★★★★ The third entry in the Wizarding World side-saga of Newt Scamander has finally arrived in theaters just when we need it the most! Like an old friend, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore welcomes the audience with its warm embrace of magical familiarity. I didn’t realize truly how much I had missed walking through … Continue reading Film Review: Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Oscar Roundup 2022
The 2022 Academy Awards are tomorrow; as per usual, a sizable divide exists between audience preference and critical acclaim. In fact, 2021's highest-grossing film, Spider-Man: No Way Home, garnered merely one nomination, for best visual effects. After the jump, check out links to our coverage for the nominated films, along with information about their nomination, … Continue reading Oscar Roundup 2022
SXSW 2022 Wrap-Up
As with 2021, this iteration of the South by Southwest Film Festival is wildly varied in tone and consistency, delivering what I assume will be some of our favorite movies of the entire year and we are only in March! After the jump, check out our full coverage from SXSW, including capsule reviews for the … Continue reading SXSW 2022 Wrap-Up
NYICFF 2022: Turning Red
★★★★★ As far back as I can remember, it has always been a tradition to see a new Pixar film on the big screen with my family. Each new release was another opportunity to get together for some of the best movies that the medium of animation has to offer, and better still, it was … Continue reading NYICFF 2022: Turning Red
IFFR 2022: Freaks Out
★★★★ I definitely do not have a bias against foreign cinema, but it does indeed take the right mood (and perfect meeting of acting and story!) to keep my attention. Freaks Out impressed me around every turn. Initially intimidated by its over two-hour runtime, the film immediately pulled me in with its depiction of an … Continue reading IFFR 2022: Freaks Out
Sundance 2022 Wrap-Up
2022's all-virtual Sundance Film Festival brought together a variety of films, with the festival's usual eye for exciting new voices on full display. It seemed this year that nearly every selection featured at least one big-name actor in the majority of the projects. Below is our full coverage for the Sundance festival, and links to … Continue reading Sundance 2022 Wrap-Up
Film Review: The King’s Daughter
★★★ The King’s Daughter is a charming fairy tale style movie the whole family can enjoy. Director Sean McNamara, who has done a variety of films from Disney Channel originals to Baby Geniuses sequels to everything in between, directs from a script based on the novel “The Moon and the Sun” by Vonda N. McIntyre. … Continue reading Film Review: The King’s Daughter
Film Review: Birds Like Us
★★ When it comes to the filmmaking medium of animation, I am the first to jump to its defense when people try to claim they are all strictly for kids. Animation does not always thematically mean we are dealing with a children’s film. Look at nearly any of Pixar’s output, gritty anime, or even hilariously … Continue reading Film Review: Birds Like Us
Film Review: Belle
★★★ Stunning animation couples with a story that clearly rips off Disney’s vision of Beauty and the Beast in GKIDS new feature, Belle. The movie seems strictly made for gamers, annoying inaccessible to those without at least a basic knowledge of the Internet’s endless functionality. Written and directed by Mamoru Hosoda (the acclaimed creator of … Continue reading Film Review: Belle
Film Review: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania
★★★ The Hotel Transylvania films have been a staple of Sony Pictures Animation since the surprise box office breakout success of the 2012 original. Somehow, here we are almost exactly ten years later. Instead of a properly fitting October debut, the pandemic has essentially force-shuffled many movies around. Foregoing a traditional theatrical release, Hotel Transylvania: … Continue reading Film Review: Hotel Transylvania: Transformania