Random Musings: “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness”

The increasingly complicated Marvel Cinematic Universe ushered in an important new entry this week with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and I didn’t have a chance to cover everything I wanted to in my review. Here are some other thoughts I had about the film that didn’t quite fit into the review — and keep in mind, there are major spoilers ahead.

Things Get Out of Hand in “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” (Spoiler-Free Review)

No Marvel film, aside from perhaps Avengers: Endgame, has ever had as much pressure as Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has on its shoulders. It must follow up the satisfying multiversal madness from last year’s Spider-Man: No Way Home, in addition to living up to fan expectations and delivering the mass amounts of cameos that enthusiasts are demanding.

Image courtesy of Disney

With all that weight, it would be a very difficult task to completely satisfy everybody — and I genuinely believe there’s an incredible movie buried in what we eventually got. What we did get, though, is far from terrible. In fact, I’m close to loving it, and a bit more careful consideration might get me there.

“Barry” Soars Even Higher in Season 3 (Spoiler-Free Review)

It's been three years since Barry was last on the air. Back then, the world was pandemic-free, HBO Max didn’t exist, and Bill Hader was only a two-time Emmy winner. Obviously, there’s been quite a shift in circumstances since 2019, but at least one thing remains the same: Barry is still one of the best shows on television, and the third season is a perfect reminder of that.

Image courtesy of HBO

Set in a shorter span than real-time, Season Three deals directly with the consequences and fallout of its predecessor, just as any good serialized show should. All of our favorite (and least favorite) characters are taking big steps in their lives, and I was absolutely thrilled to return to this entertaining world of hilariously heightened reality.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 24: The Northman, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent

Chris Bakker is Chris back-er (I’m sorry) on the podcast to discuss The Northman and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, two massively bombastic films that definitely aren’t getting enough box office attention. He and Rowan also preview some upcoming blockbusters and talk about what they’ve been watching lately. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

And, if you’ve seen The Northman, here’s a bonus episode where we discuss it in detail!

An Interview with “Operation Mincemeat” Director John Madden

I had the opportunity to speak with director Oscar-nominated director John Madden about his new film Operation Mincemeat, which depicts a deception effort to keep the plans for the Allied invasion of Sicily secret during the Second World War.

Image courtesy of Netflix

Madden is an English director best known for directing the Academy Award-winning Shakespeare in Love, as well as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel. He was a fascinating interview, and I loved hearing his insight about the film’s historical subjects and the streamlined, dynamic nature of the dramatization.

An Interview with “Crush” Director Sammi Cohen

I had the opportunity to speak with director Sammi Cohen about her new film Crush, which features an aspiring young artist (played by Rowan Blanchard), who is forced to join her high school track team, later discovering what real love feels like when she finds herself falling for an unexpected teammate.

Image courtesy of Hulu

Cohen is an American director best known for directing thirty-four episodes of CollegeHumor originals and multiple Dropout original series. She was an excellent interview, and her personal connection to the film’s themes and messages, including the politics of coming out and the importance of art and free speech, make for a wonderful discussion.

Awe-Inspiring “The Northman” is a Viking Epic for the Ages (Review)

I’ve found that films tend to be a better experience when the director actually gets to make the movie they want to make, as opposed to a mess of a feature hastily glued together with reshoots and studio interference. Hollywood politics are tricky, but I think it’s safe to say we would be getting a lot more originality if every director’s innovation was maintained to their preference.

Image courtesy of Focus Features

One director who’s had more success than not with preserving his artistic vision — with the three features he’s produced thus far — is Robert Eggers, writer/director of 2015’s The Witch, 2019’s The Lighthouse, and now The Northman, a Viking-centric story emblematic of Hamlet which allows Eggers to dive into the endlessly deep well of Norse mythology. Alexander Skarsgård stars as Amleth (the name being one of the more obvious parallels with its Shakespearean influence), a Viking prince whose young life is uprooted when his uncle Fjölnir (Dracula’s Claes Bang) kills his father Aurvandill War-Raven (Dead Poets Society’s Ethan Hawke) and takes the throne, kidnapping Amleth’s mother (Being the Ricardos' Nicole Kidman) in the process. Amleth manages to escape, armed only with a mantra anyone who saw a trailer for this movie in theaters can likely quote verbatim: “I will avenge you, father! I will save you, mother! I will kill you, Fjölnir!”

