributing. Check out the trailer for the movie below!

Chris Kyle Should Rule Over Time-Travelers And Kevin Costner (Box Office Predictions)

Another weekend, another opportunity for American Sniper to assume victory over your local movie theater. With February due to deliver several potentially huge hits, this last weekend of January seems to be the "calm before the storm", if you will, before some larger titles arrive. This means movie studios are not really releasing anything notable this weekend, but let's get to analyzing it anyway, shall we?

A Most Violent Year Review

Year And Loathing In New York City

You can be easily forgiven for not knowing the name of movie studio A24 right off the bat. Disney, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox...who doesn't know the names, logo or theme music for those studios? But A24, despite the smaller box office it's films generate, has generated quite a reputation. They distribute very unorthodox cinematic fare (like Under The Skin or Spring Breakers) usually to glowing reviews. A Most Violent Year is the newest distribution effort from A24, a film that counts as the third directional effort of JC Chandor, who previously helmed All Is Lost and Margin Call.

 

Tusk Review

I Am The Walrus Goo-Goo-Ka-AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!!

Horror movies are in a rut. Scratch that, they've been in a rut for ages. For a time, the success of Saw led to most of the genre being inhabited by film solely focused on torture porn. Then Paranormal Activity became a phenomenon and everything had to be found-footage. The influence of The Conjuring is already being felt, with a large amount of features being centered around on spooky homes, families, strange noises and jump scares.

Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac Are In Trouble In Trailer For A Most Violent Year

Jessica Chastain is one of my favorite actors working right now, with her work in the likes of Zero Dark Thirty being simply astounding. And Isaac was already pretty great in his role in Drive, but as the lead in Inside Llewyn Davis, he was phenomenal. Now, the two have been paired toegtehr for the forthcoming drama A Most Violent Year. A24 is releasing this film at the very end of 2014, on New Year's Eve to be precise, and now they've unveiled a trailer you can catch below.

Box Office Predictions: It's Dylan O'Brien Vs. Liam Neeson At Movie Theaters This Weekend

Finally! A bunch of interesting new releases with a great chance for success open up this weekend. Three (probably four) new wide releases enter the fray, and they just might make quite the impression. Look for this weekend to not only have several decently performing titles, but to also be up over the same frame last year by a huge amount.

Box Office Analysis: Small But Mighty! The Status of Indie Movies This Summer

Jon Favreaus film Chef has been one of the many indie movies this summer
to drum up big business

 It's actually been a pretty great summer for movies. 22 Jump Street was hilarious, Godzilla lived up to expectations and them some, and Dawn of The Planet of The Apes somehow improved on its predecessor to create one of the best movies in recent years. There's also been several movies debuting in art house cinemas that the major moviegoing public might not be aware of, but definitely deserve some recognition for their box office achievements. Without further ado, let's take a look at how the numerous smaller releases have done so far this summer.