A bold, brassy take on Gone Girl, Paul Feig’s mommy-vlogger noir allows Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively to smash the patriarchy in some fascinating ways. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood You have to admire the bravery of a film that all but tells you what it’s about. At no point does A Simple ... A Simple Favor Review: Paul Feig’s Comedy-Thriller Is a Riotous Look at Female Agency
Netflix’s bittersweet tale of talking animals and the vagaries of celebrity returns for a thoughtful fifth season filled with even more emotional depth and acerbic wit. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Television’s best series about depression returns for a fifth season, and with some stark reminders about how doing the right thing and ... BoJack Horseman Season 5 TV Review: As Devastating and Bleakly Funny As Ever
Despite brilliant performances and an intriguingly cerebral attitude, Sean Penn’s Hulu-set space race fails to reach for the stars, keeping its feet disappointingly on terra firma. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Let’s get this out of the way first: if you’re looking for The First to be a rollicking space adventure about Sean ... The First TV Review: Hulu Ventures Into Space, Stays Disappointingly Earthbound
Shane Black returns to the macho 90s alien-hunter franchise he helped spawn, but his irreverent stamp (including a heaping helping of ableism) does more harm than good. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood On the surface, Shane Black seems like a great, if unexpected, fit for the Predator franchise. He’s a distinct, irreverent action-comedy ... The Predator Review: Shane Black’s Sequel Is One Messy Hunt
Jennifer Garner goes back to her Alias days as an ass-kicking action hero, but its muddy action and faux-Punisher derivations make it another late-August dud. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood The past few decades have seen an amazing resurgence in the vengeance film. In a world gone mad, it can be pretty cathartic ... Film Review: Peppermint Fails to Give Jennifer Garner a Minty-Fresh Franchise
Expanding the ever-widening Conjuring universe, this origin story/prequel of one of the universe’s spookiest threats is downright silly – which may not be the worst thing. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Horror is arguably the genre that is the most dependent on its predecessors; every generation of horror filmmakers tries to recapture the ... Film Review: The Nun Is Campy Fun, But Relies on Some Bad Habits
Netflix updates Cyrano de Bergerac for the social media era in this clunky teen rom-com, which distastefully hinges on a young girl’s perceived unattractiveness. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Now that they have a smash hit in To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Netflix needs to up its game in providing youth-oriented ... Film Review: Sierra Burgess Is a Loser Mistakes Frumpy for Failure
Mateo Gil’s Spanish rom-com mockumentary tumbles toward entropy with beautiful visuals, but a scattered story and weak protagonist. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood As any science fiction nerd can tell you, people can be rudimentarily broken down into either Kirks or Spocks. One uses cold logic to solve situations, while the other acts ... Film Review: Netflix Explores the Metaphysics of Love with The Laws of Thermodynamics
This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood For the latest On Tap minisode, we air an interview Clint conducted for the new John Cho computer-screen thriller Searching – about a frantic father searching for his missing daughter by going through the clues on her laptop! Clint sits down with Searching director Aneesh Chaganty and producer Sev Ohanian ... INTERVIEW: Searching’s Aneesh Chaganty and Sev Ohanian on Building Suspense Through Screens
Anchored by a layered lead turn from John Cho, Aneesh Chaganty’s screens-only thriller explores the formal implications of laptop cinema in new and exciting ways. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood (We previously reviewed Searching in our coverage of the Chicago Critics Film Festival. Read our capsule review.) While ‘laptop cinema’ films like Unfriended and Open Windows are becoming ... Film Review: Searching Is a Riveting, Screens-Only Missing Persons Thriller
Jack Reynor keeps his brother and his big-ass gun safe in this tepid late-August shoot-em-up, its characters as mild as its ambitions. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Detroit has had a bit of a film renaissance in the 2010s, so much so that the city could be classified as its own sub-genre itself. ... Film Review: Kin Misfires With Egregious Sci-fi Sequel Baiting
Despite two incredible lead performances from Oscar Isaac and Ben Kingsley, this dramatization of the Mossad extradition of Adolf Eichmann feels a bit too safe. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood In 1960, a group of Mossad and Shin Bet agents, let by Peter Malkin, traveled to Argentina on an undercover mission to capture ... Film Review: Oscar Isaac Hunts Nazis in Compelling, if Spotty, Operation Finale
Despite some familiar story beats, Alpha puts a novel, prehistoric spin on the classic tale of canine friendship, along with some stunning visuals. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Alpha doesn’t seem like the typical Albert Hughes film -the idea that a man who’s made a name for himself by directing urban crime thrillers ... Alpha Stands Out from the Pack with a Prehistoric Boy and His Dog Story
Netflix’s latest dalliance in the teen rom-com genre is a real charmer, a sunny, bittersweet confection with plenty of welcome twists to high school romance. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood I still remember the first boy on whom I had a real, fill my diary crush. Mike O’Brien, seventh grade. Tall, lanky, with ... To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before is Netflix’s Love Letter to Love Letters
Gaspar Noe’s kaleidoscopic Cannes favorite gets a new trailer and poster promising all the Satanic dance mayhem the French provocateur can muster. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Gaspar Noé is no stranger to deeply weird, bold, provocative films – Enter the Void and Irreversible are practically the poster children for confrontational, arguably sexist European New Vulgar cinema. His ... The Trailer for Gaspar Noé’s ‘Climax’ Does the Danse Macabre: Watch
Crystal Moselle’s narrative debut brings her documentary sensibilities to a fun, heartfelt story featuring the real members of Long Island’s most badass boarders. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Skate Kitchen offers something that’s been sorely missing from the world of coming-of-age films: a story that tells self-discovery not as a hero’s tale with ... Skate Kitchen Is a Sun-Baked Celebration of Realistic Adolescence
The shark schlock comes at you hard, fast, and fun, as Jason Statham battles giant sharks with an international cast in the Deep Blue Sea remake you never knew you needed. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Why release The Meg two entire weeks after Shark Week is over? It’s a perfect fit – ... The Meg is the Goofiest, Cheesiest, Most Sharktastic Fin-tertainment of the Summer
Susanna Nicchiarelli’s biopic of the German singer and artist is as impermeable as it is impermanent – those seeking a window into the artist’s life should look elsewhere. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood Some may applaud Nico, 1988 for being a film with zero fucks to give. Much like its central subject, and ... Ponderous and Disconnected, Nico, 1988 Will Not Let You Be its Mirror
While trying to chase both sentimentality and laughs, Ken Marino’s ensemble canine comedy ends up barking up the wrong tree. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood If you knew Ken Marino from his roles in cult comedy TV shows and movies (The State, Wet Hot American Summer, Party Down), you might go into his ... Ken Marino’s Canine Comedy Dog Days is Ruff Around the Edges
Jim McKay’s tale of the plight of undocumented workers in America is soulful, sensitive, and a potent rebuke to modern rhetoric about the humanity of immigrants. This piece was originally published on Alcohollywood It’s easy to demonize an entire group of people when you know nothing about them. Murderers, rapists, thieves, and drug-dealing gangsters are ... En el Séptimo Día Is a Naturalistic, Humanistic View of the Immigrant Experience
Kirby Dick’s documentary on the evils of the medical device industry is a shocking call to action, stressing the need for regulation in a field that endangers people’s lives. This piece was originally posted on Alcohollywood I finished watching Kirby Dick’s newest documentary The Bleeding Edge about nine hours ago. Following the film I was ... The Bleeding Edge Is a Rage-Inducing Exposé on the Medical Device Industry