It’s messy and more than a little overlong, but Disney’s latest Star Wars prequel manages to coast by on just enough charm to work. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In Disney’s grand experiment to give us one or two new Star Wars movies every year until we die or the universe expires from ... Solo: A Star Wars Story Review: Never Tell Disney the Odds
The Merc With a Mouth is back in a sequel with more slicing, dicing and R-rated quips – but it’s only a slight improvement over the sophomoric original. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood While Marvel Studios seems to have solved the equation for how to make great (or, at their worst, pretty passable) ... Deadpool 2 Review: Ryan Reynolds Returns for More Quips, Gore and Gags
CNN Films’ documentary about the feminist pioneer (and progressive meme) is a straightforward but comprehensive overview of the iconic lawmaker’s life of women’s rights activism. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood At eighty-four years of age, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg shows no signs of stopping or slowing down: she works out with ... RBG Review: A Comprehensive Portrait of American Law’s Great Dissenter
Sebastian Lelio’s sensitive, multifaceted adaptation of Naomi Alderman’s novel is a beautiful exploration of the restrictive nature of traditional communities, anchored by a trio of heart-stopping performances. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Chilean director Sebastián Lelio is a master of arthouse empathy – his Oscar-winning film A Fantastic Woman, about the struggles of a ... Disobedience Review: A Mesmerizing Tale of Religion and Forbidden Love
The latest from Japanese horror schlockmeister Ryuhei Kitamura (Midnight Meat Train) makes a tedious mess out of its stripped-down, gory premise. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood On a lonely stretch of road in the middle of nowhere, a tire blows out, stranding six twentysomethings by the roadside in an isolated stretch of California ... Downrange Review: Shudder’s Roadside Sniper Thriller Misses the Mark
Marvel’s culmination of their decade-long cinematic experiment stays afloat by sheer virtue of goodwill and charisma, and provides more than enough surprises to keep the bloated narrative from falling apart. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Marvel Cinematic Universe has spent the last decade building up a sprawling, interconnected world of comic book ... Avengers: Infinity War Review: Marvel’s Ambitious, Risky Magnum Opus
Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead discuss the high-concept suspense of their microbudget indie thriller The Endless, its connections to previous films, and the freedom of working on both sides of the camera. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Since the modest release of their mind-bending 2012 debut Resolution, indie horror filmmakers Justin Benson and ... The Endless: Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead on Lovecraft, Worldbuilding and the Thrills of Indie Filmmaking
Andrew Haigh’s heartbreaking, poignant drama is a testament to our deeply human desire to belong, told through a nuanced performance by Charlie Plummer. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood If you were to be told that one of the most heartfelt, poignant films of the year was – at its core – a story ... Lean on Pete Review: A Boy and His Horse Search for Home, Find Each Other
Lynne Ramsay follows We Need to Talk About Kevin with another masterwork on the cyclical traumas of violence, sporting a poetically grotesque performance from a haggard Joaquin Phoenix at its center. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Between Ratcatcher, Morvern Callar and We Need to Talk About Kevin, Scottish filmmaker Lynne Ramsay has cemented ... You Were Never Really Here Review: A Masterwork of Brutal Grindhouse Poetry
Watch the latest trailer for A24 and Film 4’s boy-meets-alien punk romance, directed by John Cameron Mitchell and adapted from the Neil Gaiman short story. This piece was originally published on Alcohollywood Romance can be hard, especially when you’re a punk and she’s an alien. Adapted from the Hugo-nominated short story of the same name ... HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES Trailer: John Cameron Mitchell’s Boy-Meets-Alien-Girl Story
Wes Anderson’s latest stop-motion confection is as meticulously constructed and dryly sweet as his previous filmography, even with the extremely complicated questions it raises about appropriation and race. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood By now, the Wes Anderson brand is firmly established to the point where even parodying him is old hat. Everyone ... REVIEW: Isle of Dogs
Kyle Henry, director of the compelling, hyperlocal Chicago drama Rogers Park discusses the appeal of his home neighborhood and the need to tell stories that reflect his experiences. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood For Chicagoans, films that actually take place in Chicago can be a bit of a mixed bag. You can usually ... Rogers Park: Director Kyle Henry on Capturing His Neighborhood and the Pressures of Mid-Life
Ryan Coogler’s Afrofuturist take on the Marvel Universe is a refreshingly unique, stylish and thematically rich superhero flick, breathing fresh air into the Marvel mythos. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood What can I say that hasn’t been said a million times over already by critics more numerous and qualified than I? More than ... REVIEW: Black Panther
A pioneering work of trans-centric filmmaking, Sebastián Lelio’s airy, dreamlike direction anchors a fearless central performance from Daniela Vega. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood With trans issues being at the forefront of the cultural moment, it’s no surprise that cries for representation in film extend to trans and non-binary actresses as well. Sure, ... REVIEW: A Fantastic Woman
To no one’s surprise, the third and final adaptation of E.L. James’ bodice-rippers promises steam, but delivers vapor. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Fifty Shades of Grey franchise is at once one of the most baffling smash hits in pop culture, and also the most understandable. E.L. James, adapting her AU Twilight ... REVIEW: Fifty Shades Freed
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s ponderous, effortlessly endearing alien-invasion dramedy filters the strangeness of modern life through its trio of alien protagonists. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The Japanese are no strangers to the quirky, off-kilter and unconventional when it comes to their cinema, especially in their sci-fi efforts. Enter Kiyoshi Kurosawa, director of the J-horror ... REVIEW: Before We Vanish
The budding midnight-movie appeal of Craig Denney’s impossible-to-find THE ASTROLOGER heralds the return of cult cinema’s mystique. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In the age of the Internet, the era of the true cult film is mostly over – even the most obscure grindhouse dreck or direct-to-VHS exploitation schlock has a thoroughly-annotated Wikipedia ... The Astrologer is the Forgotten Cult Hit You’ve Been Waiting For
The director of the upcoming foodie doc 42 Grams talks about the project’s origins and the serendipity and luck involved in documentary filmmaking. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood 42 Grams, the new documentary from Chicago filmmaker Jack C. Newell (Open Tables), is a fascinating look into the creative mindset of Michelin-star chef Jake ... 42 Grams: Director Jack C. Newell on Capturing the Lifetime of a Restaurant
Francis Lee’s tender, heartfelt debut film is as sweet a love story as you’ll ever see, bolstered by two terrific young performances and Lee’s sensitive, deliberate script. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In a year (and awards season) where Luca Guadagnino’s lovely Call Me By Your Name fills the ‘queer love story’ quota ... REVIEW: God’s Own Country
Jack C. Newell’s fly-on-the-wall doc about a Chicago chef on the rise effortlessly blends haute cuisine food porn with a tale of chef as temperamental artist. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Four years ago, Jake Bickelhaupt was just an up-and-coming chef running an illegal restaurant, Sous Rising, out of the Chicago apartment he ... REVIEW: 42 Grams
Brian Taylor’s devious intergenerational murder-comedy is just as crazy as the delightfully wacko Nicolas Cage performance at its center. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Nicolas Cage is an acting maniac by more than one definition – he takes on so many projects you’d think he had a castle to pay off (spoiler: he ... REVIEW: Mom and Dad