Two decades later, as Amleth has grown into the much beefier Skarsgård, he finally begins to make progress on his promise. The traditional hero’s journey is punctuated with vivid Green Knight-esque side quests and increasingly violent distractions. Woe befalls anyone who crosses his path, whether they be undead warriors or egotistic cousins, and the adventure only gets better as it nears its end.

“The Baby” Presents a Twisted View of Motherhood (Review)

Image courtesy of HBO

When someone refers to an infant as a “little monster,” they never mean it literally. The Baby, a limited series co-produced by HBO and Sky Atlantic, takes a concept so innocent and corrupts it into a violent, disturbing and oddly hilarious fantasy about motherhood.

Buckle Up for “The Flight Attendant” Season Two (Review)

Back in 2020, HBO Max still had a long way to go in proving themselves to be a worthwhile streamer. On top of all their shared content with HBO and Warner Bros, they introduced numerous original series and films, beginning the journey in becoming the best streaming service out there.

Image courtesy of HBO Max

One of its premier series was The Flight Attendant, a comedy/thriller starring Kaley Cuoco as Cassie Bowden, the titular flight attendant who finds herself involved in an international conspiracy scandal. Just in case it didn’t get picked up for a second season, the first tied a neat bow on the story and our main characters, ensuring that it could work well as a limited series. It also happened to be one of the most engaging series I’d ever seen, proving that — once again — HBO (Max) doesn’t miss, and has always been reliably consistent in producing excellent content.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 22: Ambulance, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore

 

Alice is back for some very important discussions on AmbuLAnce, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. Guess which won Alice loved! Plus, previews of upcoming releases and what they’ve been watching lately.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

“The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” is the Ultimate Nicolas Cage Flick (Review)

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent kicks off with a couple watching a Nic Cage movie in a posh, decked-out bedroom. This isn’t out of the ordinary in any particular way — Nicolas Cage is a beloved actor, if a confounding one — but when it’s the beginning of a film hinged on the audience’s love of that very same actor, it also serves as the introduction of a meta element that will never stop telling you exactly what kind of movie you’re watching.

Image courtesy of Lionsgate

A Cage-tastic opening can only be followed by…you guessed it…more Nicolas Cage! Cage plays a fictionalized version of himself in Massive Talent, fighting for relevance and ready to quit acting. While I highly doubt that would ever be an option in real life, Massive Talent’s Nic Cage is preparing to take that step when he begrudgingly accepts an offer to attend the birthday part of Javi Gutierrez (The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal). As you might expect — especially if you’re seen the trailer — things very quickly get out of hand, and soon Nic finds himself fighting both for his family and himself.

Random Musings: “Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore”

The not-so-fantastic Harry Potter spinoff series welcomed a new entry this week with The Secrets of Dumbledore, and I didn’t have a chance to cover everything I wanted to in my review. Here are some other thoughts I had about the film that didn’t quite fit into the review — and keep in mind, there are major spoilers ahead.

“Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore” is a Step in the Right Direction (Review)

After the disappointment of 2018’s Crimes of Grindelwald, the Wizarding World has returned with a new Fantastic Beasts sequel that has the potential to either save or destroy the franchise. With some cast changes (and some bizarre mainstays), The Secrets of Dumbledore could be a glimmer of hope for fans of the series…or it could be the final nail in the coffin.

Image courtesy of Warner Bros

Despite being confused about its own timeline — a character claims that the first film took place a year before, when that’s almost certainly not the case — we apparently pick up with our favorite characters in 1932, as the followers of dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald (played here by Hannibal’s Mads Mikkelsen, replacing Johnny Depp) are growing in number, and a war in both the magical and non-magical worlds becomes more an eventuality than a possibility. Just as with its predecessor, there are far too many characters to follow, but at least The Secrets of Dumbledore has a concrete idea of how to use each one and make their parts important in the grand scheme of its story.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 21: The Harry Potter Series

In preparation for The Secrets of Dumbledore, Foster returns to the podcast to properly discuss the entire Harry Potter franchise, from 2001 to 2018, and imagine (somewhat nihilistically) what might come in the future.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

“Sonic the Hedgehog” Returns in a Pleasant but Familiar Sequel (Review)

A sequel to Sonic the Hedgehog was inevitable. Because of pandemic shutdowns, it finished third in the domestic box office at the year’s end, placing sixth worldwide. My special connection comes in the fact that it was the last film I saw theatrically until May 2021, and for that reason Sonic the Hedgehog will always hold a special place in my heart.

That said, I’ve never been one for video games, and so there was a limit to my anticipation for the sequel. It came more from a place of traditional expectations — I enjoyed the first film (perhaps more than it deserved), and its follow-up looked like a lot of fun. Nothing more, nothing less.

