Radioactive is an Overstuffed Movie About a Scientific Trailblazer

Well, I suppose it's high-time Marie Curie got the movie biopic treatment. After all, Andrew Jackson, Dick Cheney and Christopher Columbus have all gotten their own biopics, why shouldn't Curie? Written by Jack Thorne and directed Marjane Satrapi, Radioactive chronicles the life of Curie beginning with her days as a scientist struggling to get any respect from her male colleagues. Eventually, she partners up with eventual lover Pierre Curie (Sam Riley) and the duo begin to make great breakthroughs in fields related to radium and polonium. Further struggles in Marie Curie's life emerge from how she fails to garner any credit for her scientific innovations as well as her being demonized for carrying on an affair with a married man.

Greyhound Lends A Human Touch To Wartime at Sea

Most war movies tend to star very distinctive protagonists. A mythic general. The soldiers who planted the flag at Iwo Jima. A soldier who refused to fight. Those kinds of people. Perhaps the most unique quality of Greyhound is that its lead character is intentionally framed as someone who isn't all that remarkable. Commander Ernest Krause (Tom Hanks) isn't really a notable person. His presence in this war isn't in and of itself a massive achievement. He's just a guy who has got a lady back home and would very much like to survive his time serving in World War II. Putting this guy front and center in a war movie see's Greyhound positing the idea that wars are not fought by legends, they're fought by everyday human beings.

Immortality Leads To Solid Action Filmmaking in The Old Guard

The Old Guard begins with death. The lifeless and bullet-hole ridden face of Andy (Charlize Theron) lying on the ground. Voice-over narration from Andy indicates that this isn't the first time she's been confronted with death. In fact, it's something she's so familiar with that she's become sick of it. Death would become a familiar face to you too if, like Andy, you were an immortal warrior. Andy and her companions Booker (Matthias Schoenaerts), Joe (Marwan Kenzari) and Nicky (Luca Marinelli) are all individuals with extraordinary healing powers that have lived for centuries. They've fought in all the great historical wars in an effort to make the world a better place.

Take Some Time To Chill With Palm Springs

It's always tough coming months late to films that make a big splash on the film festival circuit. Features debuting at Sundance, Cannes, or any other big festival can generate a lot of hype at their premieres. But when they finally get released to the public months later, some films can't live up to their now-mythic stature. What was a surprise success at Tribeca is now an underwhelming experience in general release. Luckily, Palm Springs, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival to rave reviews six months ago, is not an example of that phenomenon. Put simply, Palm Springs is an utterly delightful comedy whether you're watching it at a film festival or on your living room couch!

Yep, Hamilton Still Rules

I mean, what else is there to say about Hamilton?

The Broadway musical sensation started playing for the general public in August 2015. However, it already feels like it's always been here. A once-forgotten founding father will not forever be associated with one of the most popular musicals of all-time. The various members of the original cast of Hamilton have all gone on to have thriving acting careers. Meanwhile, in my world of online writing, essays criticizing, praising, or doing mixed responses to Hamilton have managed to boost the careers of numerous writers. Hamilton is such a rich, how could it not spawn equally insightful pieces of writing?