Category: Reviews
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Review: Shazam! Fury of the Gods
By Christian DiMartino The original Shazam! from 2019 followed a young teenage orphan named Billy (Asher Angel) who was essentially given superpowers, but with a twist akin to Penny Marshall’s Big. When Billy shouts out “Shazam!”, he’s transformed into an adult, muscular version of himself (played by Zachary Levi, very winning), but he still has…
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Review: Creed III
By Christian DiMartino I’ll be up front: I don’t give a f**k about sports. I’ve tried, but nah. I do, however, love a good sports movie. The key to a successful sports movie is whether or not they’ve gotten me to care about the people involved. Because if I care about the people, or find…
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Review: Cocaine Bear
By Christian DiMartino Elizabeth Banks’ Cocaine Bear is an okay version of what you expect from it. That is, a one-joke, one-idea horror comedy premise (a la Snakes on a Plane). Chances are, if you’ve heard the title and your interest has been piqued, then you know what you want out of it and what…
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Review: Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
By Christian DiMartino Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is the first Ant-Man movie where I didn’t have fun. Of course the Marvel Cinematic Universe has become known for the intergalactic stuff and usually they sell me on it in separate entries. I’m also usually open to a series trying to take a swing. The mistake…
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Review: Knock at the Cabin
By Christian DiMartino M. Night Shyamalan’s Knock at the Cabin is an expertly crafted thriller. One with a level of writing, acting and directing that isn’t always present in his films, but is certainly present in his best. The thing about Shyamalan’s work is that we go into a new one hoping for the best…
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Review: Infinity Pool
By Christian DiMartino Director Brandon Cronenberg is the son of David Cronenberg, a master of the audacious, bizarre, and disturbing (The Fly, Crash, Naked Lunch). Brandon also made Possessor back in 2020, which was a grisly, unnerving experience. Alexander Skarsgard is an actor who I’m now convinced will do anything, no matter what the strange…
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Review: The Son
By Christian DiMartino Sheesh. Florian Zeller’s The Father was not only the best movie of 2020, but it’s among my favorites of the decade so far. The film, an upsetting and dizzying, yet moving depiction of dementia, earned Anthony Hopkins an Oscar, as well as Zeller and his co-writer Christopher Hampton for Adapted Screenplay. Zeller…
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Review: The Whale
By Christian DiMartino By now you’ve probably heard about the acclaim that Brendan Fraser has been receiving for Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where he received quite the ovation, shooting him to the front of the Best Actor Oscar race. I like him a lot, and always have,…
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Review: Empire of Light
By Christian DiMartino Sam Mendes’ Empire of Light is a curious experience. The movie begins well, features splendid performances, is beautifully filmed by Roger Deakins, is immaculately scored by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. Everything appears to be in its right place, but ultimately it doesn’t hang together as a movie. It’s like looking at…
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