Happily, Sonic 2 measured up almost exactly to those expectations. Nearly every named character returns from the first film, and in that way Sonic 2 is perhaps one of the best direct continuations when it comes to children’s films. There’s a surprising amount of carryover from its predecessor, especially when it comes to character dynamics, leading to some genuinely hilarious moments.

“Starstruck” Continues its Streak in Season Two (Review)

Starstruck is an interesting beast. With each season running just six short episodes in length, a lot of ground and character work needs to be covered in an impossibly short time. The debut season, released on HBO Max last summer, essentially did it perfectly, and so Season Two has a lot to live up to.

Creator and writer Rose Matafeo once again stars as Jessie, a New Zealander who, in the first season, had a one-night stand with a man who turned out to be movie star Tom Kapoor (Nikesh Patel). After subsequent fits of passion and subsequent break-ups, Jessie and Tom are back together, with her completely abandoning her plans to permanently relocate home to New Zealand in order to be with him. In a Graduate-style sequence, the two sit together at the back of a bus without a care in the world about what their lives will be like in the days, weeks and months afterward.

Season Two covers those days, weeks and months. After an idealized and romantic ending, the real world rears its ugly head, and Jessie and Tom have to deal with the fallout of her impulsive decision, the return of her ex-boyfriend and the realities of living together. Their worlds once again clash, and they (along with the audience) begin to once again ask the question of “why are these people together?”

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 20: Morbius, The Lost City, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Apollo 10½, The Bubble

This is a week of shit, but also a week of excellence! Shane Conto returns to the podcast to discuss the morbid Morbius, the dashing Lost City, the spectacular Everything Everywhere All At Once, the charming Apollo 10½, and the beautiful failure The Bubble. Plus, their top five standalone sequels or spin-offs, and what they’ve been watching lately. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

Even a Taste of “Morbius” is Bitter (Review)

Morbius is the most expensive April Fool’s joke of all time.

Set in one of the now-infinite Marvel film universes, Morbius is an ill-fated venture of a film that gives Jared Leto a chance to redeem himself and his Oscar-winning acting abilities. It’s not even able to accomplish that, though, and somehow becomes one of the worst superhero movies I’ve ever seen — in a world where Thor: The Dark World and Dark Phoenix exist!

Leto plays the titular Dr. Michael Morbius, a man who’s suffered from a rare blood disease his entire life. His experiments, in hopes of finding a cure, leave him mutated and with an unquenchable thirst for human blood, with the FBI on his tail and his surrogate brother (Doctor Who’s Matt Smith) idolizing what Morbius has become.

Travel Back to the ’60s in Linklater’s Magical “Apollo 10½” (Review)

I wasn’t alive during the moon landing, but sometimes I wish I had been. To be a part of history, even in an observatory fashion, must have been remarkable — but let’s be honest: what kid wouldn’t have wanted to do even more?

Enter Stanley, played by Milo Coy, the protagonist of Richard Linklater’s new film Apollo 10½. At the very start, Stanley is lifted from the playground and recruited directly by the United States government for a top-secret mission. They’ve accidentally built the initial lunar module too small, and they need someone to take it to the moon as a test run for the upcoming Apollo 11 launch.

“Everyone was doing something for NASA, one way or another.”

Image courtesy of Netflix

But that’s not what Apollo 10½ is really about. Through Stanley and his family, we get a powerful sense of the culture in the late 1960s. The Space Race was going strong, hatred and fear were high for the Soviet Union, and there was a hopeful change in the social consciousness brewing that indicated everything would be shifting sooner rather than later. This is how my father grew up, and based on what I know, I believe this is the best representation of the time period that’s ever been put to screen. It makes perfect sense that it’s partially based on Linklater’s own upbringing, seeing as he would have been eight years old at the time of the moon landing.

Marvel’s “Moon Knight” Doesn’t Pull Punches, and is Better for It (Review)

This review does not contain spoilers for Moon Knight. However, if you wish to go in completely blind, it’s probably best to come back to this page tomorrow.

It’s a fun exercise in vagueness to review a Marvel series that no one else has seen yet, but I must say that you’re in for a wild ride with Moon Knight.

I’ve heard this said, pre-release, about every Marvel Cinematic Universe film and series, but Moon Knight is unlike anything they’ve ever done before. A six-episode standalone miniseries that vastly limits its connections to the overall MCU is something not often seen, especially with the size of the ever-expanding universe of stories. Its autonomy isn’t the only thing that makes it great, but it’s an excellent start, and eliminates any distracting fan service and lets us focus on the characters we should be familiarizing ourselves with.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 19: The 94th Academy Awards

Heath Lynch rejoins Rowan to discuss one of the more interesting Academy Awards in recent years -- but it’s really all because of one moment. Of course, they’ll also discuss the winners, what should have won, if the hosting strategy was successful, and what’s up next.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

“Human Resources” is a Workplace Comedy with a Big Mouth (Review)

Google has decided that the genre of Netflix’s Human Resources, a spinoff of their hit animated series Big Mouth, is “ribaldry.” They don’t label it as a sitcom (which it absolutely is), and there’s no hint of it being an adult animated series. Their use of “ribaldry” is accurate, though — like its parent series, Human Resources is a foul-mouthed and indelicate series that explores the complexities of human emotions through their physical representations.

Image courtesy of Netflix

A spiritual successor to Big Mouth Season 5’s shattering of the fourth wall, Human Resources brings back many characters from Big Mouth, most of them monsters that influence and symbolize the feelings of the humans they’re assigned to. Human Resources isn’t so much about the humans, as its parent series is, but instead covers the interpersonal lives and relationships between the monsters, structuring itself as a more straightforward sitcom.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 18: Turning Red, The Adam Project, X, Deep Water

The metaphors in Turning Red are not exactly subtle, but does that bring down the film? Rowan discusses this with our new guest Robert Bouffard, co-editor of SiftPop! Together, they discuss Turning Red, Netflix sci-fi action The Adam Project, A24 horror X and Deep Water, a film that has somehow not aged well despite only just now being released. Plus, their top five A24 films, and what they’ve been watching lately.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

“The Lost City” is Better Left Buried (Review)

Of the wonderfully ridiculous films to premiere at South by Southwest this year, I had the least hope for The Lost City. A comedy with extreme Romancing the Stone undertones, The Lost City begins as Loretta Sage (Sandra Bullock), a romance author who has descended into a spiral of depression ever since the passing of her husband, embarks on a tour for her latest novel — one that she desperately hopes will be the last. Things, of course, don’t go as planned, and Loretta is kidnapped by billionaire Abigail Fairfax (Daniel Radcliffe) who believes that the treasures Loretta writes about are real…and she’s the key to finding them.

Channing Tatum plays Loretta’s cover model Alan Caprison, who goes to rescue our main character after she goes missing. Alan may believe that he is actually Dash, the fictional hero around which Loretta’s book series is based. I think the film may have worked better, beyond its surface level, if it played into that a little bit more and made Tatum more than just a relatively dimwitted romantic lead. We know he has the acting chops, and we’ve seen him utilized well before, so unfortunately I found myself underwhelmed by his presence in The Lost City.

A Selection of South by Southwest Film Festival 2022 Reviews

I was once again given the chance to attend a virtual film festival this past week as South by Southwest (commonly styled as SXSW) held its latest film, music and technology convention in-person in Austin, Texas, with a virtual component so those who were unable to make it were still able to publicize the festival and its films.

I covered the festival for The Invention of Dreams, so I will not be able to print my full reviews here but I will instead redirect you to my reviews on the aforementioned site. Many of the films, including the headliners (Everything Everywhere All At Once, The Lost City, X, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and more) were only shown in-person, but those will all be reviewed in some respect on The Lenient Critic in the future. I was able to see five film premieres, with a wide range of subjects, stars and genres. Without further ado, here are a selection of my reviews from the 2022 SXSW Film Festival.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 17: The Batman SPOILER Discussion

The Batman is the first superhero film of 2022, but it’s been a long time coming, so can it live up to expectations? Rowan assembles a team to give you the answer. Returning guests Alice Ginevra-Micheli and Heath Lynch are joined by Shane Conto, the Wasteland Reviewer, as they break down DC’s monster-sized, three-hour Batman experiment, discussing subtle themes, the cast, the bombastic score and much more. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

“Turning Red” Begins a New Era of Pixar (Review)

I always appreciate when animated movies are willing to get a little more adult, while still staying true to their values and producing films that can be enjoyed by everyone. Cars was the first movie I ever saw in a theater, and now thousands of young Pixar fans, myself included, have passed into adulthood. I have been able to understand a lot of the adult-oriented jokes for years, but 2022, sixteen years since Cars, is the first time I’ve seen an entire Pixar movie that centers itself around a theme that may not be entirely kid-friendly — and I am absolutely here for it.

Image courtesy of Pixar

From the director of Bao, one of the best Pixar shorts ever made, comes Turning Red. Set in 2002, the film follows Mei (voiced by Rosalie Chiang), a young Chinese-Canadian girl whose puberty takes on an interesting form — whenever she experiences strong emotions, including excitement or anger, she transforms into a giant red panda.

The metaphor isn’t exactly subtle — “my panda, my choice!” — but it doesn’t need to be. Like any good Pixar coming-of-age film, it’s brutally honest (in a PG way) about children growing up. They’re going to be mean to their parents, they’re going to drift away from what they used to enjoy doing, and they’re going to be awkward as hell — in fact, I’m pretty sure a lot of the excuses that Mei gives to her parents are word-for-word what I’ve said to mine. As someone who’s still not very far from that point in my life, I appreciated the sincerity of its portrayal here.

“The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey” Examines its Subject Matter with Care and Respect (Review)

There's something perversely odd about Samuel L. Jackson playing a character much closer to his age, as opposed to effortlessly pulling off the look and feel of a man thirty years his junior. Actually, we get both from Jackson in Apple TV+’s new series The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, based on a novel by Walter Mosley. Jackson plays (you guessed it!) Ptolemy Grey, an aging man with crippling Alzheimer’s, in the present of 2021 and in some flashbacks — and if there’s anyone who makes 93 look stunning, it’s him. In a flashback, all they have to do is slap a mustache on his face, and he can play 46 just as easily.

Image courtesy of Apple TV+

But I digress. Last Days centers around Ptolemy, picking up shortly before a tragic event forces him to not only take on a new caretaker, but also leads him to be a trial patient for a new drug that gives him the lucidity he’s been lacking for many years. With the limited time he has with a clear head, Ptolemy decides to track down the man responsible for his nephew’s death, all while dealing with exploitative family members, unwelcome childhood memories, and perhaps even a new love interest.

There’s a certain universal emotional resonance in The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey that I thought was absolutely fascinating — the fear of Ptolemy’s condition, losing most of your treasured memories and knowledge, is something many have at some point in their lives. And while Last Days is optimistic about the future of treatments for neurodegenerative diseases, I couldn’t shake the feeling of impermanence — but perhaps that’s just me projecting and pondering my own mortality, as I’m wont to do.

The Lenient Critic Podcast Episode 16: Cyrano, The Batman, Fresh

Image courtesy of Hulu

Is Fresh as good as its title promises? Rowan thinks so, and so does our NEW GUEST this week, Ian Whittington (Behind the Sins, Captain’s Pod). Together, they discuss Fresh, Cyrano, and the coveted new superhero epic The Batman, which everybody (except one particular podcast guest) seems to absolutely love. Plus, their top five loosely-defined superhero solo movies, and what they’ve been watching lately. 

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast and give us a rating on Apple Podcasts!

Future-Focused “The Adam Project” is a Love Letter to the Past and the Present (Review)

With Netflix, it’s hard to know what exactly qualifies as a “hit,” but what’s undeniable is that Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy are proving to be quite the dynamic duo. Free Guy was a bona fide hit, and if they can follow that up with another hit, they can do anything!

Image courtesy of Netflix

That follow-up is The Adam Project, a science-fiction comedy all about daddy issues. Well, sort of. In 2022, Adam Reed (Walker Scobell), a twelve-year-old constantly bullied in school, is still dealing with the death of his father only a year before. Ryan Reynolds plays Adam’s future self, who arrives from 2050 with a mission that could either save or destroy the fabric of reality.

The casting is picture perfect. Scobell is a miniature Ryan Reynolds, which makes scenes between the two especially fun. Sure, Reynolds is playing into type, but that’s far from a bad thing — like most of his movies, he is able to make The Adam Project effortlessly charming, and I don’t see this movie working quite as well with anyone else in the lead. Mark Ruffalo plays Adam’s father Louis in a more sizable role than you might expect, and the interactions he has with other characters are a true delight. Jennifer Garner plays Adam’s mother, and Zoe Saldaña is Laura, his girlfriend from the future. Casting name actors can be a crutch, but for The Adam Project it’s a strength.

In “Studio 666,” Blood and Gore Make a Memorable Foo Fighters Experience (Review)

A few weeks ago, if you asked me to name one Foo Fighters song, I wouldn’t have been able to — in fact, I still can’t. But the release of Studio 666, the first non-documentary film to feature the Foo Fighters, certainly increased my appreciation for them. There’s just no way watching a band have a good time while making a ridiculous horror/comedy can’t be a ton of fun.

To make their tenth album, the Foo Fighters (all playing themselves) move into an abandoned mansion, the site of a grisly massacre almost thirty years beforehand. Supernatural forces begin to interfere with the album, and the band begins to suspect that one of them might be possessed.

It’s an inspired, if very surface-level story, essentially leaving the door open to any silly (and some genuinely terrifying) scares. For a small-budgeted film, it looks absolutely fantastic, and Studio 666 makes full use of both its location and cast (which includes Whitney Cummings, Will Forte, Jeff Garlin and Leslie Grossman, alongside a host of weird and unpredictable cameos).

“Winning Time” Shows us the Rise of the Lakers Dynasty Through Adam McKay’s Eyes (Review)

I’ve never been much of a sports person, so the world of basketball is almost completely foreign to me. I can explain some of the basic rules, and I could name a few players. It just so happens that most of them have roles in HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

Image courtesy of HBO

Taking place in the 1980s, Winning Time is an unfiltered dramatization of the highs and lows of what I am told is an absolutely legendary basketball lineup. Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Norm Nixon and Larry Bird (some of the only players I could name off the top of my head) are all a part of this story, with the first episode heavily featuring Magic’s decision to go pro and his heavy negotiation to join the Lakers.

Outback Western “The Tourist” is the Perfect Jamie Dornan Vehicle (Review)

There will be a certain point where we’re going to have to stop identifying some actors purely by one of their past projects which may not have been received very well. It doesn’t typify their strong suits, and it’s not fair to their future careers. Just like Robert Pattinson has proved everyone wrong with his Batman turn, Jamie Dornan is no longer the “Fifty Shades guy,” and has continued his Belfast and Barb and Star streak with the internationally co-produced miniseries The Tourist.

Image courtesy of the BBC

Dornan plays an Irish man who, while visiting Australia, is run off the road by a pickup truck seemingly without reason. When he wakes up in the hospital, he’s unable to remember his own name or any details about his life. What becomes abundantly clear is that someone is after The Man, trying to get revenge for something The Man did in his mysterious past.

Modern Horror Continues to Stay “Fresh” (Review)

There are certain movies that are best when you go in completely blind. I managed to do that with classics like Get Out and The Godfather, and they were all the better because of it. Fresh, which premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, is one such film. Immediately beforehand, it was picked up for distribution by Hulu, and I’m glad we’re all able to see it so soon. This isn’t one that deserves to be shuttered and stored for years before an eventual release.

Image courtesy of Hulu

Our lead is Noa (Normal People’s Daisy Edgar-Jones), who’s trying to make it on the dating scene. A supermarket meet-cute leads her to start seeing Steve (Captain America’s Sebastian Stan), who seems almost too good to be true. The relationship doesn’t prove to be what she’s looking for, though…in quite a dangerous way. I’ll just leave it there.

First of all, the two central performers should be enough to sell this movie on their own. Edgar-Jones and Stan are incredible, and seeing as we spend nearly eighty percent of the movie’s runtime with them, they’re appropriately charismatic and both dominate the screen non-aggressively. It helps that they’re immaculately shot in brilliantly edited and extremely purposeful scenes — everyone, in front of and behind the camera, gave it their all, and it definitely shows.

“The Batman” Brings the Bat Back to the Basics (Review)

The Batman. Now there’s a powerful title if I’ve ever seen one. Just like its story, it brings the Caped Crusader back to his detective roots, with a clean slate that doesn’t have to live up to the standards of an already-established cinematic universe. Directed by the impeccable Matt Reeves, The Batman reinvents the DC film universe once again, bringing in an entirely new cast and managing to differentiate itself by telling a story completely its own.

Bruce Wayne (Robert Pattinson) isn’t doing much for Gotham City, but his alter ego The Batman is, fighting crime by night and day alongside police officer Jim Gordon (Jeffrey Wright). A web of political conspiracy, reaching from the lowest depths to the highest offices of Gotham, comes to light when the Riddler (Paul Dano) begins to cause chaos by targeting government officials.

What separates The Batman from the rest is the fact that it doesn’t feel the need to be a straight action movie all through its nearly three-hour runtime. Batman stands still and untangles the mystery more than he beats up bad guys (though there’s plenty of that), but The Batman isn’t afraid of taking its time establishing tension and hinting at future twists, which is, honestly, why it’s three hours long. But that’s less of a problem and more of an attribute — I absolutely loved its commitment to setting the tone and making sure all of the puzzle pieces are put into place before the story really gets